On Friday, March 14th, the Senate passed a seven-month continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown and conclude the FY25 appropriations season. The House passed the bill on Tuesday, March 11th, and President Trump signed it on March 15th.
The CR funds federal agencies through September 30, 2025, including AmeriCorps. Republicans have stated that the bill is a “clean” resolution – without policy riders – that keeps most agency spending at the current FY24 levels, but Democrats have raised concerns that it is not. The CR cuts about $13 billion in nondefense spending from FY24 and increases defense spending by about $6 billion.
For AmeriCorps – the CR would fund the agency’s accounts at FY24 levels, although it does not provide an explanatory statement or funding tables, which are typically included in appropriations bills. The lack of some funding directives raises concerns that the Administration may have some legal “wiggle room” to move funding, reshape priorities, and/or eliminate longstanding programs.
The CR also included a $235 million recission of unobligated balances from the National Service Trust Fund. Staff from the Appropriations Committee have been monitoring this cut to the Trust and believe the fund has a sufficient balance and reserves to manage the recission and avoid a deficiency violation.
A year-long CR is likely one of the better outcomes for AmeriCorps, given that back in July, the House Appropriations Committee had marked up a FY25 Labor-HHS spending bill that slashed AmeriCorps funding by 64% and eliminated support for four accounts (AmeriCorps State and National, NCCC, State Commission Support Grants, and AmeriCorps Education Awards/National Service Trust).