In July, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees separately met and marked up their FY 2025 Labor-HHS-Education bills and took vastly different approaches – in terms of top-line funding levels, bipartisanship, and for AmeriCorps specifically (referred to the in the bill as the Corporation for National and Community Service).
The House bill allocates $198.4 billion for the federal departments funded through the bill – a cut of $24.6 billion, or 11% below FY24 levels. The bill eliminates 57 programs, cuts funding for 48 more, and rejects new programs from President Biden’s budget request, such as the American Climate Corps. The full House Appropriations Committee passed it along party lines on July 10.
Conversely, the Senate Labor-HHS bill provides $231.34 billion, an increase of $9 billion over FY24 enacted levels. The bill was also written in a bipartisan manner with support from both subcommittee leaders, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and passed through the full committee markups on August 1st with a bipartisan 25-3 vote.
The Senate bill notably includes a small increase for AmeriCorps in FY25 – compared to the House bill, which slashes funding and eliminates five program accounts. The Senate bill provides $1.3 billion for the AmeriCorps agency, including a $35 million increase for AmeriCorps State and National above FY24 levels and a $20 million decrease to the National Service Trust. Both proposals were included in President Biden’s FY25 budget request, resulting in a net $15 million increase. All other agency accounts were level funded from FY24 (see chart below).
The bipartisan Senate bill also includes several Voices for National Service policy recommendations for improving the AmeriCorps grants programs, including language that would:
- Give the agency the flexibility to establish AmeriCorps service terms under 1,700 hours;
- Encourage the agency to take steps towards addressing problems with the fixed price grant drawdown formula; and
- Urge the agency to consider the impact to communities when making decisions to increase AmeriCorps living allowances. The Committee said they are aware than constrained funding has led to a reduction in member positions, and they are encouraging the agency to take a balanced approach and pursue flexibilities to help support programs and meet the needs in local communities.
For AmeriCorps, the House recommends $449.4 million, which is a cut of $813 million, or 64%, below FY24 enacted levels. These cuts come from the elimination of several funding accounts:
- AmeriCorps State and National, a cut of $557 million below FY24 levels,
- AmeriCorps NCCC, a cut of $38 million below FY24,
- The National Service Trust and funding for AmeriCorps Education Awards, a cut of $180 million below FY24,
- State Commission Support Grants, a cut of $19.54 million below FY24, and
- $20 million in cuts to the agency’s salaries and expenses.
The House bill would eliminate as many as 71,000 AmeriCorps service positions, devastating a national service infrastructure built over 30 years. It provides just $361.2 million for AmeriCorps, level funding AmeriCorps VISTA, the AmeriCorps Seniors programs, the Volunteer Generation Fund, Days of Service, and the agency’s Evaluation and Research Department. It also includes a $1 million increase for the Office of the Inspector General.
The House and Senate will have much to discuss to reconcile these bills and pass FY25 appropriations into law, and all signs point to holding off on any additional steps in the process until after the November elections. In the meantime, Voices for National Service will continue our work with lawmakers, our members, and partners to see to the best outcome for AmeriCorps programs.
| Accounts | FY24 Enacted | FY25 President’s Budget Request | FY25 Voices Request | FY25 House Mark | FY25 Senate Mark |
| Program Operating Expenses | $975.5 M | $1.046 B | $1.289 B | $361.2 M | $1.01 B |
| AmeriCorps State and National | $557.1 M | $591.3 M | $804.9 M | $0 | $592.1 M |
| AmeriCorps VISTA | $103.3 M | $136.5 M | $137.8 M | $103.3 M | $103.3 M |
| AmeriCorps NCCC | $37.74 M | $42.49 M | $43.8 M | $0 | $37.74 M |
| Foster Grandparent Program | $125.4 M | $124.6 M | $129.1 M | $125.4 M | $125.4 M |
| Senior Companion Program | $56.45 M | $54.3 M | $58.19 M | $56.45 M | $56.45 M |
| RSVP | $55.11 M | $56.51 M | $63 M | $55.11 M | $55.11 M |
| State Commission Support | $19.54 M | $19.54 M | $25 M | $0 | $19.54 M |
| Days of Service | $6.148 M | $6.148 M | $6.148 M | $6.148 M | $6.148 M |
| Volunteer Generation Fund | $8.558 M | $8.558 M | $15 M | $8.558 M | $8.558 M |
| Evaluation | $6.25 M | $6.25 M | $6.25 M | $6.25 M | $6.25 M |
| National Service Trust | $180 M | $159.95 M | $211 M | $0 | $160 M |
| Program Total | $1.155 B | $1.206 B | $1.500 B | $361.2 M | $1.170 B |
| Salaries and Expenses | $99.69 M | $127.1 M | $127.1 M | $79.69 M | $99.69 M |
| Office of the Inspector General | $7.595 M | $8.762 M | $8.762 M | $8.595 M | $7.595 M |
| Agency Total | $1.263 B | $1.317 B | $1.636 B | $449.4 M | $1.278 B |
Additional Resources:
- Voices for National Service released statements on both the Senate and House mark-ups of the FY25 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill.
- For all information on the Senate’s bill, please see here for the press release, summary of the bill, bill text, and bill report.
- For all information on the House’s bill, please see here for the Majority and Minority bill summaries and the bill text.