Contact: Ranit Schmelzer, 202.538.1065, ranit@schmelzerstrategies.com
Omnibus Bill Includes Increased Funding for National Service Programs
Cost-Effective Services for Students, Veterans, Military Families and Communities Recovering from Natural Disasters Preserved
Washington, DC (March 22, 2018) – The agreement between the House and Senate on a Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus spending package includes $1.06 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers national service programs including AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. The FY18 budget represents an increase of nearly $34 million for CNCS from FY17, sustains funding for Senior Corps and AmeriCorps*VISTA, includes an increase of $26 million for AmeriCorps State and National, and increases for state commissions, AmeriCorps*NCCC, the Volunteer Generation Fund and Days of Service.
AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service, issued the following statement in response to the agreement:
“The bipartisan budget deal is a big win for the countless communities across the country that rely on AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our nation. It allows us to tap our nation’s greatest resource in our collective work to make America great: the talent, energy, and patriotism of our citizens.
This investment in CNCS will support more ‘boots on the ground’ to strengthen education from preschool through college, help communities recover and rebuild after natural disasters, fight the opioid epidemic, support veterans and military families, combat poverty, assist seniors in independent living, and build economic opportunity across the country.
We are extremely grateful for the tremendous bipartisan support in Congress for national service by Labor-HHS Subcommittee Chairs Roy Blunt and Tom Cole and Ranking Members Patty Murray and Rosa DeLauro, who have stood with AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, ensuring that more citizens can play a pivotal role in their communities by serving with thousands of nonprofit faith-based and community-based organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, YMCA, and Teach for America.
It is time to pivot from ‘protect and defend’ to ‘strengthen and expand.’ Now we will redouble our efforts to scale the investment in national service. The White House’s budget for fiscal year 2019 would once again provide a small amount of money to support the shutdown of the agency, eliminating it altogether in 2020. We cannot let that happen, and we will continue to work with our bipartisan champions in Congress to ensure that national service continues to grow so that more Americans can serve their communities, impact lives, and come together for our common good.”
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Voices for National Service is a diverse coalition of national service programs, state service commissions and individual champions, who work to ensure Americans of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to serve and volunteer in their community. Founded in 2003, Voices for National Service has built strong bipartisan support among our nation’s leaders and helped to elevate national service as a powerful strategy for tackling unmet needs, preparing young people for work, uniting our country and developing civic character.