House Appropriations Bill Would Gut AmeriCorps, Blocking Thousands from Serving Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ranit Schmelzer at ranit@schmelzerstrategies.com

WASHINGTON, DC (September 3, 2025) – Yesterday, the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee voted on its fiscal year 2026 bill. The approved bill delivers a devastating cut to AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors—cutting most programs by approximately 50 percent over fiscal year 2025 enacted levels.

“AmeriCorps members are the people power behind local nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations working to meet urgent needs in communities across the country,” said AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service. “If enacted, the House bill would slash AmeriCorps in half—undermining disaster response, student support, workforce development, and services for veterans and seniors. We urge Congress to reject these cuts and instead fund AmeriCorps at the levels communities need and deserve.”

While the House bill includes level funding for RSVP and the Volunteer Generation Fund, it drastically slashes funding for the other AmeriCorps programs:  AmeriCorps State and National, NCCC, VISTA, the Foster Grandparent Program, the Senior Companions Program, and State Commission Support would be cut roughly in half.

The bill also slashed the National Service Trust—which provides education awards to AmeriCorps members—by more than 75 percent, leaving just $40 million. It cuts funding for the agency’s salaries and expenses by $30 million, which undermines the agency’s efforts to modernize grant and member management systems and implement new internal financial controls.

The disappointing House bill stands in contrast to recent Senate and Administration action. On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved near-level funding for the AmeriCorps Agency compared to fiscal year 2025 levels, and last week, the Office of Management and Budget released the approximately $200 million in fiscal year 2025 funds that it had withheld from AmeriCorps programs across the country.

Every year, AmeriCorps enrolls more than 200,000 individuals in nonprofit, faith-based, and local organizations. These men and women make a tremendous difference in communities across America, from equipping young people and returning veterans with job training and marketable skills in high-demand sectors to playing a crucial role in disaster response and recovery.

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Voices for National Service empowers citizens to solve pressing community problems with unique local solutions by elevating AmeriCorps. Founded in 2003, Voices for National Service has built strong bipartisan support for national service programs, which generate $17 in benefits to the United States for every tax dollar invested. AmeriCorps annually enables 200,000 Americans to serve their country and community in public-private partnerships with local nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations.

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