Washington, D.C. - 

Save AmeriCorps Coalition Awards Price

US Rep. David Price (D-NC), a staunch supporter of national service, led the fight against an unexpected attack on AmeriCorps funding today.

This morning, US Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) offered an amendment to the Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill that would cut AmeriCorps funding by $70M. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Rep. D. Price, that amendment was voted down in a resounding bipartisan vote of 298-102.

AmeriCorps was facing funding cuts even before today’s move by Rep. T. Price: The House Republican leadership is cutting AmeriCorps by $14M – that’s even less funding than President Bush requested in his budget for Fiscal Year 2006.

An additional cut of $70 million (17 percent) would have forced many nonprofits — particularly those in rural and low-wealth communities where private sector funding is limited – to discontinue their AmeriCorps programs altogether.

“AmeriCorps cannot sustain an additional cut,” said Rep. D. Price, who is a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional National Service Caucus and who urged fellow members of Congress to vote against Rep. T. Price’s amendment.

He continued, “Our AmeriCorps members are recruiting and training more than a million volunteers who do work that is critical to our communities. They help over 10 million Americans a year. The cuts proposed by Tom Price, on top of those already in the bill, would be absolutely devastating.”

Ironically, Rep. T. Price touts his appreciation for AmeriCorps on his website: he lists AmeriCorps as number 49 on a list of 100 scholarships for students who need help paying for college.

“I wonder what he would have told those students who asked him why AmeriCorps was no longer offered in their communities,” said Rep. D. Price.