Washington D.C. — The Bush Administration strongly urged the Senate to provide full funding for the Corporation for National Community Service and its programs in a Statement of Administration Policy on the fiscal 2004 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies appropriations bill released Wednesday. Following is the excerpt from the statement about the Corporation and its programs. The full statement is available at www.omb.gov.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY
November 12, 2003

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

"The Administration appreciates that the Committee provided funding flexibility for the AmeriCorps programs and sets the expectation that 75,000 members will be enrolled. However, the Administration is strongly opposed to the reduction in CNCS funding, which will allow fewer than 60,000 members to enroll in AmeriCorps, a 20-percent reduction below the 75,000 members supported by the President's request. The Committee also advocates dramatic, harmful reductions to program costs that could not be sustained by AmeriCorps grantees, such as the increased match required in order to cut AmeriCorps' unit cost by 35 percent in a single year.

"Further, while the Corporation and its grantees are implementing new management procedures to increase accountability, the Committee reduced funding for program administration and evaluation. The bill also fails to finance other critical activities, such as the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, research on effective programs and practices, and other agency functions that reinforce communities' nonprofit service delivery infrastructure and help recruit traditional volunteers to serve vital needs in their communities. The funding levels would force staff reductions, reduce grant oversight, and discontinue several promising projects. The Administration strongly urges the Senate to fully fund this Presidential priority to ensure that the CNCS can fulfill its mission of engaging more Americans in service to help strengthen communities."

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