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Message from David Eisner, CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service
Dear National Service Colleagues:
I am pleased to report that the Corporation’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the AmeriCorps rule at a public meeting held in Washington D.C. this morning. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register sometime in the next week, and will be available on our website possibly as soon as this Friday.
Dottie Johnson, the chair of the Board’s rulemaking committee, offered a resolution approving the rule, which was seconded by Carol Kinsley, the board’s longest serving member. The text of the Board’s resolution appears below.
The Board has been involved in AmeriCorps rulemaking since September 2003, when it directed the Corporation to engage in rulemaking to address significant issues including sustainability and the limitation on the Federal share of program costs. To support this endeavor, the Board formed a three-member committee including Alan Solomont, initial chair; Dottie Johnson, current chair; and Mark Gearan. The committee has worked closely with the entire board throughout the rulemaking process.
In discussing the rule, Chairman Stephen Goldsmith noted the high level of board involvement in achieving a consensus that balanced many difference points of view from Congress, our grantees, and many other stakeholders. He and several other board members expressed their great appreciation to the national service field for providing extensive input during the rulemaking process, both in the initial comment period before the rule was drafted last fall and the official comment period last summer. The hundreds of thoughtful comments greatly informed our work and the final rule reflects many of the suggestions we heard.
In her comments, Dottie stated: "The final rule will go a long way towards achieving a fair and equitable - and conclusive -- resolution of the issues in the AmeriCorps program that Congress has raised in recent years. In passing the final rule, I think we will have taken a significant step in making the AmeriCorps program stronger, more effective, and well-positioned for continued growth."
Other Board members who spoke thanked both Dottie and Alan for their leadership and thanked the staff for their excellent work. They noted that the final rule is clear, understandable, workable, and avoids a "one-size-fits-all" approach, which is so important to a national service field that has very different sets of constituencies. The Board expressed interest in remaining engaged as the new rules are put in place.
I’d like to add my own thanks for the close and collaborative work of the Board, staff, and national service field in bringing us to this milestone. The next step in the process is the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register, which we expect to happen early next week. We will notify you as soon as that happens, and provide a set of documents to help you understand the final rule. We will follow that up with conference calls, meetings, and training opportunities, including several sessions at the AmeriCorps Grantee conference in August in Washington D.C. We are committed to working closely with all of you to help you understand the rules.
Besides rulemaking, the Board recognized the strong leadership and enthusiasm that outgoing Board member Juanita Doty provided during her tenure. The Board also got significant work done at its retreat including developing a draft of a five-year strategic plan that will be available for public comment this summer. We will be sharing more information about the draft strategic plan with you in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
David Eisner
CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service
Resolution on AmeriCorps Rulemaking
Approved by Board of Directors
June 28, 2005
Whereas, the Board of Directors has directed the Corporation to undertake rulemaking to establish regulations on significant issues concerning the AmeriCorps grants program, including sustainability and the limitation on the Federal share of program costs, consistent with any applicable directives from Congress; and
Whereas, the Corporation has undertaken an extensive rulemaking process, including public outreach prior to issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking in August 2004; and
Whereas, the Corporation has fully and fairly considered the public comments submitted in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking; and
Whereas, the Office of Management and Budget has cleared the final rule submitted by the Corporation;
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors approves the AmeriCorps grants final rule as cleared by the Office of Management and Budget and directs the Chief Executive Officer to publish the final rule in the Federal Register.
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