In June, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved separate spending bills that would reduce opportunities for young people to serve their county, by cutting the AmeriCorps program, by as much as 34%.
These cuts mean half as many AmeriCorps members serving with local programs like Southeast Conservation Corps. These members build local trails, remove invasive species, and complete fire mitigation projects in Tennessee and surrounding areas. Nationwide, AmeriCorps members make all the difference in overcrowded classrooms, understaffed health clinics, and tutoring programs that lower dropout rates.
Thousands of AmeriCorps members have been some of the first to our nation’s largest disasters including Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and the Joplin and Moore tornadoes.
It seems impractical to reduce an agency which can help people stabilize their lives in a time of crisis. AmeriCorps members do not make partisan judgements on who to respond to, they just go help. Full funding is in the best interest for all Americans whether in a time of crisis or when AmeriCorps members are performing their valuable work on public places and public spaces.
I urge Senators Corker and Alexander and Representative Fleischmann to reject these disastrous cuts to national service, and I encourage fellow Tennesseans to join me in calling on their Members of Congress to protect AmeriCorps.
Chelsea Steck, Southeast Conservation Corps
Chattanooga