Congress moves FY11 spending bills, recommends increases for national service
On Thursday, July 29, 2010 - The Senate full Appropriations Committee approved the FY11 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies spending bill. The bill recommends $1.366B for CNCS.
Highlights of the bill include:
$440 Million to support for AmeriCorps*State/National
$18 Million for state service commission administrative funding
$10 Million for the Volunteer Generation Fund
$1 Million for Serve America Fellowship Program
Earlier in July, the House Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee marked-up the FY2011 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill on July 15. The bill recommends $1.305B for the Corporation for National and Community Service. This is $155M more than FY10 and $111M less than the President's request. The Subcommittee only released summary tables for full Agency budgets. The Full House Appropriations Committee has yet to mark up the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill.
Here is the Senate Appropriations Committee Breakdowns of CNCS accounts and bill language:
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Appropriations, 2010 ............................................................................ $1,149,721,000
Budget estimate, 2011 .......................................................................... 1,415,586,000
Committee recommendation ................................................................ 1,365,586,000
The Committee recommends $1,365,586,000 for the Corporation for National and Community Service in fiscal year 2011. The administration request for fiscal year 2011 was $1,415,586,000. The fiscal year 2010 comparable level was $1,149,721,000.
The Committee recommendation is sufficient to increase the number of AmeriCorps members from 87,000 in fiscal year 2010 to more than 97,000 in fiscal year 2011.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, a corporation owned by the Federal Government, was established by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 to enhance opportunities for national and community service and provide national service education awards. The Corporation makes grants to States, institutions of higher education, public and private nonprofit organizations, and others to create service opportunities for students, out-of-school youth, and adults.
The Corporation administers programs authorized under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act, the National and Community Service Trust Act and the SERVE America Act.
The Committee recommends $111,000,000 for the Volunteers in Service to America [VISTA] Program. The comparable funding level for fiscal year 2010 was $99,074,000. The budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $98,000,000.
VISTA, created in 1964 under the Economic Opportunity Act, provides capacity building for small, community-based organizations. VISTA volunteers raise resources for local projects, recruit and organize volunteers, and establish and expand local community- based programs in housing, employment, health, and economic development activities.
The Committee strongly supports VISTA’s anti-poverty mission, particularly in the midst of an economic recession. In addition, the Committee views it as a great asset that VISTA volunteers can serve in small, nonprofit organizations with little to no capacity to manage a Federal grant. For that reason, the Committee urges the Corporation to make VISTA part of the growth plan for national service.
The Committee remains concerned that the current training program for VISTA volunteers requires too much travel and does not adequately correlate to the actual tasks that VISTA members are required to complete in their service. The Committee urges the Corporation to consider State-based training and devoting a higher percentage of training time to core skill development.
NATIONAL SENIOR VOLUNTEER CORPS
The Committee recommends $229,100,000 for the National Senior Volunteer Corps programs. The comparable level in fiscal year 2010 was $220,900,000. The fiscal year 2011 budget request was $221,100,000.
The Committee has included the following activities in the following amounts:
[In thousands of dollars]
Programs Fiscal year— Committee
2010 comparable 2011 President’s recommendation request
Retired Senior Volunteer Program ...... 63,000 63,000 64,000
Foster Grandparent.............................. 110,996 111,100 115,600
Senior Companion ............................. 46,904 47,000 49,500
The Committee has included sufficient funding to increase the stipend for Foster Grandparents and Senior Companion members by 10 cents, for a total of $2.75 per hour. The Committee is grateful for the service provided by these elderly individuals.
The maximum total dollars that may be used in fiscal year 2011for Grants.gov/eGrants support, Training and Technical Assistance, and Recruitment and Retention activities shall not exceed the amount enacted for these activities in fiscal year 2010.
AMERICORPS GRANTS
The Committee recommends $440,000,000 for AmeriCorps grants in fiscal year 2011. The fiscal year 2010 level was $372,547,000 and the budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $488,033,000.
The Committee notes that, despite a 37 percent increase in funding in fiscal year 2010, some States experienced a reduction in their participation in the AmeriCorps grant program. The Committee is concerned that small organizations and organizations in rural areas of the country are less able to compete with well-known national organizations. The Committee has not reinstated the cap on national direct grants; however, the Committee requests a report within 90 days of enactment of this act on the steps the Corporation is taking to ensure that small organizations and entities in rural America have equal opportunities for funding.
The Committee directs the Corporation to include a 5-year detail of member service in the annual congressional budget justification. The detail should include the number of members, grant cost, and Trust cost broken out both by program (e.g., VISTA, NCCC, State, and national) and by level of service (e.g., full time, part time, quarter time). In addition, the justification should include a 5-year detail on the number of members serving in each State, excluding NCCC.
The Committee is pleased with the participation of the Corporation in the Let’s Move! campaign and encourages the Corporation to expand its efforts around childhood nutrition and hunger. In particular, the Committee urges the Corporation to give priority to applications that support increasing healthy food choices in antihunger programs, assisting local farm-to-school initiatives, and increasing access to food assistance programs. The Committee is aware that the recent economic downturn has dramatically increased the number of Americans seeking out food assistance programs, and hopes that AmeriCorps members can increase the capacity of local organizations to meet this pressing national need.
DISABILITY PLACEMENT FUNDS
The Committee recommendation includes $6,000,000 for Disability Placement funds. The comparable fiscal year 2010 level was $5,000,000 and the budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $6,000,000.
Grant funds are for the placement of, reasonable accommodation of, and auxiliary services for members and potential members with disabilities serving in AmeriCorps programs.
The Committee is deeply concerned by the high rate of unemployment among people with disabilities and believes that the programs of the Corporation are well-suited to help people with disabilities gain important job skills without jeopardizing their medical benefits. In addition, the service of AmeriCorps members with disabilities helps to educate potential employers about reasonable accommodation options, which may lead to reduced stigma and discrimination. The Committee encourages the Corporation to help grantees incorporate people with disabilities in AmeriCorps projects whenever possible.
In addition, the Committee is sensitive to the increased costs involved in running an AmeriCorps program in which a significant proportion of the members have disabilities. The Committee urges the Corporation to consider ways to provide additional support to programs in which 25 percent or more of the members have disabilities, either through the disability grants, the CEO’s waiver authority or other cooperative agreements.
INNOVATION, DEMONSTRATION, AND ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES
The Committee has included $84,509,000 for Innovation, Demonstration, and Assistance Activities. The comparable fiscal year 2010 level was $60,500,000 and the budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $77,000,000.
Within the funds provided for the Innovation account, the Committee has included $60,000,000 for the Social Innovation fund authorized under section 1807 of the SERVE America Act. The Committee recommendation also includes $10,000,000 for the nonprofit capacity-building program authorized under section 1809 of the SERVE America Act.
In addition, $10,000,000 is included for the Volunteer Generation Fund authorized under section 198P of the SERVE America Act. The Committee has not included bill language requested by the administration to waive the statutorily required allocation of these funds.
The Committee recommendation also includes $1,000,000 for the highly successful MLK Day of Service and $1,000,000 for the Serve America Fellowships.
EVALUATION
The Committee recommendation includes $8,000,000 for evaluation activities. The comparable fiscal year 2010 level was $6,000,000 and the budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $8,000,000.
NATIONAL CIVILIAN COMMUNITY CORPS
The Committee recommendation includes $35,593,000 for the National Civilian Community Corps. The comparable fiscal year 2010 level was $29,000,000 and the budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $34,593,000.
The National Civilian Community Corps is a full-time, teambased residential program for men and women ages 18 to 24. Members are assigned to 1 of 5 campuses for a 10-month service commitment.
LEARN AND SERVE AMERICA
The Committee has included $40,198,000 for Learn and Serve America. The fiscal year 2010 comparable level was $39,500,000 and the budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $40,198,000.
Learn and Serve America provides direct and indirect support to K–12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects.
The Committee has included sufficient funding to continue the Summer of Service activities within the Learn and Serve program.
STATE COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION GRANTS
The Committee has included $18,000,000 for State Commission Administration grants. This is the same amount as the budget request for fiscal year 2011. The comparable fiscal year 2010 level was $17,000,000.
TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The Committee recommendation includes $11,000,000 for Training and Technical Assistance. The budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $13,000,000. The comparable fiscal year 2010 level was $7,500,000.
NATIONAL SERVICE TRUST
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $271,186,000 for the National Service Trust. The comparable level for fiscal year 2010 was $197,000,000. The administration request for fiscal year 2011 was $293,662,000.
The Committee notes that the funding level recommended is sufficient to support more than 97,000 members in fiscal year 2011, an increase of more than 10,000 members from fiscal year 2010.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $103,000,000 for the Corporation’s salaries and expenses. The budget request for fiscal year 2011 was $109,000,000. The comparable level for fiscal year 2010 was $88,000,000. The Committee directs that the Corporation must fund all staffing needs from the salaries and expenses account.
The salaries and expenses appropriation provides funds for staff salaries, benefits, travel, training, rent, advisory and assistance services, communications and utilities expenses, supplies, equipment, and other operating expenses necessary for management of the Corporation’s activities under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $9,000,000 for the Office of Inspector General [OIG]. The comparable level for fiscal year 2010 was $7,700,000 and the administration request for fiscal year 2011 was $9,000,000.
The goals of the OIG are to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness and to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
asc-online.org
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
The Committee has included three administrative provisions: language requiring the Corporation to make any significant changes to program requirements or policy through rule-making (sec. 401), language requiring that donations supplement and not supplant operations (sec. 402) and language aligning requirements regarding the use of Education Awards at GI Bill-eligible institutions (sec. 403).
