House Advances Spending Bill that Devastates AmeriCorps
The future of AmeriCorps comes down to 2 spending bills in the House and the Senate for Fiscal Year 2026.
What Happened
The Senate did its part. On July 31, with a 26 - 3 bipartisan vote, the Appropriations Committee advanced a spending bill that fully funds AmeriCorps at 2025 levels.
But House Republicans just slapped American communities in the face.
On September 2, the House subcommittee approved a bill along party lines that cuts AmeriCorps funding by roughly 50%. If enacted, this would eliminate tens of thousands of AmeriCorps service positions.
The House bill also renames “AmeriCorps” as “America First Corps.” Meanwhile it makes drastic cuts to most AmeriCorps programs including AmeriCorps State and National, NCCC, VISTA, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companions Program. The bill makes a whopping 75% cut to the National Service Trust — which pays for education awards to AmeriCorps members.
This follows Trump’s failed effort to dismantle AmeriCorps. In April, DOGE tried this without Congress — i.e. illegally — when it cancelled $400 million in AmeriCorps funding, terminated 32,000 service members, and laid off 85% of AmeriCorps agency staff.
The courts partially blocked these acts. But now, House Republicans have taken up the mantle of destruction.
Why This Matters
These cuts would be very bad for nature conservation. AmeriCorps volunteers serve in critical roles with public land agencies and nonprofits.
They build and maintain our nation’s trail systems. They reduce wildfire risk and control invasive species. They staff our parks and educate our kids.
This would also hurt local communities where AmeriCorps volunteers provide critical support in disaster response, public health and education.
When Trump tried to dismantle AmeriCorps last spring, local communities expressed anger especially in red states. See:
How You Can Help
You can make a difference in the battle for AmeriCorps.
There is still much wrangling to come in the House and Senate over these appropriations bills. Ultimately, Democrats have leverage because the budget can’t pass without their votes in the Senate.
So we need to demand the following:
- The Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Bill needs to fully fund AmeriCorps at 2025 levels. Now is not the time for any cuts to a program that provides critical support to our local communities and public lands.
- We need guarantees that the money budgeted for AmeriCorps will be fully spent on AmeriCorps. No impoundments. No rescissions.
What To Do:
- Please follow Voices for National Service on social media or via its website.
This small nonprofit is the leading advocate for AmeriCorps.
They also have a great resource page for taking action.
- Please call your Senators and Representative.
- Ask them to fully fund AmeriCorps in the Fiscal Year 2026 spending bill.
- Ask them to demand guarantees that money in the budget for AmeriCorps will be fully spent by the administration — i.e. no impoundments and no rescissions.
For more, visit our Political Tracker entry: The Dismantling of AmeriCorps.
