In Opposition to Amendment 450 to H.R. 1, Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
Floor Speech
* Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the C.R. put forward by my Republican colleagues, and specifically to Amendment 450, offered by Mr. Mack of Florida. This amendment and the C.R. would eliminate funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service and all of the programs it supports.
* As Americans, we share a common belief that volunteerism and community service make our country stronger. But we cannot be a leader in the world, if we are not leaders in our own communities.
* And as we speak, tens of thousands of Americans are involved in service projects across the country through one of several AmeriCorps programs. These volunteers are building houses, helping young people learn to read, collecting food and clothing, and much, much more.
* Through programs such as Learn and Serve, VISTA, Teach for America, Experience Corps, Youth Build, Habitat for Humanity, City Year, and Jumpstart, volunteers are using evidence-based research to make a tremendous impact in their communities.
* But federal funding for each one of these programs would be shut down if Amendment 450 and this C.R. were to be enacted.
* In my district of Sacramento, California--home to the NCCC Pacific Region--300 AmeriCorps*NCCC volunteers would be sent home. Although these volunteers have already committed to a year of service--and they have all already been deployed--this amendment would require the Corporation for National and Community Service to buy their plane tickets home. That process alone would make this a deficient program, and leave the federal government liable for the costs.
* Put simply: Amendment 450 and the cuts for AmeriCorps in the C.R. are ill-conceived.
* We see an enormous return in our investments in our national service programs. For every volunteer we help to support, we recruit another 10 volunteers. And for every dollar the federal government invests, the organizations are able to leverage a matching dollar through local and private funding.
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