Three-quarters of the state’s congressional delegation attacked what they called the Trump administration’s “reckless cuts” to the AmeriCorps program during a Manchester event Monday.
Leaders of City Year estimated the impact to New Hampshire from lost grants was about $5 million.
“For decades, AmeriCorps members have put ideology aside to work for our communities and fill critical service gaps,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. “I heard from volunteers in the Granite State today, and (President Donald) Trump’s shameful cuts to this bipartisan program would be devastating for the Granite Staters they serve.”
Along with City Year, the event attracted leaders of conservation groups that have benefited from the program.
“AmeriCorps members do critical work for our communities, but the Trump administration’s funding cuts and firing of AmeriCorps staff are threatening this work,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan, also D-N.H.
The Trump White House has said critical audits of AmeriCorps in recent years revealed millions of dollars in improper payments.
Officials called AmeriCorps a “target-rich environment for President Trump’s agenda to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”
‘Returns on investment’
Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., said she’ll keep fighting to restore the program.
“The returns on investment are real: Every $1 that Congress invests in AmeriCorps generates more than $30 in returns to communities across New Hampshire,” Goodlander said. “AmeriCorps changes lives for the better and its spirit of volunteerism is core to who we are as a state and as a nation.”
The Trump administration ended nearly $400 million in grants in AmeriCorps’ roughly $1 billion budget and also fired most of its staff in April.
About 32,000 lower-level workers were let go and an estimated 1,000 programs were eliminated.
A Trump administration notice said the grants erased didn’t fit AmeriCorps priorities.
Two lawsuits have been filed over the changes, one by leaders in two dozen blue states and another by community organizations. Both alleged President Trump lacked the authority to gut the agency that was created and financed by Congress for decades.
Monday’s event was at the Manchester School District Welcome Center.
