For Immediate Release

February 9, 2016
Contact: Ranit Schmelzer, 202.538.1065, ranit@schmelzerstrategies.com
Voices for National Service President AnnMaura Connollys Statement on President
Obamas 2017 Budget
Washington, DC Voices for National Service, a diverse coalition of national service programs,
state service commissions and individual champions, who advocate to ensure Americans of all
ages have the opportunity to serve and volunteer in their community, today issued a statement
upon release of President Obamas 2017 Budget.
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget provides $1.1 billion for the Corporation for National and
Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers national service programs
including AmeriCorps and Senior Corps or essentially level funding from the FY 2016 enacted
budget.
Following is a statement by AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service.
In his final year in office, President Obama had the opportunity to prioritize support for
the Corporation for National and Community Service and the tens of thousands of dedicated
Americans who step forward every day to deliver results for their communities. Its unfortunate
and disappointing that this budget fails to do that. By flat-funding CNCS, the budget does not
provide the funds necessary to scale the proven programs positioned to meet increased demand
from local communities and falls far short of fulfilling the promise of the Edward M. Kennedy
Serve America Act.
That said, were heartened by the strong bipartisan support in Congress that resulted in
increased funding in the final fiscal year 2016 budget, including the largest expansion of
AmeriCorps to date. Were particularly grateful to Senators Blunt and Murray and
Representatives Cole and DeLauro for their extraordinary leadership, and to the bipartisan group
of more than 90 legislators from the House and Senate who recently called on President Obama
to increase federal funding for CNCS. We plan to work with them through the Congressional
budget process to ensure this becomes a reality.
Weve always known that national service is something Americans can all agree
on. Importantly, a recent poll found that voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly
support investing their tax dollars in national service and want to either maintain or increase
spending for these programs.

We are hearing these themes echoed on the Presidential campaign trail, as candidates from both
political parties publicly recognize that national service provides a tremendous return on
investment, while preparing young people for the workforce, helping alleviate the burden of
college debt, and building strong neighborhoods and communities.
As we have before, the national service community will make their voices heard and will fight
for an increased investment to scale this invaluable resource.
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Voices for National Service is a diverse coalition of national service programs, state service
commissions and individual champions, who advocate to ensure Americans of all ages have the
opportunity to serve and volunteer in their community. Founded in 2003, Voices for National
Service has built strong bipartisan support among our nation's leaders and helped position
national service as a viable policy solution to tackle unmet needs, expand opportunity, and
leverage human capital.