President Bush Makes Changes in Operations of National-Service Agency

President Bush has made changes to AmeriCorps and other national-service programs by signing an executive order that requires the programs to work more closely with religious groups and urges recipients of federal aid to step up their fund raising from private sources.

Executive orders take effect without approval from Congress, but they carry the weight of law.

In his order, President Bush provided several guiding principles to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Washington organization that oversees AmeriCorps. The order requires the corporation to “increase efforts to expand opportunities for, and strengthen the capacity of, faith-based and other community organizations in building and strengthening an infrastructure to support volunteers that meet community needs.”

President Bush has used such efforts in the past to promote federal support for religious organizations. For example, in 2002, he signed executive orders that loosened government restraints on religious charities that seek and obtain federal money (The Chronicle, January 9, 2003).

Concern About New Rules

Critics of the administration’s efforts to help religious groups have derided such proclamations, saying they allow the White House to bypass Congress and public debate.

But Alan Khazei, founder of City Year, a charity that operates service programs in 14 cities with AmeriCorps support, said he is not bothered by how the president made the changes. However, because the requirements are vague, he said, he is concerned about how the corporation will interpret them as it decides how to enforce the order.

“As long as the voice of local programs is heard, we can come out of this with a stronger AmeriCorps,” he said. “We have to see how the process works.”

Mr. Khazei’s primary concern is the president’s call for national-service grantees to raise more money from state and local governments and private donors. If the corporation requires an increased commitment of nonfederal dollars or term limits for federal support, he said, AmeriCorps grantees in poor and rural areas, where philanthropic resources are scarce, could be hurt.

The corporation is holding five regional public meetings to receive recommendations from grantees about the rules, says Sandy Scott, spokesman for the organization.

In related news, the General Accounting Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, released a study last week that said that, while the corporation has improved its oversight of AmeriCorps, the accounting weaknesses that led to last year’s suspension of enrollment of applicants (The Chronicle, January 22) still exist. Among the concerns the report mentioned: a database of enrolled AmeriCorps members that includes people who have finished the program and invalid Social Security numbers of people who don’t exist or are dead.

What’s more, policies the corporation established to improve its tracking of AmeriCorps members may hinder nonprofit grantees, the GAO said.

For example, a new rule says charities can no longer fill a position immediately if a volunteer leaves early. AmeriCorps grantees said the change hurts recruitment efforts and discourages them from working with troubled youths.

Mr. Scott said the corporation is watching new accounting rules for any unintended consequences and will accept other recommendations made by the GAO.

The Bush administration’s executive order can be viewed on the White House Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040227-9.html. To read the General Accounting Office report, “Corporation for National and Community Service: Better Internal Control and Revised Practices Would Improve the Management of AmeriCorps and the National Service Trust,” go to http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04255.pdf. For more information on the AmeriCorps meetings, visit http://www.americorps.org/rulemaking.