AmeriCorps to Step Up Efforts to Prevent Members From Political Work

Washington

The federal agency that operates national-service programs told Congress today it plans to strengthen its training and monitoring procedures after two AmeriCorps members were suspended for engaging in political advocacy for Planned Parenthood of New York City.

Asked to testify about the incident before a House subcommittee, Robert Velasco II, acting chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service, said the agency had acted in a “timely, professional” way to ensure the two AmeriCorps members stopped doing inappropriate work and that no federal money paid for it.

But he said the corporation will step up efforts to ensure that all AmeriCorps members are aware of the federal law that bars them from participating in lobbying, attempting to influence legislation, protesting, union organizing, engaging in partisan politics, or providing or referring women to abortion services.

The hearing was arranged by Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, chairwoman of the House subcommittee on higher education and workforce training—and a longtime AmeriCorps critic. Given federal budget constraints, she said, “it is our responsibility to make sure that the money that we take from hard-working taxpayers is spent effectively and efficiently.”

While the national-service agency acted swiftly to stop the prohibited activities, she said, “our goal should be to prevent these kinds of activities before they take place.”

However, committee Democrats blasted her for opening the inquiry, saying the corporation had addressed the problem to the satisfaction of the agency’s inspector general. They also praised AmeriCorps members for helping victims of the recent tornado in Joplin, Mo., along with food banks and other nonprofits in their districts.

“I’m a little bit at a loss kind of why we’re here,” said Rep. George Miller, Democrat of California.

“We should choose groups to oversee where there’s a real problem, not where you have an ideological bent or somebody has an ideological bent about one particular agency,” said Rep. John Tierney, Democrat of Massachusetts.

The two AmeriCorps members were placed at Planned Parenthood by the NYC Civic Corps, a group that gets money from New York State’s national-service commission. Mr. Velasco said the corporation began to investigate after it learned in a letter from Planned Parenthood in May that the two were recruiting and training volunteers to engage in political advocacy.

Ms. Foxx mentioned another recent incident involving an AmeriCorps member who was pulled from a job escorting patients to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Tacoma, Wash. (The clinics use such escorts to help patients get through anti-abortion protesters.)

Ranit Schmelzer, a corporation spokeswoman, said the agency stopped that assignment before the volunteer had completed less than 10 hours of service because the protest activity made it an unsafe location.

Mr. Velasco said the national-service agency plans to conduct a conference call and send written reminders about the banned activities to all groups receiving AmeriCorps money by early July. It will also require those groups to get training on the issue and to strengthen the training they give volunteers.

AmeriCorps grantees that provide money to other organizations will be required to submit a plan for ensuring that those organizations follow the rules, Mr. Velasco said.