House Jobs Bill Provides $200-Million to AmeriCorps

The House of Representatives passed a $154-billion jobs bill on Wednesday that includes $200-million in fresh money for AmeriCorps, the national-service program.

The money, provided in the Jobs for Main Street Act, H.R. 2847, would allow AmeriCorps to add 25,000 members as part of a broader effort to tackle the country’s high unemployment rate by creating and saving public-service jobs.

“AmeriCorps members conduct vital services for nonprofits and communities including financial counseling, disaster response, housing support, and after-school programs,” says an explanatory note about the legislation.

The jobs bill would also pay for public-works projects; help states hire teachers, police officers, and firefighters; and extend federal unemployment benefits and other safety-net measures. About half of the money, including the AmeriCorps allocation, would come from a federal fund that was originally set aside to bail out troubled banks, much of which has now been repaid.

The Senate is not expected to consider the jobs bill until early next year.

If the AmeriCorps money is approved, it will be on top of a spending increase for the program that Congress has already passed for the 2010 fiscal year. Lawmakers approved a budget for the Corporation for National and Community Service that will allow AmeriCorps to grow to 85,000 members — up from the current 75,000 — as the first step in a seven-year effort to triple participation in the program.

AmeriCorps also gained almost 14,000 new members on a temporary basis under economic-stimulus money that was allocated earlier this year.