Key Senate Committee Approves Nonprofit Stimulus Spending

Note: The Chronicle originally reported that committee approved money for YouthBuild USA, a nonprofit group in Somerville, Mass. In fact, the money would go to YouthBuild, a program operated by the U.S. Labor Department that provides grants to groups that train low-income young people in construction skills. YouthBuild USA supports the federal program—for example by offering training, setting quality standards, and raising private money—but will not directly receive any stimulus money. This item has been corrected to omit the error.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved part of the proposed economic-stimulus package on Tuesday, including spending that would help nonprofit groups weather the recession and meet rising demand for social services.

The committee has not yet posted online a full list of the measures it approved, but a summary says it endorsed the following proposals:

• $2.1-billion for Head Start and Early Head Start, the early-education programs.

• $2-billion for Child Care and Development Block Grants, which help states provide child-care services to low-income families.

• $400-million for Social Services Block Grants, to help states provide services to unemployed and low-income people.

• $200-million to AmeriCorps, the national-service program, to create positions to help nonprofit groups hit by increased need and shrinking donations.

• 150-million for food banks.

• Money for YouthBuild, a federal program that trains low-income young people to do construction work. (The exact amount is not listed, but the House version of the bill proposes $50-million.)

Separately, the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved another part of the stimulus bill, $87-billion to increase temporarily the federal share of Medicaid, the health program for poor people that provides revenue to many nonprofit medical centers.

The House is scheduled to vote on its $825-billion stimulus legislation — the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (H.R. 1)—on Wednesday.