AUGUSTA – Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, joined 47 Maine House and Senate members in sending a letter urging Maine’s Congressional Delegation to work to reinstate funding for AmeriCorps programming across the country that was recently cut by the Trump Administration.
Last Friday, the AmeriCorps agency immediately terminated close to $400 million in grant program funding, leaving all of Maine’s AmeriCorps grants, totaling over $4 million, at risk.
Eight AmeriCorps grants that are funded through Volunteer Maine, along with two additional direct grants, are listed for termination. There are 46 AmeriCorps members currently serving in Maine, with an additional 74 slated to start their service over the next two weeks.
“These massive funding cuts mean that AmeriCorps members will be forced to exit their programs prematurely or not begin them at all,” said Rielly. “Many members will be facing housing, food, health care and other financial emergencies as a result of losing their living stipends. Additionally, our communities will lose the crucial support they rely on from our AmeriCorps members, like help with sustaining local food systems, reducing poverty and supporting substance use prevention and recovery programs.”
AmeriCorps programs are evidence-based and evaluated for effectiveness, and studies show as much as a $34 return on investment for every federal dollar spent. Across Maine, AmeriCorps members help municipalities with resilience planning, conservation projects, chronic disease prevention programs and much more.
Rielly is serving his third term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources and the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. He represents a portion of Westbrook.
Contact:
Brian Lee (Rielly) | 305-965-2744