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Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Cornyn (R-TX), Angus King (I-ME), and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation to expand national service programs significantly to help the country respond to and recover from the public health, economic, and social crises facing the nation in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Cultivating Opportunity and Response to the Pandemic through Service (CORPS) Act would double the number of AmeriCorps positions available this year to 150,000 and provide a total of 600,000 service opportunities nationwide over the next three years to unemployed youth and others looking to assist their communities. These positions could support a variety of response and recovery efforts based on community needs, including expanding food pantry capacity, mentoring and tutoring at-risk students, bridging health inequities by expanding access to COVID-19 screening and testing, and more. For a one-pager on the CORPS Act, please click here.
The bill has gained the support of more than 150 additional organizations, including City Year, Habitat for Humanity International, Hunger Free America, Jumpstart, National Health Corps, National Senior Corps Association, National Youth Leadership Council, and YouthBuild. For a full list of supportive organizations, please click here.
“As our nation strives to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it is vital that Americans are able to get back to dignified work,” Rubio said. “I am proud to join my Senate colleagues in introducing legislation that will help Americans, especially Americans facing unemployment, contribute to our recovery by serving our local communities, promoting public health, and promoting economic recovery both for themselves and their own families, and for the community and nation they serve.”
“Thousands of young people across the country are calling for greater opportunity and for new and meaningful engagement to address persistent inequities that have only been exacerbated by COVID-19,” Coons said. “Now is the time to mobilize that energy to make our communities stronger and healthier for everyone. The CORPS Act will empower Americans to give back to their communities while earning a college opportunity and valuable skills for the future. I’m pleased to introduce this bipartisan bill with Senator Wicker and my colleagues at this critical time and look forward to working with them to include it in the next relief package considered by the Senate.”
“Helping our nation respond to and recover from the coronavirus outbreak will require an all-hands approach,” Wicker said. “Boosting the ranks of our service corps is a cost-efficient way to get communities the help they need. I am glad to join Senator Coons in introducing the CORPS Act, which would enhance our national service programs and provide participants with the resources they need to endure this crisis. With their contributions, I am hopeful our nation can emerge stronger than ever before.”
“National service programs do extraordinary work in our most vulnerable communities,” Booker said. “AmeriCorps volunteers have been helping strengthen neighborhoods for decades. Amid these tumultuous times, expanding national service programs like AmeriCorps will aid in our nation’s recovery from COVID-19.”
“The CORPS Act builds on the existing framework of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps to help lead our national rebuilding efforts,” Graham said. “A focus on local rebuilding efforts and community service will pay dividends for our nation.”
“America is at a crossroads and people are eager to get to work in service to their communities and the nation,” Reed said. “This legislation will help elevate national service to uplift people and communities, strengthen our democracy, and help us address health, economic, and social challenges.”
“Just as picking up a rifle to defend our country is ‘American Service,’ so is helping out a food pantry for those at risk of hunger, assisting students with remote education and helping patients make critical health care decisions,” Duckworth said. “We should be doing everything we can to make sure vital service programs like AmeriCorps are accessible to all Americans—especially those who come from underserved communities or have had contact with the juvenile justice system—who wish to serve during this time of reopening and rebuilding. That’s why I’m proud to help Senator Coons and Senator Wicker introduce this bipartisan proposal—which builds on my 21st Century American Service Act—in the next relief package.”
“National service volunteers, like those in AmeriCorps, have established strong records for providing critical help and assistance in times of crisis,” Hyde-Smith said. “It makes sense to expand this sector to help communities and states overcome the unprecedented hardships created by the coronavirus pandemic. I especially appreciate that this bill prioritizes service to rural and underserved areas.”
“AmeriCorps members have a long history of service to our communities, and now more than ever, our country is relying on public servants as we continue to address the coronavirus pandemic,” Harris said. “We must expand national service opportunities and ensure that every American who wants to serve is able to do so at this critical time. I am proud to join my colleagues to introduce this legislation.”
“America must chart a path forward both for Covid-19 recovery and addressing racism,” Dr. Cassidy said. “National service organizations create opportunity for Americans of different experiences and backgrounds to engage in meaningful solutions that make our communities stronger, safer and healthier for all.”
“Wisconsinites have always been committed to serving their communities, and many folks in our state have answered the call to serve to combat COVID-19 throughout our neighborhoods,” Baldwin said. “Now is the time to scale up our national service programs so those who want to take action and help our communities get through this pandemic have the opportunity to do so. I’m proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation that will help service organizations expand their reach to engage more people and bring communities together to combat this public health crisis, save lives and move our country forward.”
“This pandemic has presented our communities with public health and financial challenges unlike any we’ve seen in our lifetimes,” Cornyn said. “This legislation would help utilize the wide-ranging skills of thousands of Texans serving in the AmeriCorps and Senior Corps during this crisis to serve those most in need.”
“As Americans work to recover from the wide-reaching impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members have tackled growing challenges with energy, enthusiasm, and compassion,” King said. “We need to build on their good work, and empower them and others to help strengthen our communities – addressing both obstacles caused by the pandemic and those that predated the virus. In essence, this legislation is a bet on the American people’s ability to respond to a crisis with dedication and ingenuity – and there’s no group I have more faith in.”
“From delivering meals to providing critical outreach to seniors experiencing loneliness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers are making a lasting difference in the lives of countless individuals in Maine and throughout the country,” Collins said. “The CORPS Act builds on this existing foundation of successful service by increasing the number of positions to respond to this current crisis, as well as providing critical flexibility to respond to local needs as we eventually move into the recovery stage.”
Specifically, the CORPS Act would: