WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Co-Chair of the bipartisan National Service Caucus, led 148 of his congressional colleagues in sending a letter to President Donald Trump defending AmeriCorps and NCCC AmeriCorps members and calling on him to reverse cuts to the program made last week by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The letter is co-led by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Vice Chair of the National Service Caucus. The letter is co-led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), Co-Chair of the bipartisan House National Service Caucus, and Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), Ranking Member of the Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development.

The Trump Administration placed a majority of AmeriCorps employees on leave last week as part of DOGE’s broader spending cuts. Programs such as AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors deploy more than 200,000 Americans annually to carry out results-driven projects at over 35,000 locations across the country. Working in partnership with thousands of nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations, these dedicated volunteers and workers help promote employment opportunities, strengthen the workforce, and support those in need. 

“We are deeply concerned these actions will prevent the agency from continuing to deliver critical services, which include supporting veterans, fighting wildfires, tutoring in schools, combatting the fentanyl epidemic, and much more,” the lawmakers wrote. 

The lawmakers highlighted the program’s benefits to society, to AmeriCorps members, and to the federal government—pointing to a non-partisan study showing that there are an estimated $17 in benefits returned for every taxpayer dollar spent. Additionally, the recently passed Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025 maintains AmeriCorps funding at its fiscal year 2024 level and serves as a continuing resolution to extend federal government funding through the end of fiscal year 2025. The senators emphasized that the administration is expected to implement the law in a manner consistent with the funding levels enacted in fiscal year 2024. Failing to do so would be a violation of the law.

“If not reversed, these recent actions will both stop current programs and prevent timely and efficient execution of the agency’s fiscal year 2025 appropriations, delaying or even halting the recruitment and deployment of new AmeriCorps members around the country,” the lawmakers added.

AmeriCorps programs serve communities nationwide, including in Delaware, where roughly 200 AmeriCorps members and more than 1,000 AmeriCorps Seniors respond to disasters, improve housing, help veterans, and support educational services. If the Trump Administration's actions aren't reversed, these critical services could come to a halt.

“We are deeply concerned that this is the goal: to eliminate AmeriCorps, in direct conflict with recently enacted appropriations. However, even delays will disrupt programs Americans rely on for their health, education, and safety. We urge you to reverse these actions and instead work with Congress on bipartisan improvements to AmeriCorps so that more Americans have the opportunity to serve their communities,” the lawmakers concluded. 

In addition to Senators Coons, Schumer, and Heinrich, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). In addition to House Representatives Matsui and Adams, 103 other House Representatives signed on.

You can read the full text of the letter here.