[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8010-S8012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, what a mess we have at the Corporation
for National and Community Service. The Congress has funded 50,000
AmeriCorps volunteers, as we have year after year. But, guess what. The
corporation has enrolled 70,000 volunteers. It seems the corporation
cannot count. As a result, there will be fewer volunteers this year.
Fortunately, because of a bipartisan collegial relationship on the
VA/HUD subcommittee, Senator Bond and I are going to fix this problem
for the volunteers and for the communities they serve. We are
introducing something called the Strengthen AmeriCorps Program Act,
and, frankly, it gives AmeriCorps the fix it needs to straighten out
the mess they created.
This bill is simple and straightforward. It gives the AmeriCorps
Program the flexibility within the current funding for 2003 so there
can be 50,000 AmeriCorps volunteers this year.
I have been reading in press reports, but most of all I have been
getting calls from constituents and other Senators who support
AmeriCorps. What are they concerned about? They are concerned that it
appears there will be cuts by as much as 15,000 volunteers. I am
concerned about that, too, and the effects on our communities and the
young people who serve them while earning a scholarship for college.
I believe the public has a right to know what happened. So I want to
explain to advocates and my colleagues what is happening and why the
corporation has cut AmeriCorps. Congress has not cut AmeriCorps. It is
because there is a persistent pattern of mismanagement at AmeriCorps.
The corporation has over-enrolled 20,000 volunteers. When you make a
mistake of 20,000 it is not a mistake, it is mismanagement. Two
thousand would have been a mistake; 20,000 is mismanagement. The
corporation has violated the law, mismanaged taxpayers dollars, and
created uncertainty for our volunteers and our communities.
In April, at the VA/HUD subcommittee, I called on the National
Service CEO, Dr. Leslie Lenkowsky, to fix the problem. He promised he
would do that by June 1. But, guess what. He called on May 30 and said
he just could not do it. Then out came the shrinking of the number of
volunteers, and out came the blaming on Congress. Instead of fixing the
problem, he blamed Congress. I wish the corporation was as good at
accounting as it is blaming. They had 10 weeks to get their act
together and they did not do it.
I was very stern with Dr. Lenkowsky and the Board of Directors at the
hearing. I must say I thank the Board Chairman, Mr. Stephen Goldsmith,
for responding constructively to the criticism of myself and other
Members of the Congress. They took it to heart. They are beginning to
reform national service. They are doing due diligence. They are putting
more time into the oversight than, frankly, Dr. Lenkowsky.
Dr. Lenkowsky is the Chief Executive. He has failed to respond to the
situation, failed to respond to the subcommittee request, failed
volunteers, failed communities, and in the schools I went to when you
get that many ``Fs'' you just flunk out.
Today, I am asking Dr. Lenkowsky to resign. I am really sorry we have
gotten to this point, but we cannot continue this. I think if we are
going to have a national service program, we need to have a national
service program that serves the Nation and follows the directives of
the Congress.
We have worked on a bipartisan basis in this subcommittee year after
year after year. We saved this program. It is usually zeroed out in the
House. It is a gimmick to get us to rescue it. And now, once again,
thanks to the leadership and constructive relationship with Senator
Bond, we are going to strengthen AmeriCorps. Without our cooperation
and leadership at VA/HUD, AmeriCorps wouldn't even be here. So
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we need to pass the Strengthen AmeriCorps Program quickly. It is an
accounting fix that is certified and approved by OMB and GAO.
I support our President's call to national service. I want to work
with President Bush in a bipartisan way to take national service into a
new century. That is why I have worked with Senator McCain, Senator
Bayh, and others to do that. Most of all, I want to work with my
colleague Senator Bond, once again, as we always have, to sustain
national service. Now we have legislation to clean up the mess that the
corporation had. But the only way I think the corporation is going to
get any momentum is if its current executive either steps aside or
steps down.
I hope Congress moves this bill in a matter of days. The Nation needs
it because the volunteers need it and the communities need the
volunteers.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, it is a real pleasure today to rise to join
my colleague and good friend, the Senator from Maryland, in introducing
legislation that will strengthen the Corporation for National Community
Service, the AmeriCorps Program.
I assure my colleagues the Strengthen AmeriCorps Act of 2003 is a
bipartisan bill introduced with Senator Mikulski as ranking member, and
the chair of the Appropriations Committee and members of the
authorizing committee. The Senator from Maryland and I believe the bill
will not only address some of the corporation's accounting problems
but, more importantly, it will protect and expand volunteer service
opportunities across the Nation.
Many of my colleagues--I wouldn't be surprised if all of our
colleagues--have heard from their constituents and the media in recent
weeks about the potential cuts to the AmeriCorps Program. This bill
addresses, to the best extent we can, those concerns--some have
longstanding concerns about the management and financial problems of
the corporation--by creating a budgeting mechanism that ensures the
corporation has the funds needed to pay educational awards.
Under this bill, the corporation would be able to enroll about 50,000
AmeriCorps members without the need for additional funds. Looking at
the allocation that is available for the VA/HUD subcommittee,
additional funds are not a very great prospect at this time, I regret
to say. We have to deal with what OMB has given us and the allocations
we received from our distinguished and all-knowing senior colleagues on
the Appropriations Committee.
It is truly unfortunate--my colleague has already referred to it--
that there has been a plague of significant and longstanding management
problems, neglected for many years, in the corporation. One notable
result of this neglect has been the inappropriate and illegal practice
of enrolling more AmeriCorps members than the corporation had budgeted.
One would think a group of dedicated public servants running the
AmeriCorps Program could count. They have not.
Last year, the corporation overenrolled the AmeriCorps Program by
more than 20,000 people. They have done it year after year, the year
before and the year before that and the year before that. They came to
the VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Committee to bail
them out. We were able to provide $43 million more than requested in
the 2003 appropriations bill to meet the needs of these members and
more. But because of continued poor budgeting practices, the VA/HUD
subcommittee also approved another $64 million in deficiency
appropriations in the 2003 supplemental appropriations to cover
additional shortfalls.
When the overenrollment problem first surfaced, we asked the GAO and
the corporation's inspector general to review the accounting practices
of the corporation and its internal controls to determine the causes of
this problem. Further, we asked the GAO's Comptroller General to review
the corporation's underlying statute to determine whether the
corporation's practice complied with the law, and other fiscal laws
such as the Anti-Deficiency Act.
Both the General Accounting Office and the IG found the corporation
did not comply with the law by incorrectly recording its funding
obligation. GAO identified several factors that led to the
corporation's incorrect accounting practice. The factors included
inappropriate obligation practices, little or no communication among
key corporation executives, too much flexibility given to grantees
regarding enrollments, and unreliable data on the number of AmeriCorps
participants.
That is the official word. My unofficial word is they can't count.
GAO also found that the corporation was not following the law in
recording its legal liabilities.
This bill responds to the problems identified by the auditors and
allows the corporation to maximize the number of AmeriCorps enrollees
that can participate in the program.
In short, the bill allows the corporation to fund AmeriCorps grants
based on the estimate of the number of members who will likely complete
and use their education award to ensure that the AmeriCorps Program is
accountable to taxpayers and the volunteers.
It is our expectation the corporation will use conservative
assumptions in developing its funding formula. This is especially
important since the corporation has repeatedly failed to meet funding
obligations resulting in action by Congress to provide additional
funding, including deficiency appropriations.
I serve notice here and now: Don't come back to us if you screw it up
again. You are not going to get bailed out.
Further, because of poor data, the bill requires the central reserve
fund to give the corporation an extra cushion in case the actual usage
rate exceeds the assumption used in the formulary.
We believe we should pass this legislation as quickly as possible. It
provides for clarification of the corporation in determining grant
award allocations to its grantees in the States. Without this
legislation, uncertainty and disagreement will delay and limit the
enrollment of AmeriCorps volunteers.
Considering the demand and need for the program, we cannot afford to
wait. We designed this legislation with significant input from the
administration. This is one of the President's top priorities. It has,
I can assure you, their undivided attention.
We think it is a reasonable and fair approach to the issue. It
mitigates harm to the AmeriCorps Program in a manner that will ensure
accountability and fiscal integrity.
Keeping in mind the problems identified by the auditors which led to
the enrollee freeze last November, we designed this legislation to
ensure that we do not repeat those past mistakes. The enrollee freeze
was unfortunate. It was an avoidable mistake, if the corporation had
properly managed and monitored its programs.
We need to put these enrollment issues behind us. This program has
had a difficult and star-crossed history. It is unfortunate. And we are
here in June revisiting the implementation of the program to ensure
both accountability and credibility. We need to ensure the State and
local programs are meeting both the program requirements and the
community needs.
I will tell my colleagues the corporation has hired a very strong CFO
in getting a handle on these problems. And they do have the full
attention of not only the administration through OMB but GAO and the
IG.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
I ask unanimous consent that the bill I wish to introduce on behalf
of myself, the Senator from Maryland, and Senators Specter, Collins,
Alexander, Santorum, and Kennedy be held at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, as the
Senator knows, by holding the bill at the desk, it will not be referred
to the committee of jurisdiction which I happen to chair, and which the
Senator from Missouri is a member, as is the Senator from Maryland, and
whose abilities I greatly respect. Obviously, I always have
reservations about not having a bill referred to the proper committee
of jurisdiction and have it step outside the proper process in the
Senate, which is the bill should go to the committee of jurisdiction.
[[Page S8012]]
But I believe the Senators from Missouri and Maryland are addressing
a critical problem, and one for which, as appropriators, they have a
unique responsibility. This issue has to be resolved. I hope in
resolving it we can also address issues such as the Corporation of
National Service, which is a very strong organization, and which
because of the mismanagement of these funds may be cut out of the
funding process.
But I am not going to make the objection which logically a chairman
should make to this type of request of holding it at the desk because I
do think the Senators from Maryland and Missouri are doing very
excellent work here, and it needs to be passed quickly. Therefore, I am
willing to forego the committee of jurisdiction to get this bill
through.
I congratulate Senators for bringing the matter to the attention of
the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent
request? Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I express my deep appreciation to the
chairman of the committee. We have shared this with the staff. But it
was done on a very tight time schedule. I apologize to him for not
being able to talk with him directly about it. I assure him it is a
brief bill. If he has any questions, we will be happy to work with him.
I hope we can bring it up as quickly as possible because of the
compelling nature of resolving this problem. If we can get it passed
quickly, I will be happy to make a note of the particular organization
in which he is interested and ensure that our friends at the
Corporation for National Service know about the high priority the
chairman of the authorizing committee places on this organization.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I, too, want to express my appreciation
to the chairman of the HELP Committee, Senator Gregg. I think it is
gracious of him to let us keep the bill at the desk knowing the urgency
of the need to test it.
I think the point he raises about the need for regular oversight on
national service is well taken. I look forward to participating in that
hearing. I thank him for his courtesy and for his sensitivity to the
urgency of the situation and his commitments regarding volunteers.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I will simply
say I am always courteous to appropriators.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I understand there was a unanimous consent
request that the Senator from New Hampshire be recognized. Is that
right?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, how much time
does the Senator need? I would be happy to yield on my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I express my appreciation to the Senator
from New Hampshire.
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