On March 26, Campus Compact staff hand-delivered our letter signed by a record 248 (more than twice previous years’ efforts) college and university member presidents, state directors and board members to the offices of all 34 members of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees for education and labor. Our letter informs subcommittee members of our grave concerns regarding cuts to funding for Learn and Serve America (LSA), the only federal program that supports service-learning.
In our visits to Capitol Hill, legislators and their staffs have repeatedly told us that higher education has not made enough noise to reverse the trend of reducing LSA funds or to justify any increase in funding. Cuts have been made by the Administration each year since 2005 from the traditional funding level of $43 million to $32.1 million in FY 2008 with an additional $500,000 pulled from higher education funding for promotional activities
We have a funding crisis on our hands. We need to speak with a louder and more collective voice to protect and restore this critical support for our work.
Our message to Congress is clear:
- Restore Learn and Serve America funding to its traditional level of $43 million. Why Restore Learn and Serve America Funding for Fiscal Year 2008?
- $500,000 slated for Learn and Serve America promotional activities should not come out of already over-extended program funds for higher education as proposed in the Administration’s FY08 budget request.
We need your personal commitment to underscore this effort. Please do the following:
- Call your Congressperson (get contact information) and tell her or him that you want funding for Learn and Serve America restored to $43 million and that higher ed program funds should not be used for promotional activities. Calls to Appropriations Subcommittee Members for Education and Labor are even more powerful.
- Write an email or fax a separate letter (you may use our template)
92KB. Print it on your letterhead and send it to members of the Congressional appropriations subcommittees. - Invite your Congressperson to visit your community service project or campus.
- Thank your representative for their leadership on the National Service Caucus.
- Sign on to a collective letter from the Campus Compact community:
