On October 14, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) stood on the steps of the Michigan Union and announced his vision for an organization of volunteers to do altruistic work abroad who would compose the Peace Corps. The historic speech, delivered extemporaneously at 2 a.m. during the last days of his presidential campaign, was an inspiration to the students gathered. Within weeks, 1,000 University students had signed a petition calling for the establishment of the Peace Corps program. In that same spirit of citizenship and service, AmeriCorps was founded in 1993 as the domestic counterpart to the Peace Corps. Even though AmeriCorps is a valuable program doing important work to improve the country, it has come under attack by policymakers who wish to deprive it of much-needed funds. These efforts must be defeated so that AmeriCorps can be expanded, not starved.

AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs that engage more than 50,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment, while helping these volunteers fund their educations. Last year, President Bush asked AmeriCorps to expand its work in public safety, public health and disaster relief as a part of his plan to improve homeland security, the fight against terrorism and the widespread desire to increase citizenship after Sept. 11. But the president's budget for next year cuts AmeriCorps's funding by 57 percent. According to reports in the Daily, this could result in a decrease of 90 percent of the organization's members in Michigan alone.

These programs are more than just scattered temporary projects; AmeriCorps volunteers live and work in the communities they serve. AmeriCorps also fosters partnerships with schools and religious institutions in programs that are ongoing, including literacy programs and drug-abuse counseling. These services are especially important in urban areas, where residents often cannot raise enough help or money on their own.

Some relief may be on its way in the form of $100 million in grants because of a measure that was overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. Senate this past Friday. But that funding may easily get bogged down in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the amount is only half the estimated $200 million AmeriCorps needs to keep all programs open, let alone to expand as the president seemed to desire only recently.

After Sept. 11, AmeriCorps experienced an upsurge in volunteer applications, but tens of thousands of people ready to give 2,000-plus hours per year of their lives in service to the country are unable to make use of program offerings because of the budget cuts. These cuts are drastic, and they stand in stark contrast to the president's professed aim of "creating new opportunities within the AmeriCorps." Bush needs to honor his commitment to AmeriCorps and take further steps to pull the organization out of the red. He should not hesitate to authorize the supplemental funding the program needs and reverse the scheduled budget cuts. This is certainly a worthy program.