Letter: Nevada may lose $2 million to other states

Monday, July 7, 2003 | 8:56 a.m.

If state spending was based on results, the Nevada Commission for National & Community Service, which administers AmeriCorps programs in Nevada, would have been among the first state commissions funded during the 2003 legislative session. For every $1 invested by the state, AmeriCorps delivers $11.80 in federal funding.

Instead of investing $150,000 in state money to secure $2 million in federal funds, Nevada taxpayers may see up to $2 million of their federal taxes sent to other states and the loss of seven programs that address education, environmental conservation, public safety, human services, service learning, and homeland security.

The void left behind will only increase burdens being shouldered by overworked state agencies because the programs funded by AmeriCorps include rehabilitation for homeless veterans, literacy for at-risk youth, health care for rural communities, forest fire hazard reduction, environmental restoration, youth education, and drug prevention.

In addition, Nevada will also lose $720,000 in college scholarships, modest awards received by AmeriCorps members who choose full-time community service as a viable option to help people in need while earning money to continue their education.

Certainly, given the budget crisis, there are many issues that seem more important than the 113,000 people who have benefited from AmeriCorps in our state.

However, it would be no less than a travesty to see the efforts of our congressional representatives and U.S. senators to preserve AmeriCorps at the federal level, only to have our state forget to support the one commission that can draw these federal funds.

RICHARD R. BECKER

Editor's note: The writer is a volunteer commissioner and secretary of the Nevada Commission for National and Community Service.