Tag Archives: Rural Development

Government Matters: Week in review, May 26-June 2

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Peters Announces $11.4 Million in Support for Michigan AmeriCorps Programs

By Allison Green

 

U.S. Senator Gary Peters announced that Michigan has received $11.4 million in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency for volunteering and service programs.

 

“Citizen service is an indispensable resource for nonprofits, communities and the individuals they serve, and essential to solving problems that face Michigan and the United States,” said Senator Peters.

 

The investment includes 14 grants totaling $4.6 million, which will support 671 AmeriCorps members.

 

Below is a partial listing of 2017 AmeriCorps competitive grants in Michigan:

  • American Red Cross of Grand Rapids: Together We Prepare
  • AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program
  • Michigan Campaign To End Homelessness AmeriCorps Program
  • Michigan Financial Opportunity Corp
  • Power of We Consortium AmeriCorps Project
  • MARESA AmeriCorps
  • B-H-K Child Development Board
  • AdviseMI

CNCS will also provide Michigan with up to $3.1 million in education scholarships for the AmeriCorps members funded by these grants to help pay for college, vocational training, or pay back student loans.

 

This year’s AmeriCorps grant cycle was highly competitive. The 2017 competition prioritized investments in economic opportunity, education, governor and mayor initiatives, veterans and military families, disaster services, and initiatives to build safer communities.

Peters, Colleagues Raise Concerns over President Trump’s Cuts to Rural Development

President Trump’s drastic budget cuts, coupled with plans to eliminate the USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, would hurt small towns and rural communities

 

U.S. Senator Gary Peters joined 28 other Senate Democrats in sending a letter to President Trump expressing strong concerns over recent actions that would have negative impacts on families in rural America.

 

In the letter, the Senators objected to the proposed cuts, and urged President Trump to maintain the position of Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

 

Last week, President Trump issued a budget proposal calling for drastic cuts that would undermine the important rural development mission at the USDA. These damaging cuts come on the heels of recently announced plans to eliminate the USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, an important advocate for small towns and rural communities across the country.

 

The letter was also signed by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and others.

ICYMI: Senator Stabenow Questions OMB Director Mulvaney on Trump’s Budget Cuts to the Great Lakes (VIDEO)

By Ian Wilhite

 

During a recent hearing in the Senate Budget Committee on the President’s 2018 Budget, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) questioned OMB Director Mick Mulvaney about zeroing out funding for the Great Lakes in Fiscal Year 2018.

 

Video of the exchange is below.