Responding to fiscal problems and mismanagement within the organization, Congress is likely to cut funding for AmeriCorps, the federally subsidized group that provides aid, tutoring and assistance to individuals and families in need within the United States.
While the cuts threaten AmeriCorps programs across the country, about three dozen UB students wait and wonder about the program's future.
According to Mark Lazzara, the executive director of the West Seneca Youth Bureau, AmeriCorps will sustain a considerable reduction in funding for 2004 if Congress' cuts are passed.
Of the approximately 370 AmeriCorps jobs in Buffalo, about 350 are likely to be cut next year, according to Lazzara, who added that UB students constitute 10 percent of the Buffalo AmeriCorps program.
In return for their participation in AmeriCorps, students are given an annual stipend of $4,725 and tuition assistance. AmeriCorps also offers a service that pays off the interest that accrues on student loans.
William Paris, a senior philosophy major and AmeriCorps participant, expressed his concern for the future of the program.
"It's all up in the air right now," said Paris. "It's kind of scary that they're going to cut something that is so vital to the community."
Lazzara said he viewed AmeriCorps as beneficial to both the community and student participants.
"In the interim before employment, it gives students an opportunity to serve their country," Lazzara said.
At UB, students that are members of AmeriCorps function primarily as tutors for children in Erie County schools. Paris has been part of AmeriCorps since January, working as an urban specialist for The Boy Scouts of America.
Paris is an administrator for an adult leadership program that teaches scoutmasters how to lead their troops. He is also involved in programs that teach Microsoft PowerPoint and basic business structures to inner-city kids in Buffalo.
"With AmeriCorps I am able to give back to the community in a way that would never be possible without it," said Paris.
Although he would like to serve a second term with the agency, Paris' future employment with AmeriCorps is currently on hiatus because of the action threatened by Congress.
The cuts are a backlash to the overspending that plagued AmeriCorps last year. The agency took on too many employees, which resulted in a multi-million dollar trust fund debt, according to published reports.
Furthermore, evidence was found proving Americorps had given bonuses to top managers and other employees totaling over $400,000.
Although many of AmeriCorps' managers have left the organization, Congress has not shown any desire to help the organization.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) and John McCain (R-Arizona) pledged to take part in a 100 hour protest in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday asking Congress for $200 million towards AmeriCorps, said Lazzara.
