[W]ASHINGTON — Vermont’s congressional delegation announced more than $5 million in federal grants on Thursday, to support everything from AmeriCorps to the University of Vermont.
Of the total grants, $3 million was awarded to AmeriCorps efforts, with $1.3 million directed to state universities and another $700,000 for environmental cleanup efforts.
In a series of joint statements announcing the grants, U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., along with U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., cheered the awards, but noted that Republican President Donald Trump is looking to cut these funding sources in his 2018 budget.
Under Trump’s recently announced fiscal year 2018 budget plan, for example, federal funding for AmeriCorps would be virtually eliminated.
“AmeriCorps continues to make an enormous impact on the lives of people in Vermont and throughout the United States,” the delegation said Thursday. “We are pleased these funds will allow volunteers to continue to do this important work.”
The AmeriCorps allocation to Vermont includes five grants totaling $1.6 million, which will support 191 members of the community service organization for various projects, from environmental conservation to work pursuing opioid abuse prevention strategies. An additional $743,628 will go to education scholarships for some of the 340 AmeriCorps members in Vermont.
The federal investment is projected to generate an additional $3 million in local support to increase community impact and return on federal investment.
Since AmeriCorps’ founding in 1994, nearly $18 million in scholarships has been directed to Vermonters.
The funding for AmeriCorps comes from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the agency tasked with supporting volunteer and service programs across the country. Between 2016 and 2017, CNCS committed more than $6.2 million to support Vermont communities through service projects administered by groups including AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity.
In addition to the AmeriCorps money, CNCS will also distribute $644,642 to the Vermont Commission on National and Community Service, the governor-appointed state service commission.
Vermont often fares well in the competitive granting process for AmeriCorps money. Last June, the congressional delegation announced $2.1 million in AmeriCorps funding, and the delegation said that additional grants would be announced later this summer.
Below is a listing compiled by the congressional delegation of the 2017 AmeriCorps competitive grants in Vermont:
• The DREAM Program National Grant (Winooski) – AmeriCorps members will mentor disadvantaged Vermont youth, helping to close the opportunity gap for children in low-income housing. These AmeriCorps members will build trusted relationships, boost educational aspirations and expectations and establish a base of learning experiences. (47 AmeriCorps members)
• ECO Vermont (Montpelier) – AmeriCorps members will protect and improve water quality in the Lake Champlain watershed, educate community members on water quality issues, implement watershed restoration projects and improve public lands. (24 AmeriCorps members)
• Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (Richmond) – AmeriCorps members will engage Youth Crew Members in conservation and food security projects, including delivering fresh food to Vermonters. (40 AmeriCorps members)
• Vermont Housing and Conservation Board AmeriCorps (Montpelier) – AmeriCorps members will deliver affordable housing and environmental stewardship/education services through 30 nonprofits across the state. (36 AmeriCorps members)
• Vermont Youth Development Corps (Montpelier) – AmeriCorps members will foster positive development in youth, helping them avoid opioid abuse and other unhealthy behaviors. (44 AmeriCorps members)
Vermont was also awarded $1.3 million from the Department of Education’s Upward Bound program. The money — split between UVM, Castleton University and Johnson and Lyndon State Colleges — aims to help first-generation and low-income students attain post-secondary education through assistance like college counseling and financial aid assistance.
The fiscal year 2017 federal appropriations bill, whose lead Democratic negotiator was Leahy, included a $50 million increase for college aid programs known as TRIO. Trump has called for cuts to this program.
“With only a fraction of low-income Vermont high school graduates continuing to college and only a one-third of all adults in Vermont having a bachelor’s degree or higher, TRIO programs such as Upward Bound are integral to helping our state close the skills gap,” said Jennifer Jones, Castleton University’s director, in a statement announcing the awards. “Upward Bound has a profound impact on our families, and helps prepare low-income students for the rigor of a college education and helps them acquire the skills needed for this new economy.”
Lastly, the delegation announced $700,000 in grants for brownfield cleanup sites through the Environmental Protection Agency. These grants support the cleanup and commercial redevelopment of polluted sites. The City Market grocery store in the south end of Burlington is an example of a former brownfield site.
Trump is hoping to cut the EPA by 31 percent in 2018, an idea rejected by the congressional delegation and many other members of Congress, including Republicans.
“EPA Brownfield assessment and cleanup grants have been extremely important to Vermont communities from Burlington to Brattleboro, allowing the reuse of older industrial sites and revitalization of our historic town and city centers,” the delegation said in a statement Thursday. “Vermonters’ commitments to environmental quality and community development have put us at the forefront of brownfields redevelopment nationally, and we will do everything possible to see that this important EPA program continues in future years.”
Below is a breakdown compiled by the congressional delegation of the recently announced brownfield grants:
• The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center has been granted $200,000 for cleanup of 11 Arch St., on the Connecticut River. The contaminated property was previously an electrical generating station as well as a machine shop and, at one time, a grist mill. Cleanup of this site will allow it to become part of a larger mixed use redevelopment project in downtown Brattleboro.
“This grant will enable the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center to begin the process of transforming a neglected, contaminated property in the heart of downtown Brattleboro into a valuable community asset,” said Danny Lichtenfeld, the museum’s director. “Thanks to the EPA and our congressional delegation, what is now a boarded-up eyesore will soon become a thriving hub of cultural and economic activity.”
• Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation has been awarded $200,000 to clean up the former Robertson Paper Mill site in Bellows Falls. This site also has a long industrial history, having also been used as a foundry and machine shop. With the help of these federal funds the structures on the site will be demolished and the property restored in order to allow it to be marketed for a new use.
• The Bennington County Regional Commission has been awarded two brownfields assessment grants totaling $300,000. The funds will be used to complete environmental site assessments and prepare cleanup plans for Bennington’s state designated Growth Center, and to support community outreach.
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