Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, filed an amended lawsuit challenging the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) attempt to gut AmeriCorps by withholding tens of millions of dollars in funding for critical service programs.
In June, Raoul and the coalition won a court order that reinstated hundreds of AmeriCorps programs that were unlawfully canceled, and barred AmeriCorps from making similar cuts without formal rulemaking. Despite this order, OMB is withholding funding intended for outstanding service programs, threatening their survival and the well-being of those who depend on their services. Raoul and the coalition filed an amended lawsuit that adds OMB and its director as defendants and brings new legal claims against them.
“More than 1 million Americans have participated in AmeriCorps because they wanted to serve veterans and children, protect the environment and improve the quality of life in their communities,” Raoul said. “The Trump administration is defying a court order with its ongoing, callous attack on an agency that represents the best in America. I will continue to stand with other states to defend AmeriCorps and fight back against this administration’s unlawful actions.”
AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency that engages Americans in meaningful community-based service, provides opportunities for more than 200,000 Americans to serve their communities every year. AmeriCorps supports national and state community service programs by funding and placing volunteers in local and national organizations that address critical community needs. Organizations rely on support from AmeriCorps to recruit, place and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide. In Illinois, AmeriCorps members and volunteers serve students, veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as other programs across the state. The cancelations and withholding of funds have disrupted schools, health systems and services, food banks and other critical community agencies upon which Illinoisans rely.
The lawsuit alleges that OMB has unlawfully withheld from plaintiff states tens of millions of dollars in support intended for specific AmeriCorps programs, across multiple funding streams. For example, OMB appears to have withheld tens of millions of dollars intended for AmeriCorps Senior Companion Programs and Foster Grandparent Programs in plaintiff states, programs that pair low-income seniors with children in need of mentorship and support or with other seniors in need of companionship and care. The administration has also withheld approximately $5 million intended for plaintiff states’ service commissions, including ServeIllinois, which was needed to provide training and technical assistance to service members across the country. And while AmeriCorps decided to fund numerous programs in plaintiff states during the next service year with over $33 million in highly competitive grants, OMB is preparing to withhold these funds from distribution as well.
Raoul and the coalition explain that the Trump administration has acted unlawfully by withholding AmeriCorps funds, violating both the Administrative Procedure Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress created AmeriCorps and appropriated funding to support public service, and neither OMB nor AmeriCorps have authority to defy Congress by refusing to distribute funds to worthy service programs.
Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Colombia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
