Sponsors (17)
The bill would greatly expand and strengthen paid national service—raising stipends, awards, outreach, and governance clarity to broaden access and nonprofit capacity—but does so at significant fiscal cost, with implementation, oversight, politicization, privacy, and quality risks tied to rapid scaling and structural changes.
Young adults and students would gain substantially more paid national service positions and larger educational awards as the bill targets growth (up to 1,000,000 participants by 2036) and increases award levels, expanding access to paid service, training, and tuition help.
National service participants would receive higher stipends/grant caps and keep living allowances and qualifying educational awards tax-free, increasing take-home support for participants and strengthening nonprofit grant funding per position.
Nonprofits, local governments, and underserved communities could get easier access to federal support—through recommended lower matching requirements, flexible cost-sharing, and a larger subsidized workforce—helping expand community programs and services.
Taxpayers and the federal budget face substantially higher costs because scaling toward 1,000,000 participants, raising stipends/grant caps, increasing award amounts, and making awards/allowances tax-exempt will materially raise program spending and reduce federal revenue.
Rapid expansion and guaranteed-placement ambitions risk straining program administration, oversight, and nonprofit partners—potentially lowering placement quality, training, and participant experience as quantity is prioritized over capacity and oversight.
Many benefits depend on future Congressional appropriations or conditional language; if Congress does not provide adequate funding, promised stipend and slot increases could be delayed, partial, or not realized, creating uncertainty for participants and grantees.
Based on analysis of 16 sections of legislative text.
Raises AmeriCorps allowances and award caps, excludes awards and living allowances from taxable income, reclassifies CNCS as an AmeriCorps Administration, and mandates growth to 1,000,000 participants by 2036 with youth outreach.
Introduced March 12, 2026 by John B. Larson · Last progress March 12, 2026
Raises AmeriCorps living allowances and grant caps, creates tax exclusions for national service educational awards and living allowances, reclassifies and renames the Corporation for National and Community Service as an AmeriCorps Administration led by a Director, and directs a multi‑year expansion plan to grow national service to 1,000,000 participants annually by FY2036. It also restructures the Administration’s advisory board, expands the Director’s grant and contracting authorities, requires outreach to 17–30 year‑olds about service opportunities, and mandates several reports and planning steps tied to appropriations. Requires the Administration to produce short‑term and multi‑year plans and reports (including matching‑fund recommendations and interagency evaluations), conditions benefit increases on available appropriations and participant maintenance, changes the education award formula to twice average in‑state public 4‑year tuition, and creates new tax exclusions for awards and living allowances for specified taxable years.