Zoe Lofgren: “the President, in the State of the Union in 2002 vowed to increase opportunities in AmeriCorp, and he went all over the…”

“the President, in the State of the Union in 2002 vowed to increase opportunities in AmeriCorp, and he went all over the United States saying that he would increase AmeriCorp by 50 percent, from about 50,000 members to 75,000. However, this program is being destroyed. It has not been funded, the GAO has caused problems, we have not funded the scholarship program, and, in fact, the President's request for fiscal year 2004 actually asked for $40 million less in AmeriCorp grants than he requested in 2003. In San Jose, California, AmeriCorp volunteers are helping young students with tutoring, recycling, doing volunteerism and really making our community better. So I am here today to say the President did not tell the truth to the American people in the State of the Union. He lied to the American people around the country when he promised to expand this program.”