PRESIDENT BUSH says encouraging national service is the centerpiece of his domestic priorities. He has called for boosting the AmeriCorps program's enrollment from 50,000 to 75,000; volunteers who devote a year of their lives to such programs as tutoring children or building houses for the homeless get a small stipend and a $4,725 grant to pay for college or graduate school or to repay student loans. But a combination of managerial mishaps and a post-9/11 surge in volunteers has threatened the program's ability to get anywhere close to even the 50,000 level this year. The Senate, with an unaccustomed display of bipartisanship, has moved admirably to address the crisis by adding $100 million to a pending $1.9 billion supplemental spending bill directed mostly toward disaster relief. The money would pay for another 20,000 slots, bringing the program somewhere near the existing level.

But the House is refusing to include that money -- despite the fact that a majority of members are on record supporting it. Its stance is couched in terms of wanting to ensure that the managerial failings are fixed, but in fact the hostility of some members stems in no small measure from the fact that AmeriCorps is one of the signature legacies of former president Clinton. National service is not -- at least it shouldn't be -- a partisan matter, as a letter this week from more than 40 of the nation's governors demonstrates. The group, including the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), calls for extra funding -- the governors say $200 million -- to avoid "devastating" cuts in programs.

And from the White House? Silence would have been bad enough -- but administration spokesmen are affirmatively rejecting the idea of extra help. Behind the scenes, some of those involved in the battle believe, Mr. Bush may be more open to extra funding. Let's hope so.