Kaptur, 60+ House Members Call for $30 Billion Investment in Civilian Climate Corps
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) released the following statement after leading a letter with Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for the inclusion of $30 billion within the Build Back Better agenda to create a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC). The CCC, if enacted, would support conservation and climate resilience efforts while creating good-paying jobs in Great Lakes communities and beyond.
As Congress works to advance the infrastructure and reconciliation bills as part of the Build Back Better agenda, several CCC proposals have been introduced which would create Middle Class jobs focused on weatherizing homes, installing solar infrastructure, mitigating coastal erosion, preventing fires and flooding, constructing and maintaining public trails, and more.
On September 10, Rep. Kaptur introduced her 21st Century Civilian Conservation and Climate Corps Act – legislation she has sponsored in every Congress since the financial crisis of 2008. Unlike other CCC proposals, Rep. Kaptur's would require a whole of government approach for a Corps program involving the U.S. Departments of Labor, Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Commerce, as well as the National Guard Bureau, Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, and state and local governments.
"From the West and Great Plains, to the Coasts and Great Lakes, we are witnessing the wreckage brought about by a changing climate whose ferocity knows no bounds," said Rep. Kaptur. "Our success in tackling this challenge will require bold, innovative strategies commensurate with the scope of the threats we face. Fully funding a Civilian Climate Corps will help to create the good-paying jobs necessary to conserve our environment, and set us on a path toward a brighter, more sustainable future."
The House and Senate are currently considering the various CCC proposals for possible inclusion in the Build Back Better legislation.
The letter led by Reps. Kaptur, Rush, Neguse, Chu, and Ocasio-Cortez – and signed by more than 60 Members of Congress – can be found here. Rep. Kaptur's 21st Century Civilian Conservation and Climate Corps bill can be found here.
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For more information, contact Chris Dalton at chris.dalton@mail.house.gov or (202) 897-7438.