A new Civilian Climate Corps

Dear Friend,

In times of crisis, Americans have always embraced service to their nation. Nearly a century ago, during the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps to provide thousands of out-of-work Americans with opportunities to construct trails, campgrounds, visitor centers, and other important infrastructure on our public lands that laid the foundation for a thriving outdoor industry and long-term economic prosperity.

As an AmeriCorps alum, I was deeply proud to announce last week that I am leading the effort in the Senate to establish a modern day Civilian Climate Corps to mobilize the next generation of conservation and resilience workers. I announced the Civilian Climate Corps Act in Silver City, where AmeriCorps members are helping to restore and repurpose the old Waterworks Building into a waystation for Continental Divide Trail hikers and an outdoor community space that will include a campground, showers, kitchens, bike rentals, and a museum.

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich tours the Silver City Waterworks Building, which is being restored and repurposed into a Continental Divide Trail waystation and outdoor community space, April 8, 2021.

Members of a new Civilian Climate Corps will be able to get to work right away rebuilding crumbling infrastructure like this on our public lands--some of which dates back all the way to the original Civilian Conservation Corps. This will keep growing our outdoor economy, which was fueling some of the fastest job growth in rural communities before the onset of the pandemic. They will also make vital contributions to restore the health of American landscapes and improve our resilience to climate impacts like more extreme wildfires and floods.

President Joe Biden included $10 billion for the new Civilian Climate Corps as part of his overall American Jobs Plan, a proposal to put millions of Americans back to work by making big and bold investments in our infrastructure, in our people, and in our planet. I am eager to work with President Biden and my colleagues in the Senate to get this ambitious legislation across the finish line.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH

United States Senator