[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4220 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4220
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a
National Climate Service Corps to help communities withstand and
respond to changes in the Earth's climate with respect to natural
disasters, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 29, 2021
Ms. Chu (for herself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Titus,
and Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a
National Climate Service Corps to help communities withstand and
respond to changes in the Earth's climate with respect to natural
disasters, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Climate Service Corps and
Careers Network Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Every region of the United States is confronting the
effects of climate change and related natural disasters,
including extreme heat and droughts, heavy rains and flooding,
hurricanes and tornadoes, acidification of the oceans and sea
level rise, wildfires, and mudslides, among other effects.
(2) These changes affect the health, agriculture, food
supply, infrastructure, energy supply, water quality and water
supply, and have the potential to reduce the standard of living
and quality of life in the United States.
(3) The Fourth National Climate Assessment estimates that
low-income communities will be disproportionately impacted by
climate change through higher rates of adverse health
conditions, greater exposure to environmental hazards, and more
severe impacts and longer recovery from natural disasters.
(4) The Fourth National Climate Assessment estimates that--
(A) climate change will shrink the American economy
by up to 10 percent by the year 2100 and will result in
losses up to $141,000,000,000 from heat-related deaths,
$118,000,000,000 from sea level rise, and
$32,000,000,000 from infrastructure damage; and
(B) proactive adaptation initiatives yield benefits
in excess of their costs in both the near term and long
term.
(5) The frequency and severity of natural disasters taking
place each year is steadily and significantly increasing. In
1970, there were 78 registered natural disasters. In 2017,
there were 335 natural disasters, impacting approximately
96,000,000 people and costing the United States more than
$306,000,000,000.
(6) Service and Conservation Corps, which are descended
from the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, are trained
for and have experience with the four stages of disaster:
mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
(7) During the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change did not
stop. The existing network of 137 Service and Conservation
Corps continued to respond to the needs of their communities.
This included fighting wildfires to controlling erosion.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL CLIMATE SERVICE CORPS.
(a) In General.--Section 122(a) of the National and Community
Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs
(5) and (6), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new
paragraph:
``(4) National climate service corps.--
``(A) Purpose.--
``(i) In general.--The recipient may carry
out national service projects through a Climate
Service Corps that improves community
adaptation, mitigation, preparedness, response,
and recovery from natural disaster and other
trends related to climate change through
activities such as those described in
subparagraph (B) and improves performance on
the indicators described in subparagraph (C).
``(ii) Selection priority.--In selecting
national service projects to carry out under
this paragraph, the recipient shall, to the
extent practicable, carry out projects in
communities that are disproportionately
impacted by climate and severe weather events,
including from communities of color, low-income
communities, and tribal communities.
``(B) Activities.--
``(i) In general.--A Climate Service Corps
described in this paragraph may carry out
activities, including--
``(I) assessing community
resilience to the effects of climate
change;
``(II) supporting climate
adaptation and mitigation of the
negative effects of climate change;
``(III) environmental
sustainability and resiliency;
``(IV) emergency preparedness;
``(V) promoting sustainable and
resilient communities;
``(VI) assisting with recovery from
disasters to rebuild in a manner that
provides improved resilience or
adaptation for future climate impacts;
``(VII) assisting with prevention,
recovery, or restoration of wildland,
rangeland, and wildland-urban interface
areas from the effects of wildfire and
associated impacts due to the effects
of climate change; or
``(VIII) other relevant activities,
as determined by the Corporation.
``(ii) Participation.--In addition to the
requirements for participants under section
137, in carrying out national service projects
under this paragraph, the recipient shall, to
the extent practicable--
``(I) select as participants
individuals who are at least 16 but not
more than 30 years of age (including
out of-school youth and other
disadvantaged youth (such as
individuals who are aging out of foster
care, individuals who have limited
English proficiency, homeless
individuals, and individuals with
disabilities)), and veterans who have
not reached the age of 36, at the time
of beginning the term of service; and
``(II) provide each participant
with team-based, highly structured, and
adult-supervised work experience,
education, career guidance, and
counseling, and employment training,
support services, and mentoring.
``(C) National climate service corps indicators.--
The indicators for a Climate Resiliency Service Corps
program described in this paragraph are--
``(i) the number of acres, miles, homes,
buildings or infrastructure projects built,
improved, or treated for improved resilience
and adaptation;
``(ii) the number of individuals educated
about and prepared for disasters and other
trends related to climate change;
``(iii) the number of individuals assisted,
including those rescued, evacuated, or provided
shelter;
``(iv) the number of tons of debris
collected;
``(v) the number of homes or buildings
treated, including those boarded up, tarped,
mucked, or gutted during disaster response;
``(vi) the number of acres, homes, or
buildings restored during disaster recovery;
``(vii) the number of trees and plants
planted;
``(viii) the number of infrastructure
projects undertaken to improve resilience
against future natural disasters;
``(ix) the number of economically
disadvantaged individuals with access to job
training and other skill enhancement;
``(x) the number of economically
disadvantaged individuals with access to
information about job placement services;
``(xi) the number of individuals receiving
education or training in environmentally
conscious practices;
``(xii) any additional indicator relating
to natural disaster and other trends that the
Corporation establishes, in consultation (as
appropriate), with the Secretaries of the
Departments of the Interior, Agriculture,
Commerce, and Defense, the Director of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency; and
``(xiii) any additional local indicator
applicable to a particular recipient and on
which an improvement in performance is needed
related to climate change.
``(D) Living allowance.--Notwithstanding section
140(a), no participant shall receive a living allowance
that is less than the equivalent of $15 per hour.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 122 of the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572), as amended by
subsection (a), is further amended--
(1) in paragraph (b)(3), by striking ``or (5)'' and
inserting ``(5), or (6)''; and
(2) in paragraph (c)(1), by striking ``(5)'' and inserting
``(6)''.
SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TASK FORCE.
(a) In General.--Each recipient of a subgrant under section 122(a)
of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572(a))
that receives such subgrant for the purpose of establishing a National
Climate Service Corps in a subdivision of a State shall ensure that
such Corps forms an Environmental Justice Task Force (in this section
referred to as the ``Task Force'') to advise and consult on community-
based projects and recruitment.
(b) Duties.--Each Task Force shall have an advisory role in agenda-
setting and shall prioritize projects that address environmental
justice and benefit communities that have suffered systemic racial,
social, and economic injustices, and face a disproportionate burden of
adverse human health or environmental effects.
(c) Composition.--Each Task force shall include--
(1) local elected officials;
(2) local educators;
(3) faith-based leaders;
(4) veterans advocates;
(5) State and local service corps leadership; and
(6) community leaders.
SEC. 5. COOPERATION AMONG STATES FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
(a) Agreements Between States.--States that provide subgrants to
State or nonprofit entities that engage in National Climate Service
Corps activities under section 122(a)(4) of the National and Community
Service Act of 1990, added by section 3(2), or States that have
nonprofit organizations receiving funding under the national service
laws (as defined in section 101 of the National and Community Service
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511)) and that are engaging in similar
activities (referred to as ``participating States'') may enter into a
compact with other participating States to provide for mutual
cooperation to manage any emergency or disaster that is duly declared
by the affected State.
(b) Participating State Responsibilities.--
(1) Requests for assistance.--The authorized representative
of a participating State may request assistance of the National
Climate Service Corps or of such nonprofit organizations of
another participating State by contacting the authorized
representative of that State. The provisions of the compact
described in subsection (a) shall only apply to requests for
assistance made by and to such authorized representatives.
(2) Consultation.--The State officials of participating
States shall ensure--
(A) that there is frequent consultation between
State officials who are assigned emergency management
responsibilities, and other appropriate representatives
of the participating States, with the relevant
officials of affected jurisdictions and with the
relevant officials of the Federal Government; and
(B) the free exchange of information, plans, and
resource records relating to emergency capabilities.
SEC. 6. CLIMATE RESILIENCY AMERICORPS VISTA.
Section 103(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42
U.S.C. 4953(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) after subsection (13), by adding the following:
``(14) in addressing the capacity of low-income communities
to implement projects that increase resilience to shocks and
stressors resulting from climate change.''.
SEC. 7. NONCOMPETITIVE HIRING AUTHORITY.
A qualified corps member under section 122 of the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572) shall be eligible for
appointment in the competitive service in the same manner as a Peace
Corps volunteer as prescribed in Executive Order 11103 (22 U.S.C. 2504
note, relating to Providing for the Appointment of Former Peace Corps
Volunteers to the Civilian Career Services).
SEC. 8. CLIMATE CAREERS NETWORK.
(a) In General.--The Corporation (acting through the Employers of
National Service initiative), in consultation with the Departments of
Energy, Agriculture, Education, Labor, Interior, Transportation,
Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other relevant
Federal agencies, as determined to be appropriate by the Corporation,
shall establish a program to be known as the ``Climate Careers
Network'' to carry out the activities described in subsection (b) for
the purposes of--
(1) addressing the challenge of job placement in a clean
energy economy; and
(2) supporting individuals--
(A) who have completed service in the National
Climate Service Corps; and
(B) of all ages and backgrounds who want to get
involved in growing green industries in the United
States.
(b) Activities of the Climate Careers Network.--The activities
described in this subsection are as follows:
(1) Creating and maintaining a database that outlines
opportunities for individuals who have completed service in the
National Climate Service Corps and other individuals, and that
includes information related to opportunities for those
individuals in a clean energy economy.
(2) Establishing direct partnerships between the Climate
Careers Network program and existing infrastructure for
relevant training and job placement in order to connect
individuals with new jobs and lifelong careers, such as
partnerships with 2 or more of the following:
(A) Labor organizations or joint labor management
organizations.
(B) Employers.
(C) High schools and adult education programs.
(D) Nonprofit organizations with demonstrated
success in areas of clean energy and climate change
mitigation activities.
(E) Institutions of higher education.
(F) Community development organizations.
(G) State and local workforce development boards
established under title I of the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.).
(H) Career and technical education providers,
including those that award credentials and build career
pathways.
(I) Other entities that may provide relevant direct
employment opportunities.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Corporation.--The term ``Corporation'' means the
Corporation for National and Community Service established
under section 191 of the National and Community Service Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12651).
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
SEC. 9. MATCHING FUNDS WAIVER.
The matching funds requirements under section 212(a)(1) of the
Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1729(a)(1)) and section
121(e) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12571(e)) shall be waived for projects carried out using amounts made
available under this Act or the amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated--
(1) $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through
2026 to carry out section 3;
(2) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026
to carry out section 8; and
(3) for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, such sums
as may be necessary to provide national service educational
awards under subtitle D of title I of the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.) for the
members of the National Climate Service Corps for such fiscal
year.
SEC. 11. NATIONAL CLIMATE SERVICE CORPS DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``National Climate Service Corps'' means the
National Climate Service Corps described in section 122(a)(4) of the
National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572(a)(4)), as
added by section 3.
<all>