Recommendations and Successes

Comments for the Corporation for National and Community Service

In August, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced it is seeking public input on its draft 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. This plan will define the agency’s mission, goals, and the means by which they will measure progress for the next five years. It will also inform their funding opportunities, program guidance, and other resource decisions. The Corps Network recently submitted comments, which you can view here. To learn more about the CNCS strategic plan, please visit their website.

Recommendations

In December, 2008, The Corps Network issued recommendations to the incoming administration outlining how expansion of Service and Conservation Corps could create jobs for thousands of young people, combat climate change, support the nation’s land and infrastructure needs, and unite a generation in the spirit of service. We are proud to say that to date, many of The Corps Network’s policy recommendations have become law or are wrapped into legislation currently moving through Congress. Review our policy priorities below, along with important updates concerning implementation. Read the full text of The Corps Network's original transition memo to then President-elect Obama.

Recommendation

Establish a Clean Energy Service Corps (CESC) by urging the House and Senate to pass and quickly fund a national service reauthorization bill that combines the GIVE Act and the Serve America Act. The CESC can save energy and channel youth into the new green jobs performing energy conservation installations, building energy efficient "green" housing for elderly and low-income people, performing transportation enhancements and recreational trail improvements. For a detailed analysis, read the white paper "The Clean Energy Service Corps."

Clean Energy Service Corps Is Law

The president signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law in April 2009. As part of this landmark legislation, the Clean Energy Service Corps was created, establishing a grant program for clean energy projects for Corps across the country. The Corporation for National and Community Service administers the grant program.

Recommendation

Establish line-item funding within the Department of Labor or within the Corporation for National and Community Service to fund Service and Conservation Corps nationwide. Address national environmental issues while providing training and development of a green workforce drawn from the most impoverished communities.

Youth Corps Act and Jobs Bill to Build Youth Employment

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) are introducing the Youth Corps Act of 2010, a bill that would add a permanent line-item in the Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Act. Specifically, this legislation will create a grant program within the Department of Labor to provide funding for youth Service and Conservation Corps to access in order to provide education and job training to at-risk youth across the nation.

The House Jobs Bill, the “Jobs for Main Street Act” further singles out The Corps Network. In the legislation, under provision regarding the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, the bill says these agencies “shall utilize, to the maximum extent practicable, the Public Lands Corps, Youth Conservation Corps, Student Conservation Association, Jobs Corps, Corps Network members, and other related partnerships with Federal, State, local, tribal or non-profit groups that serve young adults, underserved and minority populations, veterans, and special needs individuals.” The Senate will be taking up a jobs bill in the near future, and The Corps Network is working to make sure that Corps are spotlighted in that language as well.

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. This stimulus package provided nearly $30 million in federal funds to Corps operating in 23 states. This funding allowed Corps to work on projects through 10 federal agencies, and put countless young people to work on projects to better themselves and their communities. Read Corps: Jobs Today, A Lifetime of Service Tomorrow to learn how Corps can assist in the nation’s economic recovery.

Recommendation

Provide full funding to the Departments of Interior and Agriculture for the Healthy Forest Restoration Act Public Lands Corps where volunteers and disconnected young people reduce the National Park Service/Forest Service backlog of projects, restoring large public green spaces. Many PLC participants who develop specialized skills are hired as NPS employees.

Public Lands Service Corps Act

The Corps Network celebrates introduction of HR 1612 and S 1442, the “Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2009, which promote growth in Corps’ work on public lands. Specifically, these bills, would: remove the current $12 million cap on the PLC’s authorization level; expand the authority of the PLC to include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), provide opportunities to Corps located throughout the country; require department-level coordination of youth activities; and, utilize Corps as part of a strategy to develop the next generation of land managers. Please also review Service and Conservation Corps and America’s Public Lands to grasp the scope and potential impact of this legislation. In any effort to better advocate for these bills, The Corps Network has joined with a wide variety of national partners in the Public Lands Service Coalition.

Recommendation

Create a Native American Corps under the authority of the Department of the Interior, to address employment, education, training, and health issues affecting Native American youth on, and off, reservations.

Inclusion in Public Lands Service Corps Act

S 1442, the Public Lands Service Corps Act includes an Indian Youth Corps to support Native American youth working on Tribal Lands. Though the House version of the bill lacks the Indian Youth Corps, The Corps Network’s staff and members are diligently advocating that this important model be included in the final version of the bill.

Remaining Recommendations

Expand the successful Civic Justice Corps model, which re-engages court-involved and formerly incarcerated youth, by passing the Civic Justice Corps Demonstration Act sponsored by Vice President Biden. We have recently released an important policy paper, Civic Justice Corps: Transforming Re-Entry Through Service, outlining the strengths and promise of the Civic Justice Corps model.

Create a Transportation Corps to respond to pressing transportation and infrastructure needs and help train the next generation of transportation workers, building on H.R. 7053, sponsored by Representative Jerrold Nadler.

Explore ways in which to repeal the current prohibition on federal agencies from implementing and funding AmeriCorps programs to address their own priorities. Encourage federal departments and agencies to collaborate, using service as a strategy in response to national needs. State and local Corps can be used to dramatically and effectively leverage the efforts of government agencies. We are a nationwide labor source of environmentally conscious young adults.

Please contact The Corps Network's Government Relations Associate, Sean Garcia, for more details at 202.737.6272 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .