Designating June 16, 2023, as National Service and Conservation Corps Day.

Designating June 16, 2023, as National Service and Conservation Corps Day. Whereas there exists a network of more than 150 Service and Conservation Corps across the United States that provides education, workforce development, and support services to approximately 22,000 young adults and post-9/11 veterans annually; Whereas the Service and Conservation Corps are locally-based organizations that engage young adults between 18 and 30 years of age and veterans younger than 35 years of age in service projects that address recreation, conservation, disaster response, and community needs; Whereas the Service and Conservation Corps are direct descendants of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Great Depression-era Federal work relief program in existence from 1933 to 1942 that (1) mobilized 3,000,000 young men to dramatically improve the public lands of the United States; (2) provided participants with food, shelter, education, and a $30 per month stipend; and (3) planted 3,000,000,000 trees and helped build trails, roads, campgrounds, and other park infrastructure still in use today; Whereas April 5, 2023, was the 90th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps with a presidential Executive order (Executive Order 6101 (relating to relief of unemployment through the performance of useful public work)); Whereas, unlike the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was a large, Federal program that was only open to young men, while Black and Native American participants faced discrimination, modern Service and Conservation Corps are equitable, diverse, and inclusive; Whereas most modern Service and Conservation Corps are nonprofit organizations or are operated by units of State or local government; Whereas, through public-private partnerships, Service and Conservation Corps work with a range of organizations, government agencies, and institutions to engage Corps participants in meaningful projects that address local and national issues; Whereas, throughout a term of service that could last from a few months to a year, Corps participants experience the Corps Model (1) gaining work experience and developing in-demand skills; (2) serving on crews alongside other young adults, or in individual placement (3) receiving a stipend or living allowance and often an education award or scholarship upon completion of service; and (4) receiving educational programming, mentoring, and access to career and personal counseling; Whereas some Service and Conservation Corps operate or partner with charter schools to help Corps participants earn their high school diploma or GED certificate; Whereas Corps participants complete thousands of community improvement, resilience, and resource conservation projects every year; Whereas Service and Conservation Corps have longstanding partnerships with Federal, State, and local community development and resource management agencies to engage Corps participants in meaningful and necessary projects across the United States; Whereas Corps projects include (1) enhancing neighborhoods and community public spaces, including urban gardens; (2) preserving and protecting public lands, shorelines, waterways, habitats, and wildlife; (3) preserving historic structures; (4) providing access to and enhancing recreation on public lands and waters; (5) enhancing resilience to climate change and natural disasters; (6) mitigating, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires; (7) improving energy efficiency and resource conservation; and (8) building and maintaining alternative transportation and sustainable infrastructure; Whereas the United States urgently needs to transition to more sustainable infrastructure, respond to decades of deferred maintenance on public lands and waters, restore critical ecosystems, and make communities more resilient to climate change; Whereas unemployment and barriers to opportunity affect millions of young people in the United States and disproportionately affect young people of color; and Whereas the existing network of more than 150 Service and Conservation Corps is ready to meet the needs of young people in the United States: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate (1) designates June 16, 2023, as National Service and Conservation Corps Day; (2) congratulates the existing network of more than 150 Service and Conservation Corps on their contributions to the United States; (3) urges the people of the United States to recognize the importance of national service; and (4) supports the continuation and expansion of the national network of Service and Conservation Corps.

Summary: This resolution designates June 16, 2023, as National Service and Conservation Corps Day.