I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1394 
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish 
the Clean Energy Corps to mobilize young people to promote energy 
conservation and mitigate threats to the environment. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2009 
Mr. INSLEE (for himself and Mr. SARBANES) 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 the Clean Energy Corps to mobilize young 
people to promote energy conservation and mitigate 
threats to the environment. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Energy Corps 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY 
SERVICE ACT OF 1990. 
Title I of the National and Community Service Act 
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘Subtitle J—Clean Energy Corps 
‘‘SEC. 199P. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 
‘‘The Corporation for National and Community Serv-
ice (in this title referred to as the ‘Corporation’) shall 
make grants to States and eligible entities for the creation 
or expansion of full-time or part-time Clean Energy Corps 
programs. 
‘‘SEC. 199Q. APPLICATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this subtitle, a State or eligible entity shall submit 
an application to the Corporation at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Corpora-
tion may reasonably require. 
‘‘(b) PROCESS.—The Corporation shall consult with 
state and local Conservation Corps in the development of 
the application guidelines. 
‘‘(c) DISADVANTAGED YOUTH.—To acknowledge the 
focused enrollment of disadvantaged youth and young 
adults in the Clean Energy Corps, the Corporation shall— 
‘‘(1) allow a higher cost-per-member to enable 
Clean Energy Corps programs to provide the nec-
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essary supportive services to ensure the success of 
the participants; and 
‘‘(2) allow for greater flexibility in retention 
rates. 
‘‘(d) CONSIDERATION OF RESIDENTIAL CORPS.—The 
Corporation shall allow for equal consideration of residen-
tial Corps program opportunities since residential Corps 
thrive in rural areas that commonly lack opportunities for 
young adults, enable the participation for emancipated 
foster youth, gang involved youth, and others lacking a 
safe and stable home environment, allow for more struc-
tured time for work, training, education and counseling, 
and provide disaster response-ready crews immediately 
upon request. 
‘‘(e) EQUITABLE TREATMENT.—In the consideration 
of applications, the Corporation shall ensure the equitable 
treatment of both urban and rural areas. 
‘‘SEC. 199R. FOCUS OF PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Programs that receive assistance 
under this subtitle may carry out activities that— 
‘‘(1) meet an identifiable public need with spe-
cific emphasis on projects in support of energy con-
servation, infrastructure and transportation improve-
ment, and emergency operations, including— 
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‘‘(A) improving the energy efficiency of 
housing for elderly and low-income people; 
‘‘(B) building energy-efficient ‘‘green’’ 
housing for elderly and low-income people; 
‘‘(C) environmental education and energy 
conservation education for elementary and sec-
ondary school students and the public; 
‘‘(D) reusing and recycling including 
deconstruction; 
‘‘(E) the repair, renovation, or rehabilita-
tion of an existing infrastructure facility includ-
ing, but not limited to, rail, mass transpor-
tation, ports, inland navigation, schools and 
hospitals; 
‘‘(F) transportation enhancements; 
‘‘(G) recreational trails improvements, in-
cluding those that enable alternative means of 
transportation and ensure safe use; 
‘‘(H) transformation of military bases af-
fected by the Base Realignment and Closing 
process (BRAC) to green the space; 
‘‘(I) tree planting and reforestation; 
‘‘(J) renewable resource enhancement; and 
‘‘(K) assisting in emergency operations, 
such as disaster prevention and relief; and 
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‘‘(2) provide opportunities for youth and young 
adults, especially disadvantaged youth, to be trained 
for careers related to the activities listed in para-
graph (1), including those that will be part of the 
emerging field of ‘‘green collar’’ jobs. 
‘‘(b) GOALS OF THE CLEAN ENERGY CORPS.—The 
goals of the Clean Energy Corps are to— 
‘‘(1) promote clean energy use and preserve, 
protect, and sustain the environment; 
‘‘(2) provide young adults with opportunities to 
become better citizens, students and workers 
through meaningful service to their communities and 
the Nation; 
‘‘(3) mobilize youth and young adults, especially 
disadvantaged youth, to promote energy conservation 
and mitigate threats to the environment; and 
‘‘(4) provide a pathway to responsible adulthood 
and productive, unsubsidized employment in the pri-
vate sector. 
‘‘SEC. 199S. TRAINING AND EDUCATION SERVICES. 
‘‘All applicants must describe how they intend to— 
‘‘(1) assess the skills of Corpsmembers; 
‘‘(2) provide life skills and work skills training; 
‘‘(3) provide training and education; 
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‘‘(4) develop agreements for academic study 
with— 
‘‘(A) local education agencies; 
‘‘(B) community colleges; 
‘‘(C) 4-year colleges; 
‘‘(D) area charter high schools and voca-
tional-technical schools; and 
‘‘(E) community-based organizations; 
‘‘(5) provide career and educational guidance; 
and 
‘‘(6) Recruit participants without high school 
diplomas. 
‘‘SEC. 199T. PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. 
‘‘In the consideration of applications the Corporation 
shall give preference to programs that are discrete and— 
‘‘(1) meet an identifiable public need; 
‘‘(2) instill a work ethic and a sense of public 
service in the participants; 
‘‘(3) involve youth operating in crews or a 
team-based structure; and 
‘‘(4) enhance skills development and educational 
level and opportunities for the participants. 
‘‘SEC. 199U. PARTICIPANTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Age enrollment in programs that 
receive assistance under this subtitle shall be limited to 
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individuals who, at the time of enrollment, are not less 
than 18 years nor more than 25 years of age, except that 
summer programs may include individuals not less than 
14 years or more than 21 years of age at the time of the 
enrollment of such individuals. 
‘‘(b) PARTICIPATION OF DISADVANTAGED YOUTH.— 
Programs that receive assistance under this subtitle shall 
ensure that at least 50 percent of the participants are eco-
nomically disadvantaged youth. 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL
CORPSMEMBERS.—Notwithstanding 
subsection (a) of this section, program agencies may enroll 
a limited number of special Corpsmembers over age 25 
so that the Clean Energy Corps may draw on their special 
skills to fulfill the purposes of this subtitle. 
‘‘SEC. 199V. USE OF VOLUNTEERS. 
‘‘The use of volunteer services under this section shall 
be subject to the condition that such use does not result 
in the displacement of any participant. 
‘‘SEC. 199W. COOPERATION AMONG STATES FOR EMER-
GENCY RESPONSE. 
‘‘(a) AGREEMENTS BETWEEN STATES.—States oper-
ating a Clean Energy Corps may enter into a compact 
with participating States to provide for mutual coopera-
tion to manage any emergency or disaster that is duly de-
clared by the affected State. 
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‘‘(b) PARTICIPATING STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) The authorized representative of a partici-
pating State may request assistance of another party 
by contracting the authorized representative of that 
State. The provisions of this agreement shall only 
apply to requests for assistance made by and to au-
thorized representatives. 
‘‘(2) There shall be frequent consultation be-
tween State officials who have assigned emergency 
management responsibilities and other appropriate 
representatives of the party States with affected ju-
risdictions and the United States Government, with 
free exchange of information, plans, and resource 
records relating to emergency capabilities. 
‘‘SEC. 199X. FEDERAL SHARE. 
‘‘The Federal share of the cost of carrying out an 
Clean Energy Corps program for which a grant is made 
under this subtitle is 76 percent of the total cost of the 
program. 
‘‘SEC. 199Y. BEST PRACTICES. 
‘‘(a) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 
Corporation shall provide technical assistance to grantees 
that request assistance and shall disseminate best prac-
tices that emerge from the Clean Energy Corps. 
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‘‘(b) CONTRACT.—In providing training and technical 
assistance, the Corporation shall contract with a national 
organization with a proven track record of developing and 
sustaining Corps, working with the Conservation Corps 
model, and engaging young people from disadvantaged 
backgrounds. 
‘‘SEC. 199Z. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 
2010 through 2014 to achieve the purposes of this sub-
title. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appropriated to 
carry out this subtitle for each fiscal year— 
‘‘(1) 90 percent shall be for grants to eligible 
entities; 
‘‘(2) 5 percent shall be technical assistance, and 
dissemination of best practices; and 
‘‘(3) 5 percent shall be for evaluation.’’. 
Æ 
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