Climate Resiliency Service Corps Act of 2019
This bill establishes the Climate Resiliency Service Corps as a national service program to assist communities in mitigating the effects of natural disasters and other consequences of climate change.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5176 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5176
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a
climate resiliency 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
November 19, 2019
Ms. Judy Chu of California (for herself, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Blumenauer,
Mr. Cisneros, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Lee of
California, Mr. Neguse, and Mr. Grijalva) 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
climate resiliency 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 ``Climate Resiliency Service Corps Act
of 2019''.
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.
SEC. 3. CLIMATE RESILIENCY SERVICE CORPS.
(a) In General.--Section 122(a) of the National and Community
Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572) 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) Climate resiliency service corps.--
``(A) In general.--The recipient may carry out
national service projects through a Climate Resiliency
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).
``(B) Activities.--
``(i) In general.--A Climate Resiliency
Service Corps described in this paragraph may
carry out activities, including--
``(I) mitigating the effects of
disasters and other trends related to
climate change, including--
``(aa) assessing community
resilience;
``(bb) collecting,
monitoring, and analyzing data
related to climate change and
disasters;
``(cc) developing a plan to
improve community resilience
through resilient
infrastructure; and
``(dd) building and
maintaining resilient
infrastructure, including--
``(AA) preserving,
protecting, and
restoring habitat;
``(BB) stabilizing
shorelines;
``(CC) removing
invasive species and
planting native species
of trees, plants and
groundcover;
``(DD) constructing
bioswales and water
bars;
``(EE) improving
drainage systems
through use of
permeable surfaces and
rain gardens;
``(FF) removing
hazardous fuels;
``(GG) conducting
prescribed burns;
``(HH) establishing
defensible space;
``(II) retrofitting
buildings; and
``(JJ) planting
urban forestry, trees,
and landscapes;
``(II) preparing communities for
disaster, including--
``(aa) organizing
community-based resiliency
coalitions and working groups;
``(bb) providing disaster
preparedness or community
emergency response team
training to community-based
organizations and residents;
and
``(cc) providing education
on climate change, disaster,
and resilience at community-
based organizations and
schools;
``(III) responding to disasters,
including--
``(aa) establishing and
managing volunteers,
distribution centers, and
shelters;
``(bb) supporting disaster
response activities and
centers, including fire camps;
``(cc) clearing fallen
trees and branches;
``(dd) boarding up windows
and doors and tarping roofs;
and
``(ee) mucking and gutting
homes and buildings;
``(IV) recovering from disasters,
including--
``(aa) clearing debris;
``(bb) repairing and
rebuilding homes and buildings;
``(cc) replanting native
trees and plants;
``(dd) restoring habitat:
and
``(ee) stabilizing
shoreline and hillsides;
``(V) addressing other unmet
climate change needs as the Corporation
may designate.
``(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 25 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) Climate resiliency 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.''.
(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. 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. 5. NONCOMPETITIVE HIRING AUTHORITY.
A qualified corpsmember 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).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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