Executive orders expected to be signed by President Joe Biden will include an idea borrowed from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the National Wildlife Federation says.
NWF is being told that the orders will “lay out a framework for a 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps,” spokesperson Mike Saccone said. The CCC was used to help the country rebound from the Great Depression.
“This is incredible news given how this type of program can put millions of Americans back to work supporting climate resilience, restoring our public lands and natural resources, and supporting job training and apprenticeships,” Saccone said.
In anticipation of the action, the group’s president and CEO, Collin O’Mara, said an updated CCC “is as close as we have to a silver bullet to address the climate, biodiversity, and unemployment crises facing our nation today.”
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The idea has bipartisan support in Congress, O’Mara said. “We will keep working with our allies on the Hill to ensure we not only create a new Civilian Conservation Corps, but also that it is inclusive, equitable, and supports workers,” he said.
Bills reestablishing a CCC were introduced in both houses of Congress last year. In his clean energy plan while running for president, Biden proposed a Climate Conservation Corps that would, among other things, "restore wetlands to protect clean water supplies and leverage greater flood protection [and] repair dilapidated irrigation systems to conserve water."
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