PCCC memo to AmeriCorps (August 2022): With recent historic investments in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), there are opportunities to expand national service to meet key climate priorities by leveraging funding that has already been appropriated through partnerships between AmeriCorps and other federal agencies.
While these investments provide an opportunity and roadmap to expand environmental resilience and mitigation work, additional investments like those envisioned in budget reconciliation are necessary to fully commit to the vision that the President and Congress have outlined. This memo outlines recommendations for establishing a necessary foundation, but is not nearly sufficient to develop a new climate resilience and mitigation corps on the scale necessary to match the urgent challenges faced in communities across the country.