RENEW Conservation Corps Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8746 To establish a Restore Employment in Natural and Environmental Work Conservation Corps in the Department of the Interior and the Depart- ment of Agriculture, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 12, 2020 Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To establish a Restore Employment in Natural and Environ- mental Work Conservation Corps in the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Employment 4 in Natural and Environmental Work Conservation Corps 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘RENEW Conservation Corps Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8746 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 2 (1) as a result of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 3 (COVID–19) pandemic, more than 40,000,000 peo- 4 ple in the United States have filed claims for unem- 5 ployment benefits since March 2020, which is a level 6 of unemployment not seen since the Great Depres- 7 sion; 8 (2) investments in fish, wildlife, and habitat 9 restoration and outdoor recreation infrastructure 10 generate as many as 33 jobs per $1,000,000 in- 11 vested, as demonstrated by the American Recovery 12 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 13 123 Stat. 115); 14 (3) the outdoor recreation economy— 15 (A) generates $887,000,000,000 in eco- 16 nomic activity each year, which is 2.2 percent 17 of the gross domestic product of the United 18 States, according to the Bureau of Economic 19 Analysis; and 20 (B) was one of the fastest growing sectors 21 of the United States economy before the 22 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pan- 23 demic; 24 (4) the Federal Government and State and local 25 governments and agencies have many ‘‘shovel-ready’’ 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8746 IH projects and green infrastructure maintenance back- 1 log projects that would improve the quality of life, 2 outdoor experiences, and access to outdoor recre- 3 ation opportunities of people of the United States on 4 completion of the projects; 5 (5) many facilities and natural resources lo- 6 cated on dedicated conservation land are in disrepair 7 or degraded and in need of labor-intensive rehabili- 8 tation, restoration, and enhancement work that can- 9 not be carried out at existing staffing levels; 10 (6) enhancing and maintaining environmentally 11 and recreationally important land and waters 12 through the participation of unemployed individuals 13 in the United States in a conservation corps could— 14 (A) provide critical employment, education, 15 and skill development opportunities to the indi- 16 viduals; 17 (B) prepare the individuals for permanent 18 jobs in the conservation field; and 19 (C) benefit the economy and environment 20 of the United States; and 21 (7) existing networks of conservation corps are 22 in place but need additional resources in order to 23 scale up the activities of the conservation corps to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8746 IH meet growing deferred maintenance needs on public 1 land. 2 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 3 (1) to employ, during the 5-year period begin- 4 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, a total 5 of 1,000,000 people in the United States in dedi- 6 cated conservation land projects to support the 7 growing backlog of deferred conservation land 8 projects; 9 (2) to expose Participants to public service 10 while furthering the understanding and appreciation 11 of the Participants of the natural and cultural re- 12 sources of the United States; 13 (3) to stimulate interest among Participants in 14 conservation careers by exposing the Participants to 15 conservation professionals in land management 16 agencies; and 17 (4) to build on the existing network of con- 18 servation corps organizations working across the 19 United States while providing for expanded partici- 20 pation in urban centers. 21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 (1) CORPS.—The term ‘‘Corps’’ means the Re- 24 store Employment in Natural and Environmental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8746 IH Work Conservation Corps established by section 1 4(a). 2 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 3 National Council on the Restore Employment in 4 Natural and Environmental Work Conservation 5 Corps established under section 6(a). 6 (3) ELIGIBLE LOCAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eli- 7 gible local agency’’ means a unit of local govern- 8 ment, land trust, or similar conservation nonprofit 9 organization. 10 (4) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘eligi- 11 ble participant’’ means an individual who— 12 (A) is 16 years of age or older at the time 13 the individual begins the term of service as a 14 Participant; and 15 (B) is a citizen or national of the United 16 States or lawful permanent resident alien of the 17 United States. 18 (5) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 19 project’’ means any of the following: 20 (A) A project to plant trees. 21 (B) A project for the restoration and man- 22 agement of wildlife habitat. 23 (C) A project to control invasive species. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8746 IH (D) A project for the conduct of prescribed 1 burns. 2 (E) A project for the restoration of 3 streams, wetlands, and other aquatic eco- 4 systems. 5 (F) A project to monitor water quality in 6 streams and lakes. 7 (G) A project to assist with the conduct of 8 fish and wildlife surveys. 9 (H) A project for the construction or main- 10 tenance of trails, bridges, campgrounds, picnic 11 shelters, or other recreational amenities for use 12 by the public. 13 (I) A project for the construction or main- 14 tenance of parks and playgrounds. 15 (J) A project to restore brownfield sites 16 (as defined in section 101 of the Comprehensive 17 Environmental Response, Compensation, and 18 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601)) in 19 urban areas. 20 (K) A project to construct rain gardens, 21 grass waterways, pollinator gardens, or green 22 schoolyards. 23 (L) A project for the development of urban 24 gardens and farms. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8746 IH (M) A project to plant native grasslands. 1 (N) A project to provide environmental in- 2 terpretation or outdoor education. 3 (O) Any other project determined to be ap- 4 propriate by the Secretaries. 5 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 6 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 7 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 8 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 9 (7) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘Participant’’ 10 means an eligible participant enrolled in the Corps. 11 (8) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘Program 12 partner’’ means— 13 (A) a State or Indian Tribe administering 14 a program for eligible projects or a grant pro- 15 gram under subsection (a) or (b) of section 5, 16 as applicable; and 17 (B) an eligible local agency carrying out el- 18 igible projects under section 5(a)(3)(B). 19 (9) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 20 means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec- 21 retary of the Interior, acting jointly. 22 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 23 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8746 IH Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other terri- 1 tory or possession of the United States. 2 SEC. 4. RESTORE EMPLOYMENT IN NATURAL AND ENVI- 3 RONMENTAL WORK CONSERVATION CORPS. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 5 Department of the Interior and the Department of Agri- 6 culture the Restore Employment in Natural and Environ- 7 mental Work Conservation Corps program under which 8 Participants shall carry out— 9 (1) eligible projects administered by the Secre- 10 taries under this section; and 11 (2) eligible projects administered by Program 12 partners under subsection (a) or (b) of section 5. 13 (b) PARTICIPANTS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corps shall consist of— 15 (A) eligible participants who are enrolled 16 in the Corps by the Secretaries; and 17 (B) eligible participants who are enrolled 18 in the Corps by Program partners. 19 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In enrolling eligible par- 20 ticipants in the Corps under paragraph (1), the Sec- 21 retaries and Program partners shall ensure that 22 Participants reflect the demographics of the area in 23 which the Participants are carrying out an eligible 24 project. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8746 IH (c) TERMS AND COMPENSATION.— 1 (1) TERM.—Participants shall serve for a term 2 of at least 12 weeks, but not more than 1 year. 3 (2) COMPENSATION.— 4 (A) WAGES.—Participants shall be com- 5 pensated at a wage rate that is appropriate for 6 the type of work performed by the Participant, 7 but not less than $15 per hour (to be increased 8 each year based on increases in the Consumer 9 Price Index for the year). 10 (B) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—If a Par- 11 ticipant completes at least 1 year of service in 12 the Corps, Participants shall be eligible for— 13 (i) an educational credit that may be 14 applied toward a program of postsecondary 15 education at an institution of higher edu- 16 cation that agrees to award the credit for 17 participation in the Corps; and 18 (ii) not more than $5,500 in tuition 19 assistance to the Participant for purposes 20 of continuing education. 21 (d) TRAINING; APPRENTICESHIPS.—The Secretaries 22 and Program partners shall— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8746 IH (1) ensure that Participants are provided at 1 least 2 weeks of training during each term of the ap- 2 plicable Participant; and 3 (2) provide curricula to Participants that im- 4 prove the future job prospects of Participants, in- 5 cluding through making available to Participants 6 registered apprenticeships and other professional li- 7 censes or certifications. 8 SEC. 5. STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL FUNDING PROGRAM 9 FOR ELIGIBLE PROJECTS. 10 (a) APPORTIONMENT TO STATES.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, subject 12 to paragraphs (2) and (3), of the amounts made 13 available for apportionment to the States for that 14 fiscal year under section 7(2), the Secretaries shall 15 apportion— 16 (A) 662⁄3 percent among States based on 17 the proportion that— 18 (i) the number of unemployed individ- 19 uals in each State, as determined based on 20 the most recent data available; bears to 21 (ii) the total number of unemployed 22 individuals in all States as so determined; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8746 IH (B) 331⁄3 percent among States based on 1 the proportion that— 2 (i) the population of each State; bears 3 to 4 (ii) the population of all States. 5 (2) MINIMUM APPORTIONMENT.—No State 6 shall receive an apportionment under paragraph (1) 7 for a fiscal year in an amount less than 8 $42,000,000. 9 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts appor- 10 tioned to a State under this subsection for a fiscal 11 year— 12 (A) 50 percent shall be used by the State 13 to administer a program for the conduct of eli- 14 gible projects by Participants enrolled in the 15 program by the States; and 16 (B) 50 percent shall be used by the State 17 to administer a grant program in the State 18 under which the State provides grants to eligi- 19 ble local agencies in the State for the conduct 20 of eligible projects by Participants enrolled by 21 the eligible local agencies. 22 (b) TRIBAL PROGRAM.—For each fiscal year, the 23 Secretaries shall apportion, in accordance with a formula 24 established by the Secretaries, amounts made available 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8746 IH under section 7(3) to Indian Tribes to administer a pro- 1 gram for the conduct of eligible projects by Participants 2 enrolled in the program by the Indian Tribe. 3 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts provided to a 4 Program partner for the conduct of eligible projects under 5 this section, the Program partner— 6 (1) may use not more than 20 percent for ad- 7 ministrative costs of administering and carrying out 8 eligible projects (including costs of recruiting and 9 hiring individuals to carry out eligible projects); 10 (2) may use not more than 14 percent to pro- 11 vide continuing education to individuals admin- 12 istering or carrying out eligible projects; 13 (3) may use not more than 8 percent for the 14 cost of equipment and supplies for eligible projects; 15 and 16 (4) shall use the remainder of the amounts for 17 the costs of salaries of individuals administering or 18 carrying out eligible projects. 19 (d) REALLOCATION.—Any funds made available to a 20 State or Indian Tribe under subsection (a) or (b) that are 21 not obligated by the State or Indian Tribe at the end of 22 the third fiscal year beginning after the fiscal year during 23 which the funds were made available shall be withdrawn 24 from the State or Indian Tribe and reallocated by the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8746.IH H8746 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 1 [Text truncated for display. 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