Ocasio-Cortez, Neguse Lead Letter to Top Appropriators to Combat the Escalating Climate Crisis through the American Climate Corps Program

Washington, D.C. - Following the announcement of the American Climate Corps registration hub, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Representative Joe Neguse (CO-02), and 60 of their Democratic colleaguesled a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, and Educationin support of AmeriCorps' Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) proposal for $15 million in discretionary funding to the AmeriCorps Salaries and Expenses Account, designated to fund the American Climate Corps hub, and $23 million to the AmeriCorps Operations account for the American Climate Corps program.

In September 2023, Representative Ocasio-Cortezand Senator Markey led a letterto President Biden requesting the creation of an American Climate Corps and, on April 15, 2024, Representative Ocasio-Cortez joined President Joe Biden to announce the opening of the first American Climate Corpsjob opportunities across the country. The program aims to train the next generation of leaders to tackle the climate crisis by offering opportunities to build clean energy and climate-resilient infrastructure.

"With deadly heat, dangerous floods, rising seas, and devastating wildfires ravaging our country, the climate crisis demands a whole-of-government response at an unprecedented scale. The American Climate Corps provides a crucial solution for developing the workforce of the future," wrote the members.

"By leveraging the historic climate funding secured last Congress, using existing authorities, and coordinating across AmeriCorps and other relevant federal agencies, the American Climate Corps promises to unite its members in an effort to fight climate change, build community resilience, support environmental justice, and develop career pathways to good-paying union jobs focused on climate resilience and a clean economy," they continued.

The letter was also signed by: Adams, Alma; Amo, Gabe; Balint, Becca; Barragán, Nanette; Blumenauer, Earl; Blunt Rochester, Lisa; Bowman, Jamaal; Casar, Greg; Chu, Judy; Clarke, Yvette; Cleaver, Emanuel; Connolly, Gerald; Crockett, Jasmine; Davis, Danny; DeSaulnier, Mark; Doggett, Lloyd; Escobar, Veronica; Evans, Dwight; Frost, Maxwell; García, Jesús; Garcia, Robert; Gomez, Jimmy; Green, Al; Grijalva, Raúl; Horsford, Steven; Houlahan, Chrissy; Huffman, Jared; Ivey, Glenn; Jayapal, Pramila; Johnson, Henry; Khanna, Ro; Kim, Andy; Krishnamoorthi, Raja; Lee, Summer; Levin, Mike; Lieu, Ted; Lynch, Stephen; Magaziner, Seth; McGarvey, Morgan; McGovern, James; Moulton, Seth; Mullin, Kevin; Nadler, Jerrold; Neguse, Joe; Norton, Eleanor; Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria; Omar, Ilhan; Pascrell, Bill; Plaskett, Stacey; Porter, Katie; Pressley, Ayanna; Ramirez, Delia; Raskin, Jamie; Sánchez, Linda; Sarbanes, John; Scanlon, Mary; Schakowsky, Janice; Stansbury, Melanie; Takano, Mark; Tlaib, Rashida; Velázquez, Nydia; Wilson, Frederica

A copy of the letter can be found here.

###