America’s Service Commissions Applauds the White House's Next Steps for the American Climate Corps

Washington, DC (December 20, 2023) — America’s Service Commissions (ASC) and its States for Service Coalition applaud the Biden-Harris Administration on its next steps toward the launch of the American Climate Corps, which include virtual listening sessions and a partnership of seven federal agencies to advance the initiative.

The creation of an interagency partnership — composed of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior, and Labor; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the AmeriCorps agency — is an important milestone toward implementing the American Climate Corps. The White House and these federal agencies can now work together to identify funding that could be used to provide new positions to serve in the corps.

ASC strongly encourages the White House and the interagency partnership to collaborate with state service commissions as they build out program and project standards for the American Climate Corps. State service commissions have been leading the way on establishing climate and conservation corps, and their experience and knowledge will be invaluable to the planning and implementation of a national climate corps. 

ASC is pleased that the Biden-Harris Administration will be conducting virtual listening sessions to hear from prospective climate corps members as well as important potential partners about their priorities for this new national climate corps. Gathering input from individuals and organizations across the country is vital to ensuring the success of the American Climate Corps.

“We are delighted that the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to make progress on the American Climate Corps, and we applaud the next steps announced earlier today. Partnerships — between federal agencies, between the federal government and state governments, and between the new national climate corps and existing state and local climate corps — are essential to establishing a robust and impactful American Climate Corps,” said Kaira Esgate, ASC CEO. 

ASC looks forward to working closely with federal agencies and the White House to support the continued implementation of the American Climate Corps.

About States for Service
States for Service is the privately funded, grassroots policy arm of America’s Service Commissions, the nonprofit association of the 52 state service commissions. The States for Service coalition works to reinforce the critical role state service commissions play in developing and advancing service in states to meet community and state needs. States for Service aims to influence policy, grant, and regulatory issues related to state service commissions, AmeriCorps State programs, and other state service programs such as AmeriCorps Seniors, AmeriCorps VISTA, and the Volunteer Generation Fund.

About America's Service Commissions
America's Service Commissions is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing and promoting the 52 state service commissions across the United States and territories with the mission to lead and elevate the state service network. State service commissions are governor-appointed public agencies or nonprofit organizations made up of more than 1,000 commissioners, private citizens leading the nation's service movement and administering more than 75 percent of the federal AmeriCorps funds to address pressing community needs.