Whereas there exists a network of National Service Programs (in this preamble referred to as Service and Conservation Corps) that receives funding pursuant to subtitle C of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.);

Whereas such network includes more than 140 Service and Conservation Corps across the country;

Whereas these Service and Conservation Corps annually provide education, workforce development, and support services to approximately 22,000 young adults and post-9/11 veterans;

Whereas today’s Service and Conservation Corps are locally based organizations that engage young adults (generally ages 16 to 25) and veterans (up to age 35) in service projects that address recreation, conservation, disaster response, and community needs;

Whereas these Service and Conservation Corps are direct descendants of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Great Depression-era Federal work-relief program that mobilized 3,000,000 young men to dramatically improve the public lands of the United States;

Whereas Civilian Conservation Corps participants received food, shelter, education, and a $30-a-month stipend;

Whereas, from 1933 to 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps planted 3,000,000,000 trees and helped build trails, roads, campgrounds, and other park infrastructure still in use today;

Whereas the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of its founding in 2026, a milestone that highlights the enduring importance of civic engagement, public service, and stewardship of the natural and cultural resources of the United States;

Whereas most modern Service and Conservation Corps are nonprofits or are operated by units of State or local government;

Whereas, through public-private partnerships, Service and Conservation Corps work with a range of organizations, government agencies, and institutions to engage Service and Conservation Corps members (referred to in this preamble as Corps members) in meaningful projects that address local and national issues;

Whereas, through a term of service that could last from a few months to a year, Corps members experience the Corps Model, where they gain work experience and develop in-demand skills;

Whereas Corps members are compensated with a stipend or living allowance and often receive an education award or scholarship upon completing their service;

Whereas, additionally, Service and Conservation Corps provide Corps members with educational programming, mentoring, and access to career and personal counseling, and some Service and Conservation Corps operate or partner with charter schools to help Corps members earn their high school diploma or GED certificate;

Whereas Corps members contribute to the preservation of historic sites, cultural resources, and public lands that reflect the 250-year history of the United States;

Whereas Corps members complete thousands of community improvement, resilience, and resource conservation projects every year, strengthening the communities of the United States as it approaches its 250th anniversary;

Whereas the 250th anniversary of the United States provides an opportunity to recognize and invest in programs that prepare young people in the United States to lead the country into its next century of growth, resilience, and innovation;

Whereas Corps members typically serve on crews alongside other young adults or in individual placement or internship positions that provide additional capacity to Federal, State, and local resource management agencies;

Whereas Service and Conservation Corps have longstanding partnerships with Federal, State, and local community development and resource management agencies to engage Corps members in meaningful and necessary projects across the United States;

Whereas Service and Conservation Corps projects include—

Whereas the United States needs to respond to decades of deferred maintenance of public lands and waters and make its communities more resilient;

Whereas the United States also has millions of young people facing unemployment and barriers to opportunity; and

Whereas the existing network of more than 140 Service and Conservation Corps is ready to meet the needs of these young people in the United States: Now, therefore, be it