Democrat lawmakers plan to include the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) - a proposed government jobs program that borrows imagery from the Great Depression - as part of a massive $3.5 trillion infrastructure package working its way through Congress, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2021) Democrat lawmakers plan to include the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) - a proposed government jobs program that borrows imagery from the Great Depression - as part of a massive $3.5 trillion infrastructure package working its way through Congress, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.
"I am using my power as majority leader to ensure that the Civilian Climate Corps will be included in the reconciliation package and I will fight to the biggest boldest CCC possible," Schumer said. "The goal of the Civilian Climate Corps program is to tackle climate change by creating good union jobs and to ensure a well trained workforce for long term careers."
The CCC would be part of an infrastructure package planned by Senate Democrats using budget reconciliation - a legislative maneuver that would bypass Republican objections.
Supporters in both chambers of Congress claim a CCC would create jobs for more than 1 million Americans over five years in federally funded projects that would help transition the US to a zero-emissions economy.
The proposal expands the concept of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which provided government funded jobs during the Great Depression of 1929, supporters say.
By including the CCC in the reconciliation package cited by Schumer, Democrats could avoid a filibuster by Senate Republicans, who claim the $3.5 trillion plan would fuel inflation by adding trillions of Dollars to spending previously approved to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic measures.
The Democrat plan would be in addition to a separate infrastructure package of about $1 trillion that has bipartisan support in Congress.
