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President Biden marked Earth Day on Monday by launching a website for applications for his Climate Corps jobs and training program, a plan that has attracted a lot of interest from young Americans. Biden has been racing to push forward on initiatives that appeal to a generation that was a big part of his 2020 win — a demographic he has struggled with heading into his reelection bid this fall. The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 61% of voters under 30 disapprove of his performance as president. Issues like climate change, gun violence prevention and student loan debt are...

The jobs board for the American Climate Corps is set to officially launch in April, and it’s likely to be flooded with eager applicants. Since President Biden announced the New Deal-inspired program in September, more than 50,000 people have expressed interest in joining. “I think the idea is to make it as broad as possible so all young people can find something, whether they’re at a 7th-grade reading level and they’re coming out of the foster care or juvenile justice system, or whether they’re a PhD candidate at a university,” said Mary Ellen Sprenkel, president and CEO of The Corps...

With the national debt racing toward a record $35 trillion, President Joe Biden released his budget proposal Monday, including an eye-popping $8 billion for a "Climate Corps" program. Enthusiastically supported by Green New Deal architects,Biden’s Climate Corps would hire 50,000 government workers annually by 2031 with the explicit yet vague mission of "tackling climate change." Any guesses which political party these workers will be supporting? The Climate Corps has been likened to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Depression Era jobs program, but there has never been legislation nor appropriation of such an expansive government program without congressional approval. For context, the National...

Americans are strongly dissatisfied with the direction of the country and the economy. According to Gallup, just 19% of the public is satisfied with how things are going, compared with 80% who aren’t. Incredibly, consumer sentiment is lower now than it was during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. It’s easy to see why. Inflation remains elevated above pre-pandemic levels, meaning that real weekly earnings are down by more than 4% since January 2021. Rising interest rates have caused the median mortgage payment to double over the same period. In a good economy, hardworking Americans steadily get ahead as income gains...

During an interview with NPR’s “Here and Now,” White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi responded to a question on where the White House is getting money for the American Climate Corps given that money for the idea was taken out of the Inflation Reduction Act by stating that the plan “was a good idea then and it’s a good idea now.” And that they’ve used executive action “to bring together the authorities and resources of six different federal agencies,” and also boasted that President Joe Biden has “made sure that we’re using all of the tools of the presidency,...

The Biden administration launched new climate funding and jobs programs today as world leaders — minus Joe Biden — gather for the Climate Ambition Summit in New York. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $4.6 billion in new funding for state, local, and tribal clean energy programs. Plus, details have finally emerged for a long-awaited American Climate Corps. But Biden is expected to skip the United Nations climate summit today, a conspicuous absence since UN Secretary-General António Guterres stipulated that leaders present “credible, serious and new climate action” in order to participate. Biden, who came to New York this week...

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), two of Congress’ most vocal proponents for aggressive climate action, on Monday called for President Biden to establish a Civilian Climate Corps. The CCC had been a key element in early versions of the Build Back Better Act, the sweeping environmental and infrastructure bill. It was not ultimately included in the slimmed down Inflation Reduction Act, which was nonetheless the largest climate bill in U.S. history. Biden was a vocal backer of the Climate Corps early in his presidency, comparing it to the Civilian Conservation Corps introduced during the presidency of...