Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are probing President Biden's government work program to fight global warming, the so-called American Climate Corps , over its legal authority and funding. Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.
Biden established the ACC — which would be a branch of AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency created in 1993 to foster stipended volunteer work — in September via executive action. According to the White House, the program will mobilize 'a new, diverse generation' of more than 20,000 Americans who will be trained and put to work on conservation, clean energy and environmental justice projects.
Biden's announcement came amid increasing pressure from Democrats led by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and left-wing environmental organizations led by the Sunrise Movement for such a federal program to be established. However, a climate corps program had been proposed in legislation multiple times in recent years but failed to ever receive enough support.
In their letter Friday, Comer and Sessions requested a series of documents and communications from AmeriCorps 'to understand the role of AmeriCorps in carrying out this initiative and the anticipated cost of the ACC, including the extent to which the ACC will redirect funds from other AmeriCorps programs or any other existing federal agencies and programs.' AmeriCorps didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.