This guy is a little wordy but means well. He has a petition going to Senator Jim Jeffords of the Environment & Public Works Committee regarding reactivating FDR's CCC. See email below. Please pass around. Thanks. Deb The petition is at: Sen. Jim Jeffords http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/220935554 If you have any questions or comments for the author, Jay Alexander can be reached at: [email protected] He writes: Natural resources are vital to the existence and progress of every nation. Then as well as today we are being lulled into complacency about our nations vital natural resources. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wasn't fooled and left us a legacy that we should bring back. In his first 100 days in office, he legislated a real national service known by all as the Civilian Conservation Corps. We should again re-legislate and reactivate this useful nationalservice. FDR knew the value of a dollar and got the most action for the buck! This agency was extremely cost effective and yielded a greater return in its investment from training and fielding the largest non-combatant workforce in US History that restored our nations natural resources and also benefited our human and cultural resources. The CCC would bring to the minds of the people a real foundation for the needs and values of a sound active conservation program to work for a clean livable environment in this free equal-opportunity society. ----- Original Message ----- From: "jay alexander" <[email protected]> To: "Debby Bolen" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 4:25 PM As a Citizen, kindly discuss this as an employment issue with your esteemed colleagues for the reactivation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), this nation's best National Service. Americans love to serve their country in National Service and this would be an alternative to serving in the US Military. The CCC was the most successful by protecting, defending, and preserving our natural resources and also benefited our cultural and human resources too. What Federal Agency that does this today? Now concerns are about rising unemployment, juvenile and corrosive white-collar crime, war cries, and the loss of trust in our government. Our fear is for our future generations. Unless some measures are taken soon, they will grow up in a land without air to breath and water to drink as well as being ill educated without employment. Natural resources are vital to the existence and progress of every nation. Then as well as today we are being lulled into complacency about our nations vital natural resources. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wasn't fooled and left us a legacy that we should bring back. In his first 100 days in office, he legislated a real national service known by all as the Civilian Conservation Corps. We should again re-legislate and reactivate this useful national service. FDR knew the value of a dollar and got the most action for the buck! This agency was extremely cost effective and yielded a greater return in its investment from training and fielding the largest non-combatant workforce in US History that restored our nations natural resources and also benefited our human and cultural resources. The CCC would bring to the minds of the people a real foundation for the needs and values of a sound active conservation program to work for a clean livable environment in this free equal-opportunity society. A modified Civilian Conservation Corps would be modeled after the original CCC, but made a permanent Federal agency. Its mission would provide a pool of manpower and funding from agencies charged by the US Congress with the development, protection, and use of the nations natural resources for future generations. (To insure CCC funding Congress could add an open contribution box next to the election campaign box on all income tax forms.) Public works and conservation tasks would be updated and perform controlled burning, remove commercial logging roads in public forests, and remove trash and toxics left by illegal dumping in areas worked. Similar public sector programs and out sourced privatized work that overlap the agencies mission would be absorbed. This agency would not run interference with any other Federal agency in fulfilling her mission. Privatization and any attachment to corporate or special interest groups would be prohibited. Incentives for enrolling would be equal opportunity hiring fit up to the age of 35, good pay and allotments held or given to those in need. Time served would count towards retirement in government sector jobs and would provide them with better job opportunities in the public and private sector. To achieve this, all would receive the GI Bill of 1944 for education for National Service rendered as a payback of the trust and investment by and for the people of the United States. Educational institutions would receive both mature students and ready payment. To ensure a solid base for manpower, those who want to join the military would serve a mandatory evaluation period of six months. This would save "washing " recruits out as unfit for duty and they would get partially trained and evaluated recruits. We would get well-rounded officers and men with experience from the leadership, administration, and field command of CCC enrollees. The agency would have open job assignments for honorably discharged military personnel to acclimatize them back into society and the labor pool. At the recent Earth Summit, World Leaders do not look to us as environmental leaders, but as squanderers. America consists of only 4% of the world's population and we consume 25% of the world's resources. America needs to be more efficient and self-reliant and must give constant concern and vigilant national attention and protection to the conservation of its natural resources. The Civilian Conservation Corps would serve in that role and make our citizens more environmentally aware, vigilant and concerned as stewards of this fragile planet. Today, a number of US citizens and elected officials have family members who served in this great national service. Many surviving CCC enrollees have more pride in their CCC national service than any time of their lives including their military service. It would be a true indicator of how much our elected leaders do care for employmentin our equal opportunity society and culture, and for our precious environment around election time. This national service successfully demonstrated that no conflict came between the preservation of the environment and the creation of jobs. The Civilian Conservation Corps reactivation would mean a better environment, job creation, and is a non-partisan win-win proposition! > Sen. Jim Jeffords http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/220935554 http://www.nyscccmuseum.com http://www.cccalumni.org http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/history/historycccyears.htm http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/ccc_forest.htm http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/history/articles/ccc.html http://fs.jorge.com/archives/ccc/US_Table.htm http://www.academy.umd.edu/publications/nationalservice/ccc.htm --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.384 / Virus Database: 216 - Release Date: 8/22/02