[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5631 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5631

 To establish the Gulf Coast Conservation Corps under the direction of 
  the President in order to create jobs cleaning up the oil spill and 
   restoring the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2010

  Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Mr. Meek of Florida, and Mr. 
 Johnson of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
    to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the 
  Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the Gulf Coast Conservation Corps under the direction of 
  the President in order to create jobs cleaning up the oil spill and 
   restoring the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gulf Coast Conservation Corps Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit 
        Deepwater Horizon, operated by BP, P.L.C. (in this Act referred 
        to as ``BP''), exploded and sank, triggering the oil spill that 
        is the worst environmental disaster in the history of the 
        United States.
            (2) Since then, BP has been unsuccessful in stemming the 
        discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, currently estimated 
        at a rate of up to 60,000 barrels of oil per day.
            (3) Many who live in the area of the Gulf of Mexico are 
        dependent on the Gulf for their livelihoods.
            (4) The fishing industry, including seafood processing and 
        related wholesale and retail businesses, supports over 200,000 
        jobs with related economic activity of $5,500,000,000.
            (5) As of May 25, 2010, commercial and recreational fishing 
        were prohibited within a 54,096 square-mile area, approximately 
        22 percent of Federal waters of the Gulf Exclusive Economic 
        Zone.
            (6) The tourist industry contributed 620,000 jobs and over 
        $9,000,000,000 in wages to the Gulf region.
            (7) The oil spill will require a dedicated and trained 
        workforce working over an extended period of time to clean up 
        and restore the damage.
            (8) Contracts and cooperative agreements between Federal 
        agencies and State and local governments and other entities 
        empower communities and are cost-effective tools that provide 
        positive social and environmental benefits. The use of such 
        contracts and agreements should be encouraged as a means to 
        rehabilitate public land affected or altered by the BP oil 
        spill, and enhance and maintain environmentally important land 
        and water.
            (9) Joint collaborations between the Federal agencies, 
        private businesses, and local, State, and Federal service and 
        conservation corps are particularly beneficial, as the 
        collaborations provide the opportunity to prepare for 
        productive lives while engaged in meaningful and educational 
        public service opportunities, and the public with cost-saving 
        human resources to assist in conserving, maintaining, and 
        protecting public land.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to create a Gulf Coast Conservation Corps to perform 
        rehabilitation and enhancement projects in any area of the Gulf 
        of Mexico affected by the oil discharged as a result of the 
        explosion on and sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit 
        Deepwater Horizon by creating a workforce to collect the oil 
        discharged, and restore affected wildlife and damaged 
        ecosystems, in such areas;
            (2) to create jobs in the Gulf of Mexico region that offer 
        unemployed individuals a chance to obtain skills and experience 
        so that they are better equipped to gain productive employment 
        related to environmental restoration; and
            (3) to provide such individuals the opportunity to serve 
        their communities and the Country.

SEC. 4. GULF COAST CONSERVATION CORPS.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Gulf Coast 
Conservation Corps (in this Act referred to as the ``Corps''), which 
shall be administered by the President and shall carry out 
rehabilitation and enhancement projects described in subsection (b).
    (b) Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects.--The President, 
through the Corps, shall hire individuals that meet the requirements 
described in subsection (c) to carry out rehabilitation and enhancement 
projects involving the construction, maintenance, cleaning, and 
restoration (including the restoration of wildlife and plantlife) in 
any area of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the oil discharged as a 
result of the explosion on and sinking of the mobile offshore drilling 
unit Deepwater Horizon.
    (c) Participants.--
            (1) In general.--To be selected as a participant in the 
        Corps, an individual--
                    (A) shall be otherwise unemployed;
                    (B) shall be a citizen or legal permanent resident 
                of the United States;
                    (C) shall be physically capable of performing the 
                work required by the specific project, subject to any 
                reasonable accommodations that may be made for such 
                individual in accordance with the Americans with 
                Disabilities Act; and
                    (D) shall not be enrolled as a full-time student in 
                any institution of higher education, vocational or job 
                training school or program and may not prematurely 
                terminate such enrollment to obtain employment under 
                this Act.
            (2) No displacement of existing employees or positions of 
        permanent employment.--Individuals participating in the Corps 
        whose positions are funded under this Act may not displace 
        other employees whose positions are not funded under this Act.
            (3) Compensation.--Individuals participating in the Corps 
        shall be compensated at the same rates, including periodic 
        increases, as employees who are similarly situated in similar 
        occupations and who have similar training, experience, and 
        skills, and such rates shall be in accordance with applicable 
        law, but in no event less than the higher of the rate specified 
        in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
        U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) or the applicable State or local minimum wage 
        law.
            (4) Not federal employees.--Individuals participating in 
        the Corps shall not be considered employees of the Federal 
        Government.
    (d) Authorized Uses of Funds.--In administering the Corps, the 
President may carry out the following:
            (1) Enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with--
                    (A) any local, State, or Federal service or 
                conservation corps, including a service or conservation 
                corps carried out by the Corporation for National and 
                Community Service under the national service laws;
                    (B) a department of natural resources, agriculture, 
                or marine (or an equivalent department) of any State; 
                or
                    (C) a nongovernmental or private organization; or
                    (D) any other agency or organization that may 
                assist the President in administering the Corps.
            (2) Provide the Corps with technical assistance, 
        administrative support, and assistance in training 
        participants.
            (3) Monitor and evaluate the Corps to ensure that the Corps 
        is in compliance with the requirements of this Act.
            (4) Consult with international authorities on the best 
        methods and practices for carrying out the projects described 
        in subsection (b).
            (5) Carry out research and development activities to 
        determine the best methods and practices for carrying out the 
        projects described in subsection (b).

SEC. 5. FUNDING FROM OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND.

    The cost of carrying out this Act shall be treated as removal costs 
for purposes of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), 
including section 1012 of that Act (33 U.S.C. 2712; relating to the use 
of amounts in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund).

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) In general.--The terms ``discharge''; ``oil''; and 
        ``removal'' have the meanings given the terms in section 1001 
        of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701).
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (3) National service laws.--The term ``national service 
        laws'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 
        National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511).
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
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