[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25080]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 25080]]

                HONORING THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 26, 2000

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to the 
Civilian Conservation Corps for all of its contributions to our 
wonderful country. The participants in this New Deal program made an 
unparalleled contribution to our Nation and left a legacy of parks, 
forests, and recreational areas many of which still exist today.
  The CCC, which was founded in April 1933, coupled the need to put 
unemployed young men to work and the need to conserve the Nation's 
natural resources. During the program's 9-year life, the Federal 
Government employed over 3 million men on an extensive variety of 
conservation projects across the United States. At the program's peak 
in 1937, there were over 502,000 corpsmen working in 2,500 camps in all 
48 States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.
  Corpsmen enlisted for 6-month periods, lived in camps or companies of 
200 men, and were paid $30 per month--$25 of which was sent directly to 
their families. The average participant was 19 years old, had only an 
eighth grade education, and was so underfed when he arrived that he 
gained 11 pounds during his first 3 months in the program. If the 
program's sole purpose was to help young men support their families, 
the CCC would have accomplished a great deal and would have been a 
tremendous success.
  But, Mr. Speaker, the CCC had another goal--that of conservation and 
restoration of America's natural resources. Between 1933 and 1942, 
enrollees hand-planted over 2 billion trees, built nearly 3,500 fire 
lookout towers and spent roughly 6 million man-days extinguishing 
fires. In addition to these remarkable feats in forestry, corpsmen also 
completed projects in erosion control, pond dam construction, soil 
conservation, and disaster relief assistance.
  Sadly, this is the largest group of forgotten people in the United 
States. Over 4 million CCC people have never been recognized or given 
credit for what they have done and are still doing for our country. I 
recently received a letter from Charles L. Singletary, who is the 
President of Chapter 141 of the National Association of Civilian 
Conservation Corps Alumni in my home State of New Mexico. In his letter 
he stated, ``The prodigious achievements of the `CCC boys' are on the 
verge of being forgotten by this cynical generation. Lamentably, the 
United States has never adequately recognized these achievements nor 
the men of the CCC.'' I urge my colleagues to join me in saluting and 
paying tribute to this extraordinary group of young men. In short, the 
CCCs changed the face of our Nation.
  I am proud of the many accomplishments the CCC made during its 9-year 
existence, and it is no accident that this public works program was 
perhaps the most widely accepted and popular of the New Deal programs, 
even among those who generally opposed the Roosevelt Administration. 
The hard work, dedication, and many successes of the CCC participants 
provide us a shining example of the American spirit, and they showed us 
that we as a united Nation can work together, face any peril, and 
succeed.

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