U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines co-led a group of bipartisan senators in sending a letter to the Biden administration urging more support for the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) to meet the need for more wildland firefighters and wood products workforce in Montana and across the country.
“We write to strongly urge you to provide additional programming and support for Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) to meet our wildland firefighter and wood products workforce development, recruitment, and retention challenges to better position this critical workforce for the future,” the senators wrote.
“All signs point to yet another dangerous wildfire season, given severe to exceptional drought conditions as well as fuel levels that the Forest Service labels as being at ‘crisis proportions.’ Given that the Job Corps CCCs serve as one of the principal federal academies for developing the workforce needed to tackle this challenge, we are writing to inquire about your Departments’ efforts and plans to expand the reach and scale of these critical workforce development programs called for by the President and Congress,” the senators continued.
Senator Daines was joined by Senators Merkley (D-Ore.), Wyden (D-Ore.), Rounds (R-S.D.), Feinstein (D-Calif.), Risch (R-Idaho), Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Crapo (R-Idaho), Kaine (D-Va.), Boozman (R-Ark.), Padilla (D-Calif.), Tester (D-Mont.), Smith (D-Minn.), Manchin (D-W.V.), Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Stabenow (D-Mich.), and King (I-Maine).
Read the letter the Senators sent the Biden administration HERE.
The Senator has put extensive work into supporting Montana’s Job Corps Centers. In 2019, Senator Daines championed saving the Anaconda Job Corps training center from an impending shutdown.
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Contact: Rachel Dumke, Blake Kernen