Brief Description: Establishing the veterans conservation corps.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Jacobsen, Oke, Rasmussen, Doumit, Schmidt, Benson, Kastama, Shin, Pridemore, Franklin and Roach).

Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation
Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background: Veterans often return form conflicts with serious stress problems which affect their ability to adjust to civilian life. Working in a natural setting has been shown to help veterans with that adjustment. Washington timber and salmon enhancement programs could benefit from employed or volunteer returning veterans, and the work in these natural settings could help ease the transition of these veterans back to civilian and family life.

Summary: A veteran conservation corps is created and is administered by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, in consultation from the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Veterans Conservation Corps Program Account is created. Grants from the account are for salmon recovery, watershed, and water clean up projects. Grant recipients must demonstrate that at least 75 percent of grant funds are for activities involving veterans coping with posttraumatic stress disorder. The program must be organized and marketed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      45   1
House      74   22

Effective: July 24, 2005