Fannie Mae: Hot Economy, Inflation Likely to Keep Rates 'Higher for Longer'
WASHINGTON, April 24 (TNSres) -- Fannie Mae issued the following news release on April 23, 2024:
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Rise in New Home Listings Projected to Boost Sales Despite Recent Run-up in Mortgage Rates
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Stronger-than-expected economic and inflation data have pushed interest rates higher and financial markets to price in fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, according to the April 2024 commentary from the Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. While higher mortgage rates present renewed headwinds to the expected recovery in home sales this year, as well as homebuyer
... Show Full ArticleWASHINGTON, April 24 (TNSres) -- Fannie Mae issued the following news release on April 23, 2024:
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Rise in New Home Listings Projected to Boost Sales Despite Recent Run-up in Mortgage Rates
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Stronger-than-expected economic and inflation data have pushed interest rates higher and financial markets to price in fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, according to the April 2024 commentary from the Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. While higher mortgage rates present renewed headwinds to the expected recovery in home sales this year, as well as homebuyeraffordability more generally, the ESR Group notes that new listings of homes available for sale have continued to rise. While the ESR Group is forecasting existing home sales to rise modestly over the course of the year, it expects the flow of new listings to outpace home sales, which should help gradually thaw housing inventory and contribute to decelerating home price growth. However, based on incoming home price data (https://www.fanniemae.com/research-and-insights/surveys-indices/fannie-mae-home-price-index), which continue to come in strong, the ESR Group expects home prices to rise 4.8 percent in 2024, up 1.6 percentage points from last quarter's projection, and then another 1.5 percent in 2025.
While interest rate cuts appear to be on hold due to the recent mix of strong economic data and hot inflation reports, the ESR Group continues to forecast slowing employment and economic growth, as well as progress toward 2-percent inflation over its forecast horizon. However, recent data have caused a reassessment of the pace of decelerating inflation, and the ESR Group now expects the Consumer Price Index to end 2024 at a 3.1 percent annual rate, compared to the 2.5 percent previously projected.
"Financial markets rapidly repriced their interest rate expectations following hotter-than-expected inflation reports and ongoing strong payroll employment gains," said Hamilton Fout, Fannie Mae Vice President, Economic and Strategic Research. "While we still expect economic growth and inflation to moderate going forward - and, thus, for mortgage rates to drift downward - interest rates existing in a 'higher for longer' state seems to be an increasingly real possibility in the eyes of market participants, as well as some homebuyers and sellers. While we've recently seen evidence that some potential home sellers are becoming more acclimated to the higher mortgage rate environment and putting their homes on the market, the recent move upward in rates is yet another headwind to the recovery of home sales, and it intensifies longstanding affordability challenges for consumers."
Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group, led by Chief Economist Doug Duncan, studies current data, analyzes historical and emerging trends, and conducts surveys of consumer and mortgage lender groups to provide forecasts and analyses on the economy, housing, and mortgage markets. The ESR Group was awarded the prestigious 2022 Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy based on the accuracy of its macroeconomic forecasts published over the 4-year period from 2018 to 2021.
UBS Donates Major American Landscape Photographs to National Gallery of Art
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
The National Gallery of Art has received 166 19th- and 20th-century photographs from the UBS Art Collection--the largest gift from UBS to a museum to date. The group of photographs was assembled in the 1990s by John Szarkowski, a photographer, curator, and former director of the department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The gift adds important photographs made by a diverse group of artists who worked throughout the United States and in Latin America. It will allow the National Gallery
... Show Full ArticleWASHINGTON, April 23 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
The National Gallery of Art has received 166 19th- and 20th-century photographs from the UBS Art Collection--the largest gift from UBS to a museum to date. The group of photographs was assembled in the 1990s by John Szarkowski, a photographer, curator, and former director of the department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The gift adds important photographs made by a diverse group of artists who worked throughout the United States and in Latin America. It will allow the National Galleryto tell fuller, more varied, and inclusive stories about how Americans have conceived of, used, and celebrated the richness and variety of the land from the 1860s to the 1990s.
"This wonderful, wide-ranging gift from UBS adds key works to the National Gallery's photography holdings by a wide range of artists, many of whom were not previously represented in our collection," said Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art.
The gift from the UBS Art Collection includes several photographs by western American photographers--F. Jay Haynes, John K. Hillers, Darius Kinsey, Frederick Monsen, and Isaiah West Taber--who recorded the impact of railroads, mining, and logging on the land in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other pictures made in the late 19th century, such as those by Henry Hamilton Bennett of the scenic Wisconsin Dells, show how photography was used to transform nature into a tourist commodity. Early 20th-century works by Laura Adams Armer, Jean Bernard, John G. Bullock, Nancy Ford Cones, Martha Hale Harvey, Gertrude Kasebier, William B. Post, Robert S. Redfield, and Edward Steichen evocatively reveal how pictorialist artists presented the landscape in a very different manner from their predecessors. Depicting nature's quiet corners and intimate vistas, they domesticated and aestheticized the land, transforming it from a symbol of power and awe into one of manicured beauty and peaceful harmony.
A collection of social documentary work from the 1930s and 1940s includes key examples by celebrated Farm Security Administration photographers, such as Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rothstein, and Marion Post Wolcott. Many of their pictures poignantly demonstrate how the depleted land could no longer support the inhabitants who depended on it. Two of the most iconic photographs include Lange's Power farming displaces tenants from the land in the western dry cotton area, Childress County, Texas (1935) and Rothstein's Dust Storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma (1936).
Works by photographers such as Robert Adams, Edward Burtynsky, Stephen Callis, Robert Dawson, Terry Evans, Emmet Gowin, Mark Klett, and David Maisel cast a critical eye on the impact of humans on the landscape. Often making aerial photographs, they depict vast stretches of land that have been utterly transformed by human habitation.
The gift also includes work by Latin American photographers such as Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Valdir Cruz, Agustin Estrada, Flor Garduno, Graciela Iturbide, and Sebastiao Salgado. Active in Mexico, Brazil, and Guatemala from the 1940s through the 1990s, the photographers made pictures commemorating the earth's bounties--fruits, vegetables, birds, and fish that help sustain and enrich human life--as well as the people who lived and worked on the land.
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About the UBS Art Collection
In 1991 Donald Marron, chairman and chief executive officer of PaineWebber, asked John Szarkowski, the former director of the department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, to form a collection of photographs that would complement the investment bank and brokerage firm's holdings of contemporary art. Noting that photography throughout its history has paid particular attention to the ways in which individuals and groups have transformed and celebrated the earth, Szarkowski spent several years assembling a large collection of pictures that explores American land use in a broad sense. He understood that photography's history, especially in the Western Hemisphere, has coincided with the greatest changes in the use and state of nature, and in our recognition of its importance to human existence. Szarkowski hoped this collection would preserve a cogent selection of pictures that address American land use from the 1860s through the 1990s to contribute to a fuller appreciation of this critical and complex subject. The collection of photographs joined the UBS Art Collection when PaineWebber was acquired by UBS in 2000.
The UBS Art Collection consists of more than 30,000 works, including paintings, works on paper, photographs, sculptures, videos, and installations by artists from around the world, and is widely recognized as one of the most important corporate art collections. The UBS gift to the National Gallery has at its foundation work by some of the most celebrated American photographers of the last 180 years, including Dorothea Lange, Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Alfred Stieglitz, and Carleton E. Watkins. Also included are pictures by lesser-known photographers whose art expands and complicates our understanding of the ways in which Americans have conceived of, cared for, celebrated, and transformed the land around them.
National Archives: Program to Examine Legacy of Landmark Brown V. Board of Education Decision
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The National Archives and Records Administration issued the following news release on April 22, 2024:
In celebration of the landmark Supreme Court decision that altered the landscape of education in the United States, the National Archives presents "The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, 70 Years Later" on Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
The program will feature a conversation with law clerks of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Speakers include Sheryll D. Cashin of Georgetown Law School and Randall L Kennedy of Harvard Law School, and the
... Show Full ArticleWASHINGTON, April 23 -- The National Archives and Records Administration issued the following news release on April 22, 2024:
In celebration of the landmark Supreme Court decision that altered the landscape of education in the United States, the National Archives presents "The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, 70 Years Later" on Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
The program will feature a conversation with law clerks of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Speakers include Sheryll D. Cashin of Georgetown Law School and Randall L Kennedy of Harvard Law School, and theconversation will be moderated by Michael K. Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
"The Brown decision was a pivotal moment in our nation's history, laying the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement and our ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union," said Dr. Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the United States. "At the National Archives we hold the records of this case, and all other Supreme Court decisions. So I'm glad we can bring together this panel of esteemed jurists who personally knew Justice Marshall to help us explore the impact and legacy of this watershed decision."
Welcome and opening remarks will be provided by Dr. Shogan, Rodney Slater, chair and president of the National Archives Foundation, and Anthony Lewis, vice president of Public Policy at Verizon. The program will be livestreamed to audiences nationwide on the National Archives YouTube channel (https://www.archives.gov/calendar/event/the-legacy-of-brown-v-board-of-education-70-years-later).
"The Foundation is proud to commemorate the 70th anniversary of this landmark decision, and to delve into the demand for and significance of it," said Rodney Slater, National Archives Foundation Board Chair. "The Foundation is proud to help bring these important conversations to the fore, highlighting moments throughout history that ultimately altered the landscape of our country."
The event will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building, located at 701 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC.
In-person attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street NW. Metro is accessible on the Green Line at the Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station.
This program is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Verizon.
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About the National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent federal agency that serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our government so people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. The National Archives ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. From the Declaration of Independence to accounts of ordinary Americans, the holdings of the National Archives directly touch the lives of millions of people. The agency supports democracy, promotes civic education, and facilitates historical understanding of our national experience. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries and online at http://www.archives.gov.
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About the National Archives Foundation
The National Archives Foundation is an independent nonprofit that increases public awareness of the National Archives, inspires a deeper appreciation of our country's heritage, and encourages citizen engagement in our democracy. The Foundation generates financial and creative support for National Archives exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives, introducing America's records to people around the U.S. and the world. Learn more at http://www.archivesfoundation.org
Farmer Mac to Announce First Quarter 2024 Financial Results
WASHINGTON, April 23 (TNSres) -- Farmer Mac issued the following news release on April 22, 2024 on April 22, 2024:
The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac; NYSE: AGM and AGM.A), the nation's secondary market provider that increases the accessibility of financing for American agriculture and rural infrastructure, today announced that it will release its financial results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024, on Monday, May 6, 2024, before the opening of equity markets. A conference call to discuss the results will be held that day at 8:30 a.m. eastern time.
The conference
... Show Full ArticleWASHINGTON, April 23 (TNSres) -- Farmer Mac issued the following news release on April 22, 2024 on April 22, 2024:
The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac; NYSE: AGM and AGM.A), the nation's secondary market provider that increases the accessibility of financing for American agriculture and rural infrastructure, today announced that it will release its financial results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024, on Monday, May 6, 2024, before the opening of equity markets. A conference call to discuss the results will be held that day at 8:30 a.m. eastern time.
The conferencecall can be accessed by telephone or webcast as follows:
When dialing in to the call, please ask for the "Farmer Mac Earnings Conference Call." This call can be heard live and will also be available for replay on Farmer Mac's website (https://www.farmermac.com/investors/events-presentations/) following the conclusion of the conference call.
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About Farmer Mac
Farmer Mac is driven by its mission to increase the accessibility of financing for American agriculture and rural infrastructure. As the nation's premier secondary market for agricultural credit, we provide financial solutions to a broad spectrum of customers supporting rural America, including agricultural lenders, agribusinesses, and rural electric cooperatives. We are uniquely positioned to facilitate competitive access to financing that fuels growth, innovation, and prosperity in America's rural and agricultural communities. Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on our website at http://www.farmermac.com.
Fannie Mae Announces Tender Offer for Any & All of Certain CAS Notes
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Fannie Mae issued the following news release on April 22, 2024:
Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) today announced that it has commenced fixed-price cash tender offers (each, an "Offer" and, collectively, the "Offers") for the purchase of any and all of the Connecticut Avenue Securities(R) (CAS) Notes listed below (the "Notes"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, each dated as of April 22, 2024 (collectively, the "Offer Documents"). Certain of the classes of Notes subject to the Offers were issued
... Show Full ArticleWASHINGTON, April 23 -- Fannie Mae issued the following news release on April 22, 2024:
Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) today announced that it has commenced fixed-price cash tender offers (each, an "Offer" and, collectively, the "Offers") for the purchase of any and all of the Connecticut Avenue Securities(R) (CAS) Notes listed below (the "Notes"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, each dated as of April 22, 2024 (collectively, the "Offer Documents"). Certain of the classes of Notes subject to the Offers were issuedby the REMIC trusts identified in the table below (each, a "Trust"). Fannie Mae is the holder of the owner certificate issued by each Trust and, as a result, the sole beneficial owner of each Trust. The Offers will expire at 5:00 PM New York City time on Friday, April 26, 2024 (the "Expiration Time") unless extended or earlier terminated. Notes tendered may be withdrawn at any time at or before the Expiration Time by following the procedures described in the Offer Documents.
Fannie Mae has engaged BofA Securities as the designated lead dealer manager and Wells Fargo Securities as the designated dealer manager for the Offers. Fannie Mae has engaged Minority and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Academy Securities, Inc. and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Drexel Hamilton, LLC as advisors on the transaction. Global Bondholder Services Corporation will serve as the tender agent and information agent for the Offers. Fannie Mae is offering to purchase, subject to the conditions of the Offers, any and all of the Notes listed in the table below.
The following table summarizes the material pricing terms of the Offers.
[View table in the link at bottom.]
Holders must validly tender their Notes at or before the Expiration Time in order to be eligible to receive the Tender Offer Consideration, which will incorporate the monthly Certificate Percentages available on April 25, 2024. In addition, holders whose Notes are purchased in the Offers will receive accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date to, but not including, the Settlement Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) for the Notes. Fannie Mae expects the Settlement Date to occur on April 30, 2024. Any Notes tendered using the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and accepted for purchase are expected to be purchased on May 1, 2024, but payment of accrued interest on such Notes will only be made to, but not including, the Settlement Date.
Information on tendering the Notes is set forth in the Offer Documents. Holders of the Notes who would like copies of the Offer Documents may contact the tender agent for the Offers, Global Bondholder Services Corporation, at (855) 654-2015 (toll free) or (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers) or contact@gbsc-usa.com. Copies of the Offer Documents are available at the following website: https://www.gbsc-usa.com/FannieMae/. Any questions regarding the terms of the Offers should be directed to BofA Securities, Inc. at (888) 292-0070 (toll free) or (980) 387-3907 (collect) or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at (866) 309-6316 (toll free) or (704) 410-4820 (collect).
This release includes forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the timing and expected settlement and closing of the purchase of the Notes in a tender offer. These forward-looking statements are based on Fannie Mae's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may turn out to be different from these statements. Factors that may lead to different results are discussed in "Risk Factors," "Forward-Looking Statements," and elsewhere in the Offer Documents and the documents incorporated by reference therein. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Fannie Mae assumes no obligation to update this information.
Export-Import Bank of the United States Signs QUAD ECAs Memorandum of Cooperation at Berne Union
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States Office of Inspector General issued the following news release:
Oslo, Norway -The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis officially signed a Memorandum of Cooperation alongside Manny Arabatzis, Chief Risk Officer of Export Finance Australia (EFA), Sristiraj Ambastha, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of ECGC India (ECGC), and Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) and released the following joint statement during the Berne Union Spring meetings in Oslo,
... Show Full ArticleWASHINGTON, April 23 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States Office of Inspector General issued the following news release:
Oslo, Norway -The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis officially signed a Memorandum of Cooperation alongside Manny Arabatzis, Chief Risk Officer of Export Finance Australia (EFA), Sristiraj Ambastha, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of ECGC India (ECGC), and Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) and released the following joint statement during the Berne Union Spring meetings in Oslo,Norway.
Joint Statement on Enhanced Quad Export Credit Agency (ECA) Cooperation:
We, Export Finance Australia ("EFA"), ECGC Limited ("ECGC") of India, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance ("NEXI") of Japan, and Export-Import Bank of the United States ("EXIM") (the above collectively, "Quad ECAs"), recognise our respective government's steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient, as stated in the Quad Joint Leaders' Statement dated 20 May 2023 (the "Leaders' Statement").
The Leaders Statement endorses cooperation between Quad ECAs stating "Quad partners' export credit agencies make an important contribution to the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We welcome ongoing efforts to enhance cooperation among Quad partners' export credit agencies, including through a Memorandum of Cooperation between ECGC Limited of India, Export Finance Australia (EFA), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) of Japan, and Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM)."
In line with our countries' shared values and the Leaders' Statement, we Quad ECAs make this Statement following the finalisation of a Memorandum of Cooperation between our four agencies and commit to enhancing the level of cooperation, engagement, and alignment with each other.
Supply Chain Resilience, Critical Technologies and Emerging Technologies
As ECAs, we have provided export credit insurance, financial guarantees, and/or public financing to support and facilitate international trade flows for over 50 years. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery have demonstrated the need for enhanced supply chain credit and investment support, and we recognise the important role we can play in this area.
We commit to engage on opportunities to enhance supply chain resilience, through activities such as regional trade and investment support and market diversification efforts. We also commit to regularly exchange experiences and information on ways to develop and expand supply chain resilience through our financing activities, including opportunities for Quad partner businesses to work with each other.
We recognise the importance of supporting the development of, and investment in, critical and emerging technologies. We commit to supporting these areas by providing finance, credit insurance and guarantees to support business trade and investment, exchanging experiences and approaches to deliver finance, credit insurance and guarantees and assist businesses to scale and mature approaches to encourage private finance and investment in these areas.
Climate, Energy and Infrastructure
To increase connectivity in the Indo-Pacific (including the Pacific) and to facilitate productivity increases and prosperity in the region, we recognise it is critical to support the development of quality infrastructure in the region. We also recognise the urgent need to address climate change and share a common commitment to supporting the successful implementation of the Paris Agreement.
We commit to continue to expand our engagement and support for governments in the region to finance, guarantee and/or insure quality infrastructure, including renewable energy, working alongside other relevant Quad partner government agencies and the private sector.
We further recognize that the energy transition should allow for a range of practical pathways tailored to meet the circumstances of each country in the Indo-Pacific. We commit to support the development of enabling resources and technologies that can support the energy transition of the Indo-Pacific. This includes supporting growth in low- to zero-carbon emerging technologies and associated infrastructure development and critical minerals supply.
We commit to enhance the availability of finance, credit guarantee and insurance for Quad partner businesses to trade and invest in the Indo-Pacific, including through supporting exports, infrastructure projects and activities that encourage partnerships between Quad partner businesses.
Wherever possible and within the mandates of each Quad ECA, we commit to seek out opportunities to enhance our engagement on quality infrastructure beyond the Indo-Pacific, including in Africa.
We commit to share experiences and expertise on infrastructure financings, including the development of green financing solutions and products. We also commit to exchange information on mechanisms and activities to lower our own business emissions and otherwise address climate change.
In making these commitments, we recognise the challenges some countries may face regarding debt sustainability. We will continue to support debt transparency commitments by our respective governments and will ensure our own export financing, credit guarantees and insurance activities are undertaken in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Organisational Exchanges
As Quad ECAs we have regular and ongoing exchanges between our organisations and staff. We have benefitted from these exchanges and have undertaken a range of joint export credit guarantees, financings and insurance. To further enhance our cooperation, we recognise the value in expanding Quad ECA exchanges. We, Quad ECAs will continuously strengthen our collaboration including technical-level exchanges, we commit to work to deliver tangible results to the Indo-Pacific.
In order to facilitate information exchanges and develop joint approaches, we commit to an annual meeting of Quad ECA Heads and for key officials from each of our agencies to meet periodically to identify and coordinate on projects of mutual interest and consider further steps to deepen our cooperation.
We also commit to deepening on our ongoing bilateral coordination, where possible and appropriate, in multilateral forums such as the Berne Union.
ABOUT EXIM:
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation's official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Learn more at http://www.exim.gov.
AmeriCorps: From Backyard Gardens to National Impact - How One Detroit Native is Leading the Fight Against Climate Change
DETROIT, Michigan, April 23 -- AmeriCorps issued the following news release on April 22, 2024:
In a speech delivered ahead of an appearance by President Joe Biden, Detroit native, AmeriCorps member and environmental champion, Za'Nyia Kelly, shared her inspiring journey from a youth concerned about healthy food access and reliable public transportation in her hometown to a proud member of the inaugural cohort of the American Climate Corps - a groundbreaking initiative that will put more than 20,000 young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they
... Show Full ArticleDETROIT, Michigan, April 23 -- AmeriCorps issued the following news release on April 22, 2024:
In a speech delivered ahead of an appearance by President Joe Biden, Detroit native, AmeriCorps member and environmental champion, Za'Nyia Kelly, shared her inspiring journey from a youth concerned about healthy food access and reliable public transportation in her hometown to a proud member of the inaugural cohort of the American Climate Corps - a groundbreaking initiative that will put more than 20,000 young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills theyneed to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow.
The President announced the launch of the American Climate Corps website along with a suite of actions at an event at Prince William Forest Park - a national park system site developed by Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps and stewarded by the Department of the Interior's National Park Service.
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Below are Kelly's remarks as delivered:
Hello, my name is Za'Nyia Kelly.
I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, as the middle child of seven. In the neighborhood I grew up in, there were no major grocery stores nearby with healthy food options. There were times where liquor stores doubled as grocery stores.
But in elementary school, after I learned about the importance of having access to healthy foods, my mom and I started a backyard garden - I was hooked. From our little backyard oasis, I could see the impact fresh fruits and vegetables had on my family's health.
The high school I attended focused on aviation. In between learning to fly planes and build engines, I also learned how flying and different forms of transit contributed to climate pollution. For me, transportation was personal.
Apart from lacking healthy food options, my entire city lacked reliable transportation. Coming from a big family, cars were expensive, so I had to rely on public transit. A 25-minute car ride to school could easily be a two-hour bus ride. One winter during 10th grade, I got second degree frostbite on all of my toes because I had to walk for miles in the snow when the bus didn't show up.
These experiences inspired me to combine my passions, for improving both the environment and the public transit systems as an AmeriCorps member.
After graduating from Michigan State University last May, I now proudly serve in the Michigan Healthy Climate Corps, working at Transportation Riders United. TRU is a nonprofit dedicated to reducing pollution by improving Detroit's and the surrounding region's public transit systems.
Thanks to President Biden, I'm so excited to be part of the inaugural cohort of the American Climate Corps. For young environmentalists like me, it means so much to know that we have a president who understands the importance of climate change, clean energy and climate justice.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm now honored to introduce to you the President of the United States, Joe Biden.
The American Climate Corps underscores the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to addressing climate change, promoting clean energy and advancing environmental justice. As a member of the inaugural cohort, Kelly embodies the spirit of young leadership and dedication to creating lasting positive change in the face of climate change.
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The American Climate Corps is an historic initiative dedicated to mobilizing a diverse workforce to confront the climate crisis and tackle environmental injustice. Through collective action, hands-on projects, mentorship and training, the ACC empowers individuals to drive impactful change across communities nationwide while giving members a career pathway to clean energy jobs in the private and public sector.
To learn more and apply to the American Climate Corps visit ClimateCorps.gov.
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AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation's most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term, or one-time volunteers.
AmeriCorps offers opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to be a part of the national service community, grow personally and professionally, and receive benefits for their service. Learn how to get involved at AmeriCorps.gov/Serve.
