[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3063 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3063
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a grant program to
address forestry workforce development needs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 17, 2023
Mr. King (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Graham, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Klobuchar,
Mr. Merkley, and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a grant program to
address forestry workforce development needs, 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 ``Jobs in the Woods Act''.
SEC. 2. FORESTRY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Career pathway.--The term ``career pathway'' has the
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
(2) Eligible area.--The term ``eligible area'' means an
area that--
(A) is a nonmetropolitan area that qualifies as a
low-income community (as defined in section 45D(e) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986);
(B) has access to or has a plan to achieve
broadband service with--
(i) at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps
upload speeds;
(ii) latency sufficiently low for real-
time, interactive applications; and
(iii) network reliability of not more than
48 hours of outage time over any 365-day
period; and
(C) has a population of 20,000 or fewer
inhabitants.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a nonprofit organization;
(B) a State;
(C) an Indian Tribe;
(D) a unit of local government; and
(E) an institution of higher education (as defined
in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001)).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a competitive
grant program to make grants to eligible entities to carry out career
pathway training programs in eligible areas with respect to forestry
operations and forestry products industries.
(c) Applications.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary
an application at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary may require, which shall
include--
(A) a demonstrated capacity to carry out a career
pathway training program in accordance with subsection
(b);
(B) a demonstration of need for such program within
a region;
(C) a projection of the extent of reach intended
for such program;
(D) a plan to ensure that such program is
sustainable; and
(E) a plan for the implementation of such program.
(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
(A) propose to carry out activities to address the
issues of an aging workforce and youth migration;
(B) will partner with secondary schools (as defined
in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) to engage
students; and
(C) demonstrate the ability to assist with forestry
workforce placement and hiring.
(d) Term; Amount.--A grant made under this section shall be--
(1) for a period of not more than 4 years; and
(2) in an amount that is--
(A) not less than $500,000; and
(B) not more than $2,000,000.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2028.
<all>