[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1336 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1336
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
April 8, 2025
Mr. King (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Crapo, Mrs. Shaheen,
Ms. Collins, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Klobuchar) 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 speed and 20
Mbps upload speed;
(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 a program
within the applicable region;
(C) a projection of the extent of reach intended
for the program;
(D) a plan to ensure that the program is
sustainable; and
(E) a plan for the implementation of the 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 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)), vocational or
technical schools, or junior or community colleges (as
defined in section 312 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058)) 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 equal to--
(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 2025 through 2029.
<all>