119-s1336

[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>