HR 4575 — Jobs in the Woods Act

Summary

This Act establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Agriculture to fund forestry workforce development and career pathway training programs in nonmetropolitan low-income areas with populations of 50,000 or fewer. Grants of $500,000 to $2,000,000 for up to 4 years will be available to nonprofit organizations, states, Indian Tribes, local governments, and educational institutions to conduct forestry training. The program prioritizes applications addressing aging workforce and youth migration issues, those partnering with schools or colleges, and those demonstrating workforce placement capability. The Act authorizes $10,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Rep. Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [D-WA-3] (D-WA)

16 cosponsors

Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA)
Rep. Bynum, Janelle S. [D-OR-5] (D-OR)
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA)
Rep. Golden, Jared F. [D-ME-2] (D-ME)
Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH)
Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4] (D-OR)
Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA)
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY)
Rep. McGuire, John J. [R-VA-5] (R-VA)
Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL)
Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME)
Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7] (R-NC)
Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR)
Rep. Schrier, Kim [D-WA-8] (D-WA)
Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8] (R-MN)
Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15] (R-PA)

Actions (2)

Jul 21, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. · house
Jul 21, 2025 Introduced in House

Similar bills (6)

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Text versions (1)

Introduced in House · Jul 21, 2025

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 21, 2025

Ms. Perez (for herself, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Stauber, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

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) Establishment.—

(1) In general.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 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 in accordance with subsection (c).

(2) Term; amount.—A grant made under this section shall be—

(A) for a period of not greater than 4 years; and

(B) made in an amount—

(i) greater than or equal to $500,000; and

(ii) less than or equal to $2,000,000.

(b) 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

(c);

(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) to engage students, intends to partner with—

(i) a secondary school;

(ii) a vocational or technical school; or

(iii) a junior or community college; and

(C) demonstrate the ability to assist with forestry workforce placement and hiring.

(c) Use of Funds.—An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to carry out career pathway training programs with respect to forestry operations and forestry products industries.

(d) 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—

(A) a nonmetropolitan area that qualifies as a low- income community (as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986);

(B) an area that has access to or has a plan to achieve broadband service (as defined in section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb)); and

(C) an area that has a population of 50,000 or fewer inhabitants.

(3) Eligible entity.—The term “eligible entity” means a nonprofit organization, a State, an Indian Tribe, a local government, or an institution of higher education.

(4) Institution of higher education.—The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

(5) Junior or community college.—The term “junior or community college” has the meaning given such term in section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)).

(6) Secondary school.—The term “secondary school” has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

(7) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture.

(e) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. <all>

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