Jobs in the Woods Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Jobs in the Woods Act directs the Agriculture Secretary to establish a competitive forestry workforce development grant program within one year. Grants last up to four years and must be at least $500,000 and no more than $2 million. Applicants must show capacity to run a career pathway training program, regional need, reach, sustainability, and an implementation plan. USDA must prioritize applicants addressing an aging workforce and youth migration, partnering with secondary schools, vocational or technical schools, junior colleges, or community colleges, and demonstrating forestry workforce placement and hiring ability. Grant funds support training for forestry operations and forestry products industries. Eligible areas must be nonmetropolitan low-income communities under the New Markets Tax Credit definition, have broadband service or a plan to achieve it, and meet the bill's population conditions.
Who Benefits and How
Rural forestry trainees benefit from career pathway training tied to forestry operations and forest products jobs. Forestry products employers benefit from a larger trained workforce in eligible rural regions. Community colleges benefit from priority partnerships for student engagement and workforce placement. Vocational schools benefit from priority partnerships in forestry training programs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USDA must create, administer, and prioritize the competitive grant program within one year. Grant applicants must document capacity, need, reach, sustainability, and implementation plans. Grant recipients must run forestry career pathway programs and sustain them after grant support. Federal taxpayers fund grants of $500,000 to $2 million per award.
Key Provisions
- Creates a competitive USDA forestry workforce development grant program.
- Limits grants to no more than four years and between $500,000 and $2 million.
- Requires applicants to demonstrate capacity, regional need, reach, sustainability, and implementation planning.
- Prioritizes aging-workforce responses, youth engagement, school partnerships, and workforce placement.
- Targets eligible nonmetropolitan low-income areas with broadband service or a broadband plan.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a USDA competitive forestry workforce development grant program for eligible rural and low-income areas, with four-year grants between $500,000 and $2 million for forestry career pathway training, youth engagement, and workforce placement.
Key Policy Areas
Forestry, Workforce Development, Rural Development
Primary Purpose
Creates a USDA competitive forestry workforce development grant program for eligible rural and low-income areas, with four-year grants between $500,000 and $2 million for forestry career pathway training, youth engagement, and workforce placement.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Rural forestry trainees
- Forestry products employers
- Community colleges
- Vocational schools
Identified Costs
- Department of Agriculture
- Grant applicants
- Grant recipients
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Perez (for herself, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Stauber, Ms. Pingree, …
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Forestry products employers, Grant applicants
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology