Last progress April 8, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on April 8, 2025 by Angus Stanley King
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
This bill creates a new grant program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to train people for good-paying jobs in forestry and wood products. The goal is to build clear training paths that help students and workers learn skills and get hired. The program must start within one year of the bill becoming law, and the act may be cited as the Jobs in the Woods Act.
Grants would go to local “eligible entities” that can show need, a plan to reach people, and a way to keep the program going. Applications must include how they will run the training, how many people they aim to reach, and how they will make it sustainable. The Agriculture Department will favor plans that tackle an aging workforce and youth moving away, partner with high schools, trade schools, or community colleges, and help with job placement. Grants can last up to four years and range from $500,000 to $2,000,000. The bill authorizes $10 million per year for 2025–2029 to fund these grants.