[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1788 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1788
To amend Public Law 91-378 to authorize activities relating to Civilian
Conservation Centers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2025
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. King, Ms.
Baldwin, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend Public Law 91-378 to authorize activities relating to Civilian
Conservation Centers, 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 ``Civilian Conservation Center
Enhancement Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTERS.
Public Law 91-378 (16 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``TITLE III--CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTERS
``SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
``In this title:
``(1) Civilian conservation center.--The term `Civilian
Conservation Center' means any residential workforce
development or training facility for underserved youth operated
by the Department of the Interior or the Department of
Agriculture.
``(2) Covered graduate.--The term `covered graduate' means
an individual who successfully completed a training program at
a Civilian Conservation Center.
``(3) Covered student.--The term `covered student' means an
individual who is enrolled in a training program at a Civilian
Conservation Center.
``(4) Secretaries.--The term `Secretaries' means--
``(A) the Secretary of Agriculture; and
``(B) the Secretary of the Interior.
``SEC. 302. CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTERS WILDFIRE AND CONSERVATION
TRAINING PROGRAM.
``(a) Specialized Training Programs.--The Secretaries, in
coordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall offer at Civilian
Conservation Centers specialized training programs focused on--
``(1) forestry and rangeland management;
``(2) wildland firefighting; or
``(3) any other topic relating to the mission of the Forest
Service or the Department of the Interior or the public
interest.
``(b) Prioritization.--The Secretaries shall prioritize offering
specialized training programs under subsection (a) at facilities
described in section 147(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (29 U.S.C. 3197(d)).
``SEC. 303. WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PILOT.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Experiment, research, or demonstration pilots.--The
Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of
Labor, may carry out experimental, research, or demonstration
pilots to provide career and technical education curricula and
course offerings to advance the missions of the Department of
Agriculture at Civilian Conservation Centers operated by the
Department of Agriculture, including facilities described in
section 147(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3197(d)).
``(2) Curricula and courses.--Curricula and courses
described in paragraph (1) include--
``(A) incident management and emergency response
logistics;
``(B) disaster response;
``(C) forest products measurement;
``(D) timber sale administration and preparation;
``(E) heavy equipment operation;
``(F) equipment and mechanical services;
``(G) industrial electrical;
``(H) machining;
``(I) mill operations;
``(J) forest restoration;
``(K) habitat and water quality monitoring;
``(L) watershed and habitat enhancement;
``(M) range management;
``(N) recreation access improvement;
``(O) volunteers and visitors enhancement; and
``(P) historic preservation.
``(b) Requirements.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary
of Agriculture shall--
``(1) identify workforce needs in public land agencies,
forest, conservation, and recreation industries, and rural
communities, after consulting with State governments and
agencies, Federal emergency management and public land
agencies, local communities, institutions of higher education,
and Indian Tribes;
``(2) develop marketing, recruitment, and retention
materials for the curricula and courses offerings provided
under subsection (a); and
``(3) provide specialized staff necessary to teach
curricula and courses offerings provided under subsection (a),
to the extent practicable.
``SEC. 304. WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT.
``(a) Recruitment Goals and Investments.--
``(1) Recruitment goal.--The Secretaries--
``(A) shall each set goals of--
``(i) hiring 300 covered graduates annually
to contribute to wildland firefighting or other
critical workforce needs within the respective
Department of each of the Secretaries;
``(ii) a certain percentage of covered
graduates annually attaining employment within
the wildland firefighting, natural resources,
forestry, or a related field; and
``(iii) a certain percentage of covered
graduates annually attaining employment; and
``(B) may make investments to support the
recruitment, training, hiring, and retention of covered
graduates.
``(2) Signing bonus.--The Secretaries may provide for a
signing bonus to enable the successful employment and
transition of covered graduates, including for the purpose of
securing housing in rural and remote communities.
``(b) Direct Hire Authority.--For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal
year thereafter, the Secretaries may appoint, without regard to the
provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States
Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that title, a covered
graduate directly to a position for which the covered graduate meets
Office of Personnel Management qualification standards.
``(c) Pathways to Employment.--The Secretaries shall ensure that
appropriate career pathways are developed for covered graduates of
relevant Civilian Conservation Center training programs.
``(d) Disadvantaged Youth Employment.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretaries may employ covered students at
regular rates of pay for necessary hours of work.
``(e) Use of Covered Students for Contracts, Agreements, and
Grants.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall encourage the use of covered students to fulfill
obligations under contracts, agreements, and grants relevant to the
training administered by the Forest Service at a unit of the National
Forest System where a Civilian Conservation Center is located.
``SEC. 305. WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING HOUSING PILOT PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretaries shall establish a pilot program
to employ covered students to improve and expand the housing stock
owned by the Federal Government for the purpose of housing wildland
firefighters, volunteers, partner crewmembers, interns, and other
agency employees.
``(b) Requirements.--In carrying out the pilot program under
subsection (a), the Secretaries shall--
``(1) identify properties currently owned by the Federal
Government that would be appropriate housing for wildland
firefighters, volunteers, partner crewmembers, interns, and
other agency employees;
``(2) identify areas where the construction of new housing
described in paragraph (1) would be appropriate and
sustainable; and
``(3) submit to Congress a prioritized list of projects for
renovation with a plan for how the Secretaries will employ
covered students to repair, renovate, and remediate the
properties identified under paragraph (1).
``SEC. 306. REPORT.
``Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this title,
the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture
of the House of Representatives a report--
``(1) describing underutilized capacity at Civilian
Conservation Centers, based on an assessment conducted by the
Secretaries; and
``(2) identifying the investments, improvements, and
efficiencies necessary to utilize the full capacity of Civilian
Conservation Centers.''.
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