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119-s-3152119th CongressWALLET

LEAF Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Senator Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]

Introduced

Summary

Prioritizes hiring local contractors for hazardous fuel reduction on Federal forest land to support local jobs and contractor capacity. This bill would direct the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, to favor "appropriate local contractors" when awarding contracts for vegetation management and other wildfire‑risk reduction work.

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  • Local contractors and communities: Would define an "appropriate local contractor" as a business with its principal place of business in the State where the project is located and at least 26 percent of the workforce residing in that State, or a business operating within a 60-mile radius of its registered State. That definition would shape who gets priority for contracts.
  • Forest Service operations: Would require the Forest Service to apply the preference to the maximum extent practicable and set up monitoring and evaluation to assess compliance and support required reporting.
  • Projects and Tribal roles: Would cover many "authorized projects" such as mechanical thinning, prescribed or cultural burning (as determined by an Indian tribe), timber harvesting, grazing, riparian restoration, and other treatments to reduce wildfire risk.
  • Reporting to Congress: Would require a report not later than two years after enactment and then at least annually. Reports must include counts and share of contracts awarded to appropriate local contractors, total contract value, economic impacts on local employment and contractor capacity, reasons for awarding to non-local contractors, and implementation details.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Local contractor preference for Forest Service

If enacted, this bill would require the Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service) to give a preference for certain hazardous fuel‑reduction contracts to an "appropriate local contractor." To qualify, a contractor must either have its principal place of business in the State and certify that at least 26% of the total workforce on the contract (including subcontractors at any tier) live in that State, or perform work within 60 miles of the State where the business is registered or has its principal place of business. The preference would apply to vegetation management and wildfire-risk projects on Federal land and must be used "to the maximum extent practicable," starting on the date of enactment. The Secretary would set up monitoring and evaluation and must report to Congress not later than two years after enactment and at least annually after, with data on local contract awards, dollar values, economic impact, and reasons for non-local awards.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]

NM • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]

    MT • R

    Sponsored 11/6/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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