118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5125 

AN ACT 

To provide for certain improvements to the housing and 

workforce programs of Federal land management agencies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act 

4 of 2024’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—EXPANDING AUTHORITY 

Sec. 101. Prioritizing National Park Service workforce housing. 

Sec. 102. Authorizing the National Park Service to address workforce housing 

off-park. 

Sec. 103. Expanding National Park Service rental options. 

Sec. 104. Leveraging National Park Service rental receipts for workforce housing programming. 

Sec. 105. Empowering the Forest Service to address workforce housing needs. 

TITLE II—EXPANDING PARTNERSHIP CAPACITY 

Sec. 201. Engaging partners to address National Park Service workforce housing. 

Sec. 202. Encouraging public-private cooperative management. 

Sec. 203. Leveraging philanthropic support to address National Park Service 

workforce housing. 

TITLE III—SUPPORTING WORKFORCE 

Sec. 301. Supporting the land manager workforce. 

Sec. 302. Supporting the seasonal National Park Service workforce. 

TITLE IV—REPORTS AND OVERSIGHT 

Sec. 401. Quantifying the workforce housing needs of land managers. 

Sec. 402. Conducting oversight on the housing programming of land managers. 

Sec. 403. Justifying emergency spending. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con11 gress’’ means— 
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1 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

2 Resources of the Senate; 

3 (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri4 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

5 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

6 the Senate; 

7 (D) the Committee on Natural Resources 

8 of the House of Representatives; 

9 (E) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

10 House of Representatives; and 

11 (F) the Committee on Appropriations of 

12 the House of Representatives. 

13 (2) COVERED AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 agencies’’ means— 

15 (A) the National Park Service; 

16 (B) the Bureau of Land Management; 

17 (C) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

18 Service; and 

19 (D) the Forest Service. 

20 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 
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1 TITLE I—EXPANDING 

2 AUTHORITY 

3 SEC. 101. PRIORITIZING NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WORK4 FORCE HOUSING. 

5 Section 103502(a)(3) of title 54, United States Code, 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘quarters for field employees 

8 (as those terms are defined in section 101331),’’ 

9 after ‘‘prioritize’’; and 

10 (2) by inserting a comma after ‘‘facilities’’. 

11 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZING THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TO 

12 ADDRESS WORKFORCE HOUSING OFF-PARK. 

13 Section 100901 of title 54, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) ACQUISITION OF LAND FOR ADMINISTRATION OF

16 SYSTEM UNITS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To facilitate the adminis18 tration of a System unit, the Secretary may acquire, 

19 by donation, exchange, or transfer from another 

20 Federal agency, not more than 20 acres of land or 

21 interests in land, cumulatively, within the vicinity of 

22 the System unit boundary for the development, con23 struction, maintenance, or operation of quarters for 

24 field employees (as those terms are defined in sec25 tion 101331) for the System unit. 
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1 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any 

3 land or interest in land acquired by the Sec4 retary under paragraph (1)— 

5 ‘‘(i) the land or interest in land shall 

6 not— 

7 ‘‘(I) be administered as part of 

8 the System; or 

9 ‘‘(II) be subject to the laws (in10 cluding regulations) governing the as11 sociated System unit; but 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(I) have the authority to super14 vise, manage, and control the land; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) issue such rules and regula17 tions as the Secretary may determine 

18 to be necessary and proper for the use 

19 and management of the land. 

20 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATIONS.—The Secretary 

21 may grant exclusive privileges, leases, and per22 mits for the use of land acquired under para23 graph (1) and enter into contracts relating to 

24 such authorizations as authorized under this 

25 title, notwithstanding any restriction on such 
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1 authorizations to land within a System unit 

2 boundary. 

3 ‘‘(3) DISPOSAL.—If the Secretary determines 

4 that any land or interest in land acquired under 

5 paragraph (1) no longer supports the administration 

6 of the System unit— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Secretary may determine the land 

8 and any improvements to the land to be excess 

9 property for disposal; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the proceeds from the disposal of ex11 cess property under subparagraph (A) shall be 

12 retained by the Secretary and deposited in the 

13 special fund established for the development, 

14 construction, maintenance, or operation of 

15 quarters for field employees (as so defined) de16 scribed in section 101338(b), to be expended by 

17 the Secretary without further appropriation.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. EXPANDING NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RENTAL 

19 OPTIONS. 

20 Section 101336 of title 54, United States Code, is 

21 amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘management, 

22 repair, and maintenance of field employee quarters’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘development, construction, maintenance, or op24 eration of quarters for field employees’’. 
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1 SEC. 104. LEVERAGING NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RENTAL 

2 RECEIPTS FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING PRO3 GRAMMING. 

4 Section 101338 of title 54, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) USE OF SPECIAL FUND BY NATIONAL PARK

7 SERVICE.—Amounts deposited by the Service in the spe8 cial fund described in subsection (b) and established under 

9 section 320 of Public Law 98–473 (5 U.S.C. 5911 note) 

10 shall be available for the development, construction, main11 tenance, or operation of quarters for field employees at 

12 System units.’’. 

13 SEC. 105. EMPOWERING THE FOREST SERVICE TO ADDRESS 

14 WORKFORCE HOUSING NEEDS. 

15 (a) USE OF FOREST SERVICE STRUCTURES OR IM16 PROVEMENTS.—Section 7 of the Act of April 24, 1950 

17 (commonly known as the ‘‘Granger-Thye Act’’) (64 Stat. 

18 84, chapter 97; 16 U.S.C. 580d), is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘thirty years as determined by him’’ and inserting ‘‘30 

20 years, or in the case of a permit for workforce housing 

21 and related infrastructure, 50 years, as determined to be 

22 appropriate by the Secretary of Agriculture’’. 

23 (b) CONVEYANCES OF FOREST SERVICE ADMINIS24 TRATIVE SITES.—Title V of the Forest Service Facility 

25 Realignment and Enhancement Act of 2005 (16 U.S.C. 

26 580d note; Public Law 109–54) is amended— 
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1 (1) in section 503— 

2 (A) by striking subsection (f); and 

3 (B) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub4 section (f); and 

5 (2) in section 504(c)(2), by striking ‘‘by com6 petitive sale’’ and inserting ‘‘by soliciting not fewer 

7 than 2 competitive bids’’. 

8 TITLE II—EXPANDING 

9 PARTNERSHIP CAPACITY 

10 SEC. 201. ENGAGING PARTNERS TO ADDRESS NATIONAL 

11 PARK SERVICE WORKFORCE HOUSING. 

12 Section 101701(a) of title 54, United States Code, 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting, ‘‘, including 

15 projects for quarters for field employees (as those 

16 terms are defined in section 101331),’’ after ‘‘re17 sponsibilities of the Secretary’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘, Tribal,’’ after ‘‘State’’; 

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including an organiza21 tion that has a philanthropic agreement to 

22 fundraise or otherwise generate donations on 

23 behalf of, or for the benefit of, the Service)’’ 

24 after ‘‘organization’’; and 
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1 (C) by inserting ‘‘(including an individual 

2 that has a philanthropic agreement to fundraise 

3 or otherwise generate donations on behalf of, or 

4 for the benefit of, the Service)’’ after ‘‘indi5 vidual’’. 

6 SEC. 202. ENCOURAGING PUBLIC-PRIVATE COOPERATIVE 

7 MANAGEMENT. 

8 Section 101703 of title 54, United States Code, is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 101703. Cooperative management agreements 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this section, the 

12 term ‘State’ means each of the several States, the District 

13 of Columbia, and each territory of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(b) COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in accord16 ance with the laws generally applicable to System 

17 units and under such terms and conditions as the 

18 Secretary considers appropriate, may enter into a 

19 cooperative management agreement with a State, In20 dian Tribe, or local government with park land adja21 cent to a System unit, if the agreement would pro22 vide for more effective and efficient management of 

23 a System unit and the adjacent non-Federal park 

24 land. 
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1 ‘‘(2) NO TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE RE2 SPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary may not transfer 

3 administration responsibilities for any System unit 

4 under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(c) PROVISION OF GOODS AND SERVICES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

7 or acquire goods and services on a reimbursable 

8 basis as part of a cooperative management agree9 ment entered into under subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(2) RETENTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

11 may retain and expend any funds received under 

12 this section without further appropriation. 

13 ‘‘(d) CO-LOCATION.—The Secretary and a State, In14 dian Tribe, or local government may co-locate in offices 

15 or facilities owned or leased by either party as part of a 

16 cooperative management agreement entered into under 

17 subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(e) EMPLOYEES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ASSIGNMENT OF EMPLOYEE.—The Sec20 retary may arrange an assignment under section 

21 3372 of title 5 of a Federal employee or an employee 

22 of a State, Indian Tribe, or local government, as 

23 mutually agreed on, for work, on the applicable Fed24 eral, State, local, or Tribal park land covered by the 

25 cooperative management agreement. 
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1 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF ASSIGNMENT.—An assign2 ment under paragraph (1) may be extended if the 

3 Secretary and the State, Indian Tribe, or local gov4 ernment determine the extension to be mutually ben5 eficial.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. LEVERAGING PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT TO AD7 DRESS NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WORK8 FORCE HOUSING. 

9 Section 103501(c)(3) of title 54, United States Code, 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘(including funds and fairly valued 

11 durable goods and materials)’’ and inserting ‘‘(including 

12 any combination of cash, fairly valued services, and dura13 ble goods and materials)’’. 

14 TITLE III—SUPPORTING 

15 WORKFORCE 

16 SEC. 301. SUPPORTING THE LAND MANAGER WORKFORCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the Secretary of 

18 Agriculture, as applicable, may recruit and directly ap19 point qualified individuals into the competitive service who 

20 are certified, in accordance with procedures established by 

21 the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applica22 ble, as maintaining a permanent and exclusive residence 

23 within the vicinity of a site administered by the National 

24 Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

25 or the Forest Service to a field unit which the individual 
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1 would report to work into any position at or below grade 

2 GS–9 of the General Schedule, WG–15 of the Federal 

3 Wage System, or equivalent within the applicable field 

4 unit. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—An appointment by the Sec6 retary under subsection (a) shall be considered compliant 

7 with all applicable provisions of chapter 33 of title 5, 

8 United States Code, if the Secretary ensures that the ap9 pointment action— 

10 (1) is consistent with the merit principles of 

11 section 2301 of that title; and 

12 (2) complies with the public notice requirements 

13 of section 3327 of that title. 

14 (c) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority 

15 provided under subsection (a) shall terminate on Sep16 tember 30, 2030. 

17 SEC. 302. SUPPORTING THE SEASONAL NATIONAL PARK 

18 SERVICE WORKFORCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, for purposes of determining the noncompeti21 tive rehire eligibility of temporary seasonal employees of 

22 the National Park Service— 

23 (1) the Secretary shall establish a definition of 

24 what constitutes a major subdivision of the National 

25 Park Service; and 
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1 (2) any requirement that a position be in the 

2 same local commuting area shall not apply. 

3 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority 

4 provided under subsection (a) shall terminate on Sep5 tember 30, 2030. 

6 TITLE IV—REPORTS AND 

7 OVERSIGHT 

8 SEC. 401. QUANTIFYING THE WORKFORCE HOUSING NEEDS 

9 OF LAND MANAGERS. 

10 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture 

12 shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Con13 gress a needs assessment report that provides, with re14 spect to housing the workforce of covered agencies, as ap15 plicable— 

16 (1) an analysis of the unit type and condition 

17 of— 

18 (A) housing owned by the covered agencies; 

19 and 

20 (B) housing leased by the covered agencies; 

21 (2) an analysis of the employment status of the 

22 occupants of the housing analyzed under paragraph 

23 (1), including— 

24 (A) whether the occupants are— 
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1 (i) members of the permanent work2 force; or 

3 (ii) members of the seasonal work4 force; and 

5 (B) which positions identified under sub6 paragraph (A) required housing provided by the 

7 applicable covered agency as a condition of em8 ployment with the covered agency; and 

9 (3) an analysis of the private housing markets 

10 within the vicinity of a covered agency field unit, in11 cluding— 

12 (A) the availability and affordability of 

13 housing for sale or lease; and 

14 (B) the impact of vacation rental services 

15 on— 

16 (i) the cost of living; and 

17 (ii) the available supply of housing. 

18 SEC. 402. CONDUCTING OVERSIGHT ON THE HOUSING PRO19 GRAMMING OF LAND MANAGERS. 

20 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

21 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp22 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 

23 appropriate committees of Congress a report that— 

24 (1) assesses, in consultation with the National 

25 Housing Council described in Office of Management 
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1 and Budget Circular A–45, the effect of Office of 

2 Management and Budget Circular A–45R on the 

3 housing of the workforce of covered agencies; 

4 (2) assesses the effect of Office of Management 

5 and Budget Circular A–11 on the housing of the 

6 workforce of covered agencies; 

7 (3) assesses the effect of department-level guid8 ance on the housing of the workforce of covered 

9 agencies; 

10 (4) assesses the effect of agency-level guidance 

11 on the housing of the workforce of covered agencies; 

12 and 

13 (5) identifies suggested administrative actions 

14 and legislative proposals to reform the guidance as15 sessed under paragraphs (1) through (4), includ16 ing— 

17 (A) improvements to tenant experience; 

18 (B) improvements to workforce housing 

19 supply, including— 

20 (i) housing managed by the covered 

21 agencies; and 

22 (ii) leased private market housing; 

23 (C) improvements to financing options; 

24 (D) improvements to public-private part25 nerships; 
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1 (E) improvements to philanthropic engage2 ment; and 

3 (F) improvements to commuting times to 

4 report stations, including— 

5 (i) available housing in the gateway 

6 communities; 

7 (ii) available housing in the nearest 

8 established community (as defined in Of9 fice of Management and Budget Circular 

10 A–45); and 

11 (iii) differences between normal com12 muting conditions and peak-commute traf13 fic conditions, including considerations 

14 for— 

15 (I) road quality and condition; 

16 (II) availability of public trans17 portation; 

18 (III) winter driving; and 

19 (IV) visitor traffic. 

20 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date on which the report is submitted under subsection 

22 (a), the heads of the covered agencies shall carry out the 

23 administrative actions identified under paragraph (5) of 

24 that subsection. 
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1 SEC. 403. JUSTIFYING EMERGENCY SPENDING. 

2 Section 5 of the Act of August 3, 1956 (70 Stat. 

3 1033, chapter 950; 7 U.S.C. 2228), is amended— 

4 (1) by striking the section designation and all 

5 that follows through ‘‘The Department’’ and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 5. EMERGENCY SUBSISTENCE FOR EMPLOYEES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Department’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(b) REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (3), not later than 30 days after the date on 

13 which the Secretary of Agriculture furnishes subsist14 ence to employees under subsection (a), the Sec15 retary of Agriculture shall submit to the appropriate 

16 committees of Congress (as defined in section 2 of 

17 the Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improve18 ment Act of 2024) a report providing— 

19 ‘‘(A) 1 or more justifications for the use of 

20 the authority; 

21 ‘‘(B) the number of employees that were 

22 furnished subsistence; 

23 ‘‘(C) the estimated cost of furnishing sub24 sistence; and 

25 ‘‘(D) the expected duration for which sub26 sistence is to be provided. 
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1 ‘‘(2) OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.— 

2 The information for a report required under para3 graph (1) shall be produced in coordination with, 

4 and approved by, the Director of the Office of Man5 agement and Budget. 

6 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—A report under paragraph 

7 (1) shall not be required in the case of an emergency 

8 resulting from a natural disaster, act of terrorism, 

9 or other man-made disaster.’’. 

Passed the Senate December 18 (legislative day, December 16), 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5125 

AN ACT 

To provide for certain improvements to the housing 

ment agencies, and for other purposes. and workforce programs of Federal land manage-