S. 1083 — Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act of 2025

This section revises National Park Service (NPS) workforce housing policy to require prioritization of quarters for field employees (as those terms are defined in 54 U.S.C. §101331) alongside other facilities. (NPS provides such quarters to retain staff in remote parks where private housing is limited or costly.)

This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire, by donation, exchange, or transfer from another federal agency, not more than 20 acres of land or interests in land, cumulatively, within the vicinity of a National Park System unit boundary for the development, construction, maintenance, or operation of quarters for field employees (as defined in 54 U.S.C. §101331). With respect to such land: (1) it is not administered as part of the System or subject to laws governing the associated System unit, but the Secretary may supervise, manage, and control it and issue necessary rules; (2) the Secretary may grant exclusive privileges, leases, permits, and contracts relating to the land notwithstanding restrictions to land within System unit boundaries; and (3) if no longer needed for System unit administration, the Secretary may dispose of it as excess property, with proceeds retained in the special fund established under 54 U.S.C. §101338(b) for such quarters and expended without further appropriation. (Thus, this facilitates off-park workforce housing for National Park Service field employees while preserving System unit protections.)

This section expands National Park Service contracting authority under 54 U.S.C. 101336—subject to advance appropriations—for quarters for field employees (e.g., park rangers in remote areas) to include their development, construction, maintenance, or operation (from management, repair, and maintenance only).

This section authorizes the National Park Service to use amounts deposited in the special fund described in 54 U.S.C. §101338(b)—established under section 320 of Public Law 98-473 (5 U.S.C. 5911 note)—for the development, construction, maintenance, or operation of quarters for field employees at National Park System units. (Thus, the provision leverages NPS rental receipts to support employee housing authorized under 5 U.S.C. §5911, which permits executive agencies to furnish quarters to U.S.-stationed employees when conditions of employment or quarters availability warrant.)

This section revises permit durations under the Granger-Thye Act (16 U.S.C. 580d)—which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to permit use of Forest Service structures, improvements, and related lands by public and private entities—for up to 50 years (from 30 years) in the case of workforce housing and related infrastructure. The section also amends the Forest Service Facility Realignment and Enhancement Act of 2005 by (1) striking section 503(f) and redesignating subsection (g) as (f); and (2) in section 504(c)(2), replacing the requirement for conveyances of administrative sites by competitive sale with a requirement to solicit not fewer than two competitive bids.

This section revises NPS partnership authorities under 54 U.S.C. §101701(a) by (1) expanding the Secretary of the Interior's responsibilities to explicitly include projects for quarters for field employees (as defined in 54 U.S.C. §101331(i.e., government-furnished housing for NPS personnel in remote areas)); and (2) broadening eligible partners to include Tribal governments as well as organizations and individuals with philanthropic agreements to fundraise or generate donations for the National Park Service. (Thus, these changes facilitate additional public-private and Tribal collaborations to address NPS workforce housing needs.)

This section revises the authority for cooperative management agreements for National Park System units as follows: (1) limits eligible partners to a State, Indian Tribe, or local government with park land adjacent to a System unit (from an eligible entity managing lands and waters located near a System unit); (2) confines agreements to cooperative management of the System unit and adjacent non-federal park land (from either the System unit or nearby lands and waters); (3) authorizes the Secretary to retain and expend reimbursements for goods and services without further appropriation (from crediting such funds to the appropriation current at the time of receipt); and (4) restricts employee assignments to applicable federal, state, local, or tribal park land covered by the agreement (from any federal, state, local, or tribal land).

This section expands the types of philanthropic contributions that the National Park Service may accept for workforce housing to include any combination of cash, fairly valued services, and durable goods and materials (from funds and fairly valued durable goods and materials). (Thus, the NPS may now accept donated services—such as professional expertise or labor—in addition to monetary and material support for constructing or improving employee housing in national parks.)

This section authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to recruit and directly appoint qualified individuals certified as maintaining a permanent and exclusive residence near sites administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or Forest Service into competitive service positions at or below GS-9 of the General Schedule, WG-15 of the Federal Wage System, or equivalent within the applicable field unit. Such appointments comply with federal merit system principles and public notice requirements and terminate on September 30, 2030.

This section establishes temporary authority, through September 30, 2030, for noncompetitive rehire eligibility of National Park Service temporary seasonal employees by directing the Secretary to define major subdivisions and waiving any requirement that the position be in the same local commuting area. (Thus, the National Park Service—which relies on thousands of seasonal employees for park operations—may rehire such workers into positions across major subdivisions without geographic restrictions.)

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 18 months after enactment, a needs assessment report on workforce housing for covered agencies that includes (1) an analysis of the unit type and condition of agency-owned and agency-leased housing; (2) an analysis of occupants' employment status, including whether they are permanent or seasonal workers and which positions require agency-provided housing as a condition of employment; and (3) an analysis of private housing markets near covered agency field units, including availability, affordability, and the impact of vacation rental services on housing supply and cost of living.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 18 months after enactment, a report assessing the effects on covered agencies' workforce housing of (1) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-45R (in consultation with the National Housing Council described in OMB Circular A-45), (2) OMB Circular A-11, (3) department-level guidance, and (4) agency-level guidance, and identifying suggested administrative actions and legislative proposals to reform such guidance. Not later than one year after submission of the report, the heads of covered agencies must implement the identified administrative actions.

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture, except in cases of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters, to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress within 30 days after furnishing emergency subsistence to employees under amended 7 U.S.C. 2228(a). The report, produced in coordination with and approved by the Office of Management and Budget, must provide (1) one or more justifications for using the authority, (2) the number of employees furnished subsistence, (3) the estimated cost, and (4) the expected duration of subsistence. (As background, subsection (a) authorizes USDA to provide meals or lodging to employees in work-related emergencies without deduction from their compensation.)