,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hia  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,may #h1 #bjac ,mr4 
,merkley introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill
  ,to increase the employment of        
,americans by requiring ,state workforce
 agencies to certify that employers are 
actively recruiting ,americans and that 
,americans are not qualified or         
available to fill the positions that the
 employer wants to fill with ,h-#b;,b   
nonimmigrants4  #a4 ,short title ,this  
,act may be cited as the ,american ,jobs
 in ,american ,forests ,act of #bjac4   
#b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3  7#a7   
,forestry ,the term forestry means--    
7,a7 propagating1 protecting1 and       
managing forest tracts2  7,b7 felling   
trees and cutting them into logs2  7,c7 
using hand tools or operating heavy     
powered equipment to perform activities 
such as preparing sites for planting1   
tending crop trees1 reducing competing  

vegetation1 moving logs1 piling brush1  
and yarding and trucking logs from the  
forest2  7,d7 planting seedlings and    
trees2 and  7,e7 preventing1 controlling
 and extinguishing fires4  7#b7 ,h-#b;,b
 nonimmigrant ,the term ,h-#b;,b        
nonimmigrant means a nonimmigrant       
described in section                    
#aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77b7 of the        
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77b774  
7#c7 ,prospective ,h-#b;,b employer ,the
 term prospective ,h-#b;,b employer     
means a ,united ,states business that is
 considering employing #a or more       
nonimmigrants described in section      
#aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77b7 of the        
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77b774  
7#d7 ,state workforce agency ,except as 
used in section #c1 the term ,state     
workforce agency means the workforce    
agency of the ,state in which the       
prospective ,h-#b;,b employer intends to
 employ ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants4  #c4    

,department of ,labor  7a7 ,recruitment 
,as a component of the labor            
certification process required before   
,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants are offered      
forestry employment in the ,united      
,states1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall 
require all prospective ,h-#b;,b        
employers1 before they submit a petition
 to hire ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants to work 
in forestry1 to conduct a robust effort 
to recruit ,united ,states workers1     
including--  7#a7 advertising at        
employment or job-placement events1 such
 as job fairs2  7#b7 advertising with   
,state or local workforce agencies1     
nonprofit organizations1 or other       
appropriate entities1 and working with  
such entities to identify potential     
employees2  7#c7 advertising in         
appropriate media1 including local radio
 stations and commonly used1 reputable  
,internet job-search sites2 and  7#d7   
such other recruitment strategies as the
 ,state workforce agency considers      
appropriate for the sector or positions 

for which ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants would  
be considered4  7b7 ,separate petitions 
,a prospective ,h-#b;,b employer shall  
submit a separate petition for each     
,state in which the employer plans to   
employ ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants in        
forestry for a period of #g days or     
longer4  #d4 ,state workforce agencies  
,the ,secretary of ,labor may not grant 
a temporary labor certification to a    
prospective ,h-#b;,b employer seeking to
 employ ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants in       
forestry until after the ,director of   
the ,state workforce agency--  7#a7 has 
formally consulted with the workforce   
agency director of each contiguous      
,state listed on the prospective        
,h-#b;,b employer's application and     
determined that--  7,a7 the employer has
 complied with all recruitment          
requirements set forth in section #c and
 there is a legitimate demand for the   
employment of ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants in 
each of those ,states2 or  7,b7 the     
employer has amended the application by 

removing or making appropriate          
modifications with respect to the       
,states in which the criteria set forth 
in subparagraph 7,a7 have not been met2 
7#b7 certifies that the prospective     
,h-#b;,b employer has complied with all 
recruitment requirements set forth in   
section #c or any other applicable      
provision of law2 and  7#c7 makes a     
formal determination that nationals of  
the ,united ,states are not qualified or
 available to fill the employment       
opportunities offered by the prospective
 ,h-#b;,b employer4