H.R. 3559: Save Our Forests Act of 2025

H.R. 3559, the Save Our Forests Act of 2025, is unusually short and direct. The Secretary of Agriculture would have 30 days from enactment to do two things: increase Forest Service staffing 'necessary to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity' of the national forests, and reinstate every employee who was involuntarily removed or terminated during a specific window — January 20, 2025, through the date the bill becomes law.

That date window is meaningful. January 20, 2025 is Inauguration Day, so the bill covers Forest Service personnel decisions made from the start of the current administration onward. The text contains no exceptions for performance issues, no individual appeals process, and no separate review. It just says reinstate.

The bill also tries to prevent project shutdowns. The Secretary 'shall continue' every Forest Service project funded under five existing laws: the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (campground and trail fees), two title 54 authorities covering historic and cultural site work, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. In plain English: don't let already-funded work die on the vine.

The money piece is notable for what it doesn't say. There's no new appropriation. The agency is told to use funds previously appropriated for these purposes. If the bill advances, the practical fight will be whether existing funds and human resources capacity are enough to rehire workers and keep every covered project moving on a 30-day clock.