Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1389 To amend the Plant Protection Act for purposes of mitigating the threat of invasive species, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mr. WELCH (for himself, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. PAPPAS, and Ms. STEFANIK) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri- culture A BILL To amend the Plant Protection Act for purposes of miti- gating the threat of invasive species, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Invasive Species Pre- 4 vention and Forest Restoration Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. EXPANDING EMERGENCY AUTHORITY WITH RE- 6 SPECT TO INVASIVE SPECIES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 442 of 8 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) is amended by 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1389 IH striking ‘‘noxious weed threatens’’ and inserting ‘‘noxious 1 weed directly or indirectly threatens’’. 2 (b) EMERGENCY DEFINED.—Section 442 of the 3 Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) is amended by add- 4 ing at the end the following new subsection: 5 ‘‘(d) EMERGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, the 6 term ‘emergency’ means an outbreak of a plant pest or 7 noxious weed that the Secretary determines is occurring 8 at a time during which insufficient Federal funds are 9 available to timely achieve the arrest, control, eradication, 10 or prevention of the spread of such plant pest or noxious 11 weed.’’. 12 (c) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—Subsection (b) of 13 section 442 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) 14 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any funds 15 so transferred with respect to a designation of an emer- 16 gency under subsection (a) shall be transferred not later 17 than 60 days after the date on which such designation 18 is made.’’. 19 SEC. 3. FOREST RECLAMATION GRANTS. 20 Subtitle K of the National Agricultural Research, Ex- 21 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310 22 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 23 new section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1389 IH ‘‘SEC. 1473H. FOREST RECLAMATION GRANTS. 1 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec- 2 retary, for purposes of addressing the critical threat to 3 numerous tree species posed by non-native plant pests and 4 noxious weeds, shall award competitive grants to eligible 5 institutions under which such eligible institutions— 6 ‘‘(1) conduct research to promote the restora- 7 tion of affected tree species, including research on— 8 ‘‘(A) biological control of plant pests or 9 noxious weeds threatening native tree species 10 heavily damaged by non-native pests; 11 ‘‘(B) exploration of genetic manipulation of 12 plant pests or noxious weeds; 13 ‘‘(C) enhancement of host-resistance mech- 14 anisms; and 15 ‘‘(D) development of other strategies for 16 restoring individual tree species; and 17 ‘‘(2) develop and disseminate to the public tools 18 and information based on the research conducted 19 under this section. 20 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—An entity eligible to 21 receive a grant under this section is any of the following: 22 ‘‘(1) An agency of the Federal Government. 23 ‘‘(2) A State cooperative institution. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1389 IH ‘‘(3) A college or university offering a bacca- 1 laureate or higher degree in the study of food, for- 2 estry, and agricultural sciences. 3 ‘‘(4) A nonprofit entity described in section 4 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (and exempt 5 from tax under section 501(a) of such Code). 6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible institution seeking 7 to receive a grant under this section shall submit a com- 8 prehensive forest restoration research program to the Sec- 9 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 10 information as the Secretary may require. 11 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution re- 13 ceiving a grant under this section may use funds re- 14 ceived through such grant only to conduct research 15 intended to address specific questions related to the 16 recovery of tree species native to the United States 17 suffering severe levels of mortality caused by non-na- 18 tive plant pests or noxious weeds. 19 ‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An eligible in- 20 stitution receiving a grant under this section shall 21 provide matching funds from non-Federal sources in 22 an amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the 23 grant. Indirect costs charged against a grant award- 24 ed under this section shall not exceed 30 percent of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1389 IH the total Federal funds provided under the grant 1 award. 2 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The 3 total amount of grant funding a grant recipient is 4 eligible to receive under this section shall not exceed 5 $400,000 per year. 6 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION AMONG ELIGIBLE INSTITU- 7 TIONS.—The Secretary, to the maximum extent prac- 8 ticable, shall encourage eligible institutions to cooperate 9 in setting research priorities under this section. 10 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out this sub- 11 section, the Secretary shall— 12 ‘‘(1) establish a committee of experts composed 13 of representatives of the Forest Service, the Animal 14 and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Agricul- 15 tural Research Service, and State forestry agencies 16 to advise the Secretary on criteria appropriate for— 17 ‘‘(A) defining research topics eligible for 18 funding under this section; 19 ‘‘(B) reviewing grant proposals’ adherence 20 to the purposes specified in subsection (a)(1); 21 and 22 ‘‘(C) membership in scientific peer review 23 panels to review grant applications; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1389 IH ‘‘(2) establish an advisory committee composed 1 of representatives of land-grant colleges and univer- 2 sities and affiliated State agricultural experiment 3 stations, the forest products industry, recreationists, 4 and conservation organizations to assist the com- 5 mittee of experts established under paragraph (1) 6 with respect to the responsibilities of such committee 7 specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of such 8 paragraph; and 9 ‘‘(3) submit, beginning one year after the date 10 on which the first grant is awarded under this sec- 11 tion, and annually thereafter, to the Committee on 12 Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 13 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 14 of the Senate a report on the use of funds under 15 this section in the previous year. 16 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—Of the funds available to the Com- 17 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make avail- 18 able to carry out this section— 19 ‘‘(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 20 ‘‘(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 21 ‘‘(3) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 22 ‘‘(4) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 23 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and in section 24 1473I, the terms ‘plant pest’ and ‘noxious weed’ have the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1389 IH meanings given such terms in section 403 of the Plant 1 Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702).’’. 2 SEC. 4. FOREST RESTORATION IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. 3 Subtitle K of the National Agricultural Research, Ex- 4 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310 5 et seq.), as amended by section 3, is further amended by 6 adding at the end the following new section: 7 ‘‘SEC. 1473I. FOREST RESTORATION IMPLEMENTATION 8 GRANTS. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 10 on a competitive basis under this section to eligible entities 11 to support— 12 ‘‘(1) the implementation of research conducted 13 pursuant to section 1473H; or 14 ‘‘(2) any other solution that the committee es- 15 tablished under subsection (f)(1) of such section de- 16 termines to be an effective solution to restore forest 17 tree species native to forests in the United States 18 that have suffered severe levels of mortality caused 19 by non-native plant pests or noxious weeds. 20 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re- 21 ceive a grant under this section is any of the following: 22 ‘‘(1) A cooperating forestry school. 23 ‘‘(2) A land-grant college or university. 24 ‘‘(3) A State agricultural experimental station. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1389 IH ‘‘(4) A non-profit, non-governmental organiza- 1 tion. 2 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible institution seeking 3 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an appli- 4 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 5 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 6 Such application shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of 7 the Secretary that the entity has a program in effect with 8 a forest restoration strategy that incorporates a majority 9 of the following components: 10 ‘‘(1) Collection and conservation of native tree 11 genetic material. 12 ‘‘(2) Production of propagules of native trees in 13 numbers large enough for landscape scale restora- 14 tion. 15 ‘‘(3) Preparation of planting sites in former 16 habitats of the native tree species that is the subject 17 of the proposal. 18 ‘‘(4) Planting of native tree seedlings. 19 ‘‘(5) Post-planting maintenance of native trees. 20 ‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall se- 21 lect an eligible entity to receive a grant under this section 22 based on the degree to which the entity’s application ad- 23 dresses the following criteria: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1389 IH ‘‘(1) Risk posed to the forests of the State in 1 which the work is to be conducted by non-native 2 plant pest or noxious weed species present in the 3 State. 4 ‘‘(2) The proportion of such State’s forest com- 5 posed of species vulnerable to non-native plant pests 6 or noxious weeds present in the United States. 7 ‘‘(3) The non-native plant pests or noxious 8 weeds’ rate of spread via natural or human-assisted 9 means. 10 ‘‘(4) The environmental and public health safe- 11 ty of the proposed project, as demonstrated by sup- 12 porting research. 13 ‘‘(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An eligible institu- 14 tion receiving a grant under this section shall provide 15 matching funds from non-Federal sources in an amount 16 equal to not less than 10 percent of the grant. Indirect 17 costs charged against a grant awarded under this section 18 shall not exceed 30 percent of the total Federal funds pro- 19 vided under the grant award. 20 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 22 appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 23 for each fiscal years 2022 through 2025. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1389 IH ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Of the funds made available 1 under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not more than 2 5 percent of such amounts may be used by the Sec- 3 retary for expenses related to administering the pro- 4 gram under this section.’’. 5 SEC. 5. STUDY ON PROTECTION OF FORESTS FROM NON- 6 NATIVE PESTS AND PATHOGENS. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 8 ings: 9 (1) many separate Federal agencies have impor- 10 tant roles to play in addressing non-native plant 11 pests and pathogens for stewardship and manage- 12 ment of American forests; 13 (2) because of a lack of national policy non-na- 14 tive pests of forests have a low priority within all 15 Federal agencies; 16 (3) efforts to prevent the introduction and 17 spread of such pests and pathogens, and especially 18 to reduce the resulting damage and restore tree spe- 19 cies to forests, lack coordination and action. 20 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall enter 21 into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, 22 or another nongovernmental entity the Secretary deter- 23 mines to be most appropriate, under which the National 24 Academy of Sciences (or such other entity) will analyze 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1389 IH available resources in Federal agencies for research of, 1 and solutions to non-native forest pests and pathogens. 2 Such study shall make recommendations with respect to— 3 (1) establishing a national policy to counter ef- 4 fectively the threat posed by non-native insects and 5 disease pathogens to tree species, including pre- 6 venting the introduction and spread of such pests, 7 minimizing the damage caused by such pests, and 8 restoring affected tree species to the forest; 9 (2) correcting the lack of mission identification 10 and leadership among Federal agencies with respon- 11 sibility for management and repair of the decimation 12 of affected species and associated ecological destruc- 13 tion; 14 (3) addressing the low prioritization by such 15 agencies of non-native pests of forests; 16 (4) identifying expertise and site and facility re- 17 sources within such agencies, and improving coordi- 18 nation among such agencies with respect to manage- 19 ment of such damage, including coordination with 20 academic institutions and other appropriate non- 21 profits; and 22 (5) the establishment within the Department of 23 Agriculture of a center for forest pest control, pre- 24 vention, and species restoration, including potential 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:44 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1389.IH H1389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1389 IH organizational structures of such a center, with an 1 emphasis on including representation of a wide vari- 2 ety of appropriate agencies within the center, includ- 3 ing the Animal and Plant Health Inspection [Text truncated for display. 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