Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration, and Promotion Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1572 To promote botanical research and botanical sciences capacity, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 6, 2019 Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MCGOV- ERN, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. TONKO, Mr. COOPER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. GABBARD, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Re- sources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To promote botanical research and botanical sciences capacity, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1572 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Botanical Sciences and 2 Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration, and Pro- 3 motion Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—PROMOTING BOTANICAL RESEARCH AND BOTANICAL SCIENCES CAPACITY Sec. 101. Department of the Interior botanical research. Sec. 102. Staff enhancement. TITLE II—GENERATING DEMAND FOR NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS Sec. 201. Policy for use of locally adapted native plant materials. TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF FEDERAL NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS RELATED ACTIVITIES Sec. 301. Interagency plant materials efforts. Sec. 302. Bureau of Land Management plant conservation program. Sec. 303. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation plant conservation programs. SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7 As used in this Act, the following terms have the fol- 8 lowing meanings: 9 (1) INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 10 ‘‘invasive plant species’’ means a plant species that 11 is nonnative with respect to an ecosystem and whose 12 introduction into that ecosystem will cause, or is 13 likely to cause, economic harm, environmental harm, 14 or harm to human, animal, or plant health. 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1572 IH (2) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 1 adapted’’, with respect to plants, means plants that 2 originate from an area that is geographically proxi- 3 mate to a planting area and that are environ- 4 mentally adapted to, and likely to succeed in becom- 5 ing established and persisting within, such area. 6 (3) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native 7 plant species’’ means indigenous terrestrial and 8 aquatic plant species that evolved naturally in a de- 9 fined native ecosystem. 10 (4) NONNATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 11 ‘‘nonnative plant species’’ means a plant that has 12 been introduced by humans to a location outside its 13 native or natural range and may, depending on rel- 14 evant facts and circumstances, include a species in- 15 troduced from another continent, ecosystem, seed 16 zone, or habitat within an ecosystem. 17 (5) PLANT MATERIALS.—The term ‘‘plant ma- 18 terials’’ includes, with respect to a native plant spe- 19 cies or a nonnative plant species, such a plant or its 20 seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material capa- 21 ble of propagating that species. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1572 IH TITLE I—PROMOTING BOTAN- 1 ICAL RESEARCH AND BOTAN- 2 ICAL SCIENCES CAPACITY 3 SEC. 101. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BOTANICAL RE- 4 SEARCH. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, act- 6 ing through the Bureau of Land Management, United 7 States Geological Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife 8 Service, National Park Service, and such other agencies 9 and instrumentalities as the Secretary determines appro- 10 priate, shall support a robust program of intramural and 11 extramural botanical science research as relevant and ap- 12 propriate to support the Department’s land management 13 responsibilities. 14 (b) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—Research conducted pur- 15 suant to this section shall include a focus on the following 16 topics: 17 (1) Effective approaches to restoring habitat 18 damaged by wildfires that incorporate the use of ap- 19 propriate plant materials. 20 (2) Effective methods for developing and using 21 locally adapted native plant materials in land man- 22 agement activities. 23 (3) Effective mitigation strategies for com- 24 bating invasive plant species. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1572 IH (4) Mitigation strategies related to the impacts 1 of long- and medium-term environmental changes 2 such as changes in moisture levels, temperature, 3 landscape fragmentation, nonnative animal and 4 plant species, and human activity. 5 (5) Methods to promote the recovery of threat- 6 ened and endangered species. 7 (c) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—As determined appro- 8 priate by the Secretary, research conducted under this sec- 9 tion may be carried out through competitively awarded 10 grants or contracts, or cooperative agreements, awarded 11 in accordance with all applicable requirements governing 12 such activities. 13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 14 out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to 15 be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, and 16 such sums as may be necessary for subsequent fiscal 17 years. 18 SEC. 102. STAFF ENHANCEMENT. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of improving the 20 Department’s land management capabilities, the Secretary 21 of the Interior is authorized to augment the expertise of 22 the Department of the Interior in the botanical sciences 23 by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1572 IH (1) hiring additional personnel with expertise in 1 the botanical sciences; and 2 (2) establishing a loan forgiveness program to 3 facilitate the hiring of such personnel. 4 (b) AUTHORIZATION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 6 appropriations for such purpose, by not later than 7 September 30, 2020, the Secretary shall hire not 8 more than 20 full-time Botanical Science Personnel 9 to support the Department’s land management re- 10 sponsibilities. The Secretary shall determine the ap- 11 propriate placement of such personnel within the ap- 12 propriate agencies of the Department with major 13 land management responsibilities. The Secretary 14 may waive any limitation on the number of full-time 15 equivalent personnel assigned to the Department 16 and its constituent agencies in order to carry out the 17 purposes of this section. 18 (2) TREATMENT; HIRING REQUIREMENTS.— 19 Personnel hired pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 20 be— 21 (A) in addition to any positions authorized 22 before the date of the enactment of this Act 23 and any existing vacancies within the Depart- 24 ment on such date; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1572 IH (B) part of the Competitive Service; and 1 (C) hired in compliance with all applicable 2 provisions of title 5, United States Code. 3 (c) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 5 a program to provide educational loan repayment to 6 qualifying individuals who agree to a term of em- 7 ployment with the Department as Botanical Science 8 Personnel. 9 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate 10 in the loan repayment program under this sub- 11 section, an individual shall— 12 (A) either— 13 (i) have a degree in botanical sciences; 14 (ii) be enrolled in an approved grad- 15 uate training program in botanical 16 sciences; or 17 (iii) be enrolled as a full-time student 18 in an accredited educational institution, 19 and in the final year of a course of a study 20 or program, offered by such institution and 21 approved by the Secretary, leading to a de- 22 gree in botanical sciences; and 23 (B) submit to the Secretary an application 24 for a contract described in paragraph (4). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1572 IH (3) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED WITH AP- 1 PLICATION AND CONTRACT FORMS.—In dissemi- 2 nating application forms and contract forms to indi- 3 viduals desiring to participate in the loan repayment 4 program, the Secretary shall include with such forms 5 a fair summary of the rights and liabilities of an in- 6 dividual whose application is approved (and whose 7 contract is accepted). Such information shall be 8 written in a manner calculated to be understood by 9 the average individual applying to participate in the 10 loan repayment program. 11 (4) CONTRACTS.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual becomes 13 a participant in the loan repayment program 14 only upon the Secretary and the individual en- 15 tering into a written contract whereby— 16 (i) the Secretary agrees to pay on be- 17 half of the individual loans in accordance 18 with paragraph (5), subject to the avail- 19 ability of appropriated funds; and 20 (ii) the individual agrees to— 21 (I) accept loan payments on be- 22 half of the individual; and 23 (II) if applicable, maintain enroll- 24 ment and acceptable academic stand- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1572 IH ing in a course of study or training 1 described in paragraph (2) and serve 2 for a time period equal to 2 years or 3 such longer period as the individual 4 may agree to as a botanical scientist 5 employed by the Department. 6 (B) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 7 Such contracts shall include all other necessary 8 and appropriate terms and conditions to clarify 9 the rights, obligations, and liabilities of the par- 10 ties. 11 (5) REPAYMENT.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—A loan repayment pro- 13 vided for an individual under a written contract 14 under the repayment program authorized by 15 this subsection shall consist of payment on be- 16 half of the individual of the principal, interest, 17 and related expenses on government and com- 18 mercial loans received by the individual regard- 19 ing the undergraduate or graduate education of 20 the individual (or both), which loans were made 21 for tuition, other reasonable educational ex- 22 penses, or reasonable living expenses, as deter- 23 mined by the Secretary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1572 IH (B) AMOUNTS.—For each year of obligated 1 service that an individual contracts to serve, the 2 Secretary may pay up to $50,000 (plus, begin- 3 ning with fiscal year 2020, an amount deter- 4 mined by the Secretary on an annual basis to 5 reflect inflation) on behalf of the individual for 6 loans described in this paragraph. In making a 7 determination of the amount to pay for a year 8 of such service by an individual, the Secretary 9 may enter into an agreement with the holder of 10 any such loan for which payments are made to 11 establish a schedule for the making of such pay- 12 ments. 13 (6) EMPLOYMENT CEILING.—Notwithstanding 14 any other provision of law, individuals who have en- 15 tered into written contracts with the Secretary under 16 this section, while undergoing academic or other 17 training, shall not be counted against any employ- 18 ment ceiling affecting the Department. 19 (d) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 20 the term ‘‘Botanical Science Personnel’’ means individuals 21 with post-secondary education in the field of botany, in- 22 cluding plant ecologists and individuals with a bachelor’s 23 degree in plant biology. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1572 IH (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 1 out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to 2 be appropriated— 3 (1) for fiscal year 2020— 4 (A) $3,000,000 for subsection (b); and 5 (B) $1,000,000 for subsection (c); and 6 (2) for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2020, 7 such sums as may be necessary. 8 TITLE II—GENERATING DEMAND 9 FOR NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS 10 SEC. 201. POLICY FOR USE OF LOCALLY ADAPTED NATIVE 11 PLANT MATERIALS. 12 (a) POLICY.—In undertaking a land management ac- 13 tivity on Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the De- 14 partment of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior, 15 including maintenance and restoration in response to deg- 16 radation caused by human activity or natural events (such 17 as fire, flood, or infestation), it is the policy of the United 18 States that preference shall be made to the extent prac- 19 ticable for the use of locally adapted native plant mate- 20 rials. 21 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agri- 22 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 23 and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the heads 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1572 IH of land management agencies of the Department of the 1 Interior, shall— 2 (1) implement the policy established by sub- 3 section (a) through appropriate administrative ac- 4 tions; and 5 (2) specifically identify situations in which the 6 use of nonnative plant materials may be warranted, 7 including situations in which— 8 (A) emergency conditions require the pro- 9 tection of basic resource values; 10 (B) an interim, non-persistent measure is 11 needed to aid in the reestablishment of native 12 plant species; 13 (C) native plant materials are not reason- 14 ably available; or 15 (D) the plant community subject to the 16 land management activity has been permanently 17 altered. 18 (c) DISSEMINATION OF RECOMMENDATION [Text truncated for display. 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