What This Bill Does
This bill changes the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to let the Secretary of Agriculture (working through the Forest Service Chief) sign contracts, grants, and agreements with various organizations. These agreements would help restore ecosystems by collecting native seeds and growing seedlings for replanting forests.
Who It Affects
- The Secretary of Agriculture and the Forest Service
- State forestry agencies
- Local private companies and nonprofit organizations
- Colleges and universities
- Multistate coalitions (groups of states working together)
Key Provisions
- The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service Chief, may enter into contracts, grants, or agreements with state forestry agencies, local private or nonprofit entities, colleges and universities, and multistate coalitions to collect and maintain native seeds, including material from managed seed orchards (Sec. 2(a))
- The Secretary of Agriculture may enter into contracts, grants, or agreements with the same types of organizations to produce seedlings for revegetation (replanting forests with young trees) (Sec. 2(a))
- Colleges and universities are added as eligible partners in the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (Sec. 2(b))
What Changes
The Forest Service gains new authority to work with state agencies, nonprofits, private companies, colleges and multistate coalitions on seed collection, storage and seedling production for forest restoration projects.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1164
To amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to authorize the
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service,
to enter into contracts, grants, and agreements to carry out certain
ecosystem restoration activities, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 30, 2023
Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service, to enter into contracts,
grants, and agreements to carry out certain ecosystem
restoration activities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Seedlings for Sustain-
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able Habitat Restoration Act of 2023’’.
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•S 1164 IS
SEC. 2. CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND AGREEMENTS TO CARRY
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OUT CERTAIN ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AC-
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TIVITIES.
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(a) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND AGREEMENTS.—Sec-
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tion 40804 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
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(16 U.S.C. 6592a) is amended by adding at the end the
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following:
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‘‘(g) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND AGREEMENTS.—To
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carry out the ecosystem restoration activities described in
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subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
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through the Chief of the Forest Service, may enter into
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contracts, grants, or agreements with State forestry agen-
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cies, local private or nonprofit entities, institutions of
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higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the High-
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er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), and
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multistate coalitions—
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‘‘(1) for the collection and maintenance of na-
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tive seeds, including material from managed seed or-
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chards; and
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‘‘(2) for the production of seedlings for revege-
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tation.’’.
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(b) COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORA-
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TION PROGRAM.—Section 4003(b)(7) of the Omnibus
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Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C.
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7303(b)(7)) is amended—
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•S 1164 IS
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),
1
by inserting ‘‘the collection and maintenance of na-
2
tive seeds for revegetation, the production of seed-
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lings, and’’ after ‘‘or agreements for’’;
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(2)
by
redesignating
subparagraphs
(B)
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through (D) as subparagraphs (C) through (E), re-
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spectively; and
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(3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
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lowing:
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‘‘(B) institutions of higher education (as
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defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu-
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cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)));’’.
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Æ
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