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. MCGOVERN, 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 Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Botanical Sciences and 

3 Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration, and Pro4 motion Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

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. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 As used in this Act, the following terms have the fol9 lowing meanings: 

10 (1) INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 

11 ‘‘invasive plant species’’ means a plant species that 

12 is nonnative with respect to an ecosystem and whose 

13 introduction into that ecosystem will cause, or is 

14 likely to cause, economic harm, environmental harm, 

15 or harm to human, animal, or plant health. 


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1 (2) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 

2 adapted’’, with respect to plants, means plants that 

3 originate from an area that is geographically proxi4 mate to a planting area and that are environ5 mentally adapted to, and likely to succeed in becom6 ing established and persisting within, such area. 

7 (3) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native 

8 plant species’’ means indigenous terrestrial and 

9 aquatic plant species that evolved naturally in a de10 fined native ecosystem. 

11 (4) NONNATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 

12 ‘‘nonnative plant species’’ means a plant that has 

13 been introduced by humans to a location outside its 

14 native or natural range and may, depending on rel15 evant facts and circumstances, include a species in16 troduced from another continent, ecosystem, seed 

17 zone, or habitat within an ecosystem. 

18 (5) PLANT MATERIALS.—The term ‘‘plant ma19 terials’’ includes, with respect to a native plant spe20 cies or a nonnative plant species, such a plant or its 

21 seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material capa22 ble of propagating that species. 


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1 TITLE I—PROMOTING BOTAN2 ICAL RESEARCH AND BOTAN3 ICAL SCIENCES CAPACITY 

4 SEC. 101. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BOTANICAL RE5 SEARCH. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, act7 ing through the Bureau of Land Management, United 

8 States Geological Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife 

9 Service, National Park Service, and such other agencies 

10 and instrumentalities as the Secretary determines appro11 priate, shall support a robust program of intramural and 

12 extramural botanical science research as relevant and ap13 propriate to support the Department’s land management 

14 responsibilities. 

15 (b) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—Research conducted pur16 suant to this section shall include a focus on the following 

17 topics: 

18 (1) Effective approaches to restoring habitat 

19 damaged by wildfires that incorporate the use of ap20 propriate plant materials. 

21 (2) Effective methods for developing and using 

22 locally adapted native plant materials in land man23 agement activities. 

24 (3) Effective mitigation strategies for com25 bating invasive plant species. 


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1 (4) Mitigation strategies related to the impacts 

2 of long- and medium-term environmental changes 

3 such as changes in moisture levels, temperature, 

4 landscape fragmentation, nonnative animal and 

5 plant species, and human activity. 

6 (5) Methods to promote the recovery of threat7 ened and endangered species. 

8 (c) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—As determined appro9 priate by the Secretary, research conducted under this sec10 tion may be carried out through competitively awarded 

11 grants or contracts, or cooperative agreements, awarded 

12 in accordance with all applicable requirements governing 

13 such activities. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

15 out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to 

16 be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, and 

17 such sums as may be necessary for subsequent fiscal 

18 years. 

19 SEC. 102. STAFF ENHANCEMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of improving the 

21 Department’s land management capabilities, the Secretary 

22 of the Interior is authorized to augment the expertise of 

23 the Department of the Interior in the botanical sciences 

24 by— 


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1 (1) hiring additional personnel with expertise in 

2 the botanical sciences; and 

3 (2) establishing a loan forgiveness program to 

4 facilitate the hiring of such personnel. 

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

7 appropriations for such purpose, by not later than 

8 September 30, 2020, the Secretary shall hire not 

9 more than 20 full-time Botanical Science Personnel 

10 to support the Department’s land management re11 sponsibilities. The Secretary shall determine the ap12 propriate placement of such personnel within the ap13 propriate agencies of the Department with major 

14 land management responsibilities. The Secretary 

15 may waive any limitation on the number of full-time 

16 equivalent personnel assigned to the Department 

17 and its constituent agencies in order to carry out the 

18 purposes of this section. 

19 (2) TREATMENT; HIRING REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 Personnel hired pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

21 be— 

22 (A) in addition to any positions authorized 

23 before the date of the enactment of this Act 

24 and any existing vacancies within the Depart25 ment on such date; 


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1 (B) part of the Competitive Service; and 

2 (C) hired in compliance with all applicable 

3 provisions of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (c) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 a program to provide educational loan repayment to 

7 qualifying individuals who agree to a term of em8 ployment with the Department as Botanical Science 

9 Personnel. 

10 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate 

11 in the loan repayment program under this sub12 section, an individual shall— 

13 (A) either— 

14 (i) have a degree in botanical sciences; 

15 (ii) be enrolled in an approved grad16 uate training program in botanical 

17 sciences; or 

18 (iii) be enrolled as a full-time student 

19 in an accredited educational institution, 

20 and in the final year of a course of a study 

21 or program, offered by such institution and 

22 approved by the Secretary, leading to a de23 gree in botanical sciences; and 

24 (B) submit to the Secretary an application 

25 for a contract described in paragraph (4). 


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1 (3) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED WITH AP2 PLICATION AND CONTRACT FORMS.—In dissemi3 nating application forms and contract forms to indi4 viduals desiring to participate in the loan repayment 

5 program, the Secretary shall include with such forms 

6 a fair summary of the rights and liabilities of an in7 dividual whose application is approved (and whose 

8 contract is accepted). Such information shall be 

9 written in a manner calculated to be understood by 

10 the average individual applying to participate in the 

11 loan repayment program. 

12 (4) CONTRACTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual becomes 

14 a participant in the loan repayment program 

15 only upon the Secretary and the individual en16 tering into a written contract whereby— 

17 (i) the Secretary agrees to pay on be18 half of the individual loans in accordance 

19 with paragraph (5), subject to the avail20 ability of appropriated funds; and 

21 (ii) the individual agrees to— 

22 (I) accept loan payments on be23 half of the individual; and 

24 (II) if applicable, maintain enroll25 ment and acceptable academic standVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1572.IH H1572

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1 ing in a course of study or training 

2 described in paragraph (2) and serve 

3 for a time period equal to 2 years or 

4 such longer period as the individual 

5 may agree to as a botanical scientist 

6 employed by the Department. 

7 (B) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

8 Such contracts shall include all other necessary 

9 and appropriate terms and conditions to clarify 

10 the rights, obligations, and liabilities of the par11 ties. 

12 (5) REPAYMENT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—A loan repayment pro14 vided for an individual under a written contract 

15 under the repayment program authorized by 

16 this subsection shall consist of payment on be17 half of the individual of the principal, interest, 

18 and related expenses on government and com19 mercial loans received by the individual regard20 ing the undergraduate or graduate education of 

21 the individual (or both), which loans were made 

22 for tuition, other reasonable educational ex23 penses, or reasonable living expenses, as deter24 mined by the Secretary. 


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1 (B) AMOUNTS.—For each year of obligated 

2 service that an individual contracts to serve, the 

3 Secretary may pay up to $50,000 (plus, begin4 ning with fiscal year 2020, an amount deter5 mined by the Secretary on an annual basis to 

6 reflect inflation) on behalf of the individual for 

7 loans described in this paragraph. In making a 

8 determination of the amount to pay for a year 

9 of such service by an individual, the Secretary 

10 may enter into an agreement with the holder of 

11 any such loan for which payments are made to 

12 establish a schedule for the making of such pay13 ments. 

14 (6) EMPLOYMENT CEILING.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law, individuals who have en16 tered into written contracts with the Secretary under 

17 this section, while undergoing academic or other 

18 training, shall not be counted against any employ19 ment ceiling affecting the Department. 

20 (d) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 

21 the term ‘‘Botanical Science Personnel’’ means individuals 

22 with post-secondary education in the field of botany, in23 cluding plant ecologists and individuals with a bachelor’s 

24 degree in plant biology. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

2 out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to 

3 be appropriated— 

4 (1) for fiscal year 2020— 

5 (A) $3,000,000 for subsection (b); and 

6 (B) $1,000,000 for subsection (c); and 

7 (2) for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2020, 

8 such sums as may be necessary. 

9 TITLE II—GENERATING DEMAND 

10 FOR NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS 

11 SEC. 201. POLICY FOR USE OF LOCALLY ADAPTED NATIVE 

12 PLANT MATERIALS. 

13 (a) POLICY.—In undertaking a land management ac14 tivity on Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the De15 partment of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior, 

16 including maintenance and restoration in response to deg17 radation caused by human activity or natural events (such 

18 as fire, flood, or infestation), it is the policy of the United 

19 States that preference shall be made to the extent prac20 ticable for the use of locally adapted native plant mate21 rials. 

22 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agri23 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 

24 and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the heads 


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1 of land management agencies of the Department of the 

2 Interior, shall— 

3 (1) implement the policy established by sub4 section (a) through appropriate administrative ac5 tions; and 

6 (2) specifically identify situations in which the 

7 use of nonnative plant materials may be warranted, 

8 including situations in which— 

9 (A) emergency conditions require the pro10 tection of basic resource values; 

11 (B) an interim, non-persistent measure is 

12 needed to aid in the reestablishment of native 

13 plant species; 

14 (C) native plant materials are not reason15 ably available; or 

16 (D) the plant community subject to the 

17 land management activity has been permanently 

18 altered. 

19 (c) DISSEMINATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

20 OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES WITH SUBSTANTIAL LAND

21 USE RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary of Agriculture, 

22 acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the 

23 Secretary of the Interior, acting through the heads of land 

24 management agencies of the Department of the Interior, 

25 shall develop recommended activities for the Departments 


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1 of Defense, the Department of Transportation, and the 

2 Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service to under3 take in order to incorporate to the extent practicable the 

4 use of locally adapted native plant materials in restoration 

5 and management of public lands and buildings funded by, 

6 or under the jurisdiction of, such agencies. 

7 TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF 

8 FEDERAL NATIVE PLANT MA9 TERIALS RELATED ACTIVI10 TIES 

11 SEC. 301. INTERAGENCY PLANT MATERIALS EFFORTS. 

12 (a) ACTIVITIES.—The heads of the agencies shall col13 laborate, as appropriate, regarding land use responsibility 

14 to undertake the following activities related to native plant 

15 materials: 

16 (1) Identify seed needs and ensure the reliable 

17 availability of genetically appropriate seed. 

18 (2) Conduct research to develop genetically ap19 propriate seed and to improve technology for seed 

20 production and ecological restoration. 

21 (3) Support land managers’ ability to make 

22 timely and informed seeding decisions for ecological 

23 restoration. 


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1 (4) Efforts to enhance, protect, and restore 

2 plant materials necessary to support pollinators and 

3 dispersers. 

4 (5) Efforts to coordinate activities aimed at 

5 sustaining and restoring public lands through the 

6 use of techniques and materials that promote to the 

7 extent practicable the use of locally adapted native 

8 plant materials. 

9 (b) AGENCIES.—For the purposes of this section, the 

10 term ‘‘agencies’’ means the following: 

11 (1) In the Department of the Interior, the fol12 lowing: 

13 (A) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

14 (B) The Bureau of Land Management. 

15 (C) The National Park Service. 

16 (D) The United States Fish and Wildlife 

17 Service. 

18 (E) The United States Geological Survey. 

19 (2) In the Department of Agriculture, the fol20 lowing: 

21 (A) The Agricultural Research Service. 

22 (B) The Forest Service. 

23 (C) The National Institute of Food and 

24 Agriculture. 


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1 (D) The Natural Resources Conservation 

2 Service. 

3 SEC. 302. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANT CON4 SERVATION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Land Management 

6 is authorized to undertake activities to develop and use 

7 native plant materials. 

8 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The following activities are within 

9 the scope of this authority: 

10 (1) Identifying, evaluating, and protecting rare 

11 plants on public lands. 

12 (2) Understanding the effects of human activity 

13 on native plant species and communities on public 

14 lands. 

15 (3) Supporting efforts to develop genetically ap16 propriate native plant materials for restoring and 

17 maintaining habitat for animal and plant species, in18 cluding sage grouse, and monitoring the effective19 ness of such materials. 

20 (4) Ensuring that the needs of the agency for 

21 native plant materials are met. 

22 (5) Developing seed transfer zones and guide23 lines. 

24 (6) Supporting public-private partnerships to 

25 catalogue and store plant materials. 


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1 (7) Coordinating a national network of seed 

2 storage warehouses. 

3 (8) Implementing habitat conservation and res4 toration on a landscape scale. 

5 (9) Supporting public-private efforts, and volun6 teer efforts to support plant conservation. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

8 out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to 

9 be appropriated— 

10 (1) for fiscal year 2020, $35,000,000; and 

11 (2) for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2020, 

12 such sums as may be necessary. 

13 SEC. 303. NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION 

14 PLANT CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. 

15 The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shall— 

16 (1) ensure that a robust program of activities 

17 specifically focused on the conservation and protec18 tion of native plants is incorporated into its existing 

19 programs and activities; and 

20 (2) provide a report to Congress on its imple21 mentation of this section. 

Æ 


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