I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8291 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for tree 

planting to reduce residential energy consumption. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 

Mr. CLEAVER (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for tree planting to reduce residential energy consumption. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tackling Residential 

5 Energy burdens Efficiently Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘TREE 

6 Act of 2020’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TREE PLANTING GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE COST.—The term ‘‘eligible cost’’ 

10 means, with respect to a project— 


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1 (A) the cost of implementing the project, 

2 including— 

3 (i) planning and designing the plant4 ing activity; 

5 (ii) purchasing trees; and 

6 (iii) preparing the site and conducting 

7 planting, including the labor and cost asso8 ciated with the use of machinery; 

9 (B) the cost of maintaining and monitoring 

10 planted trees for a period of up to 3 years to 

11 ensure successful establishment of the trees; 

12 (C) the cost of training activities associ13 ated with the project; and 

14 (D) any other relevant cost, as determined 

15 by the Secretary. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti17 ty’’ means— 

18 (A) a State agency; 

19 (B) a local governmental entity; 

20 (C) an Indian Tribe; 

21 (D) a nonprofit organization; and 

22 (E) a retail power provider. 

23 (3) ENERGY BURDEN.—The term ‘‘energy bur24 den’’ means the percentage of household income 

25 spent on home energy bills. 


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1 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 

3 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu4 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (5) LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term 

6 ‘‘local governmental entity’’ means any municipal 

7 government or county government with jurisdiction 

8 over local land use decisions. 

9 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

10 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization 

11 that— 

12 (A) is described in section 170(h)(3) of the 

13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

14 (B) operates in accordance with one or 

15 more of the purposes described in section 

16 170(h)(4)(A) of that Code. 

17 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

18 the grant program established under subsection 

19 (b)(1). 

20 (8) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

21 tree planting project carried out by an eligible entity 

22 using grant funds awarded under the Program. 

23 (9) RETAIL POWER PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘re24 tail power provider’’ means any entity authorized 

25 under applicable State or Federal law to generate, 


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1 distribute, or provide retail electricity, natural gas, 

2 or fuel oil service. 

3 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

4 means the Secretary of Energy. 

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina7 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

8 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall estab9 lish a program under which the Secretary shall 

10 award grants to eligible entities to conduct tree 

11 planting projects in accordance with this section. 

12 (2) TREE PLANTING.—Subject to the avail13 ability of appropriations, in carrying out the Pro14 gram, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 

15 practicable, award sufficient grants each year to 

16 plant not less than 300,000 trees each year. 

17 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that seeks 

19 to receive a grant under the Program shall submit 

20 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

21 form, and containing such information as the Sec22 retary may require, including the information de23 scribed in paragraph (2). 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

25 under paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) a description of how the project will re2 duce residential energy consumption; 

3 (B) an estimate of the expected reduction 

4 in residential energy consumption; 

5 (C) a description of the total eligible costs 

6 of the project and sources of funding for the 

7 project; 

8 (D) a description of the anticipated com9 munity and stakeholder engagement in the 

10 project; 

11 (E) a description of the tree species to be 

12 planted and how that species is suitable for the 

13 local environmental conditions and climate; and 

14 (F) any other relevant information re15 quired by the Secretary. 

16 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the Pro17 gram, the Secretary shall give priority to projects that— 

18 (1) provide the largest potential reduction in 

19 residential energy consumption for households with a 

20 high energy burden; 

21 (2) are located in a neighborhood with lower 

22 tree canopy cover and higher maximum daytime 

23 summer temperatures; 

24 (3) are located in a neighborhood with high 

25 amounts of senior citizens or children; 


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1 (4) will collaboratively engage neighbors and 

2 community members that will be closely affected by 

3 the tree planting; and 

4 (5) will employ a substantial percentage of the 

5 workforce locally, with a focus on engaging unem6 ployed and underemployed persons. 

7 (e) COSTS.— 

8 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary shall 

9 award a grant to an eligible entity under the Pro10 gram in an amount equal to not more than 75 per11 cent of the eligible costs of the project, as deter12 mined by the Secretary. 

13 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition 

14 of receiving a grant under the Program, an eligible 

15 entity shall provide, in cash or through in-kind con16 tributions from non-Federal sources, matching funds 

17 in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of 

18 the eligible costs of the project, as determined by the 

19 Secretary. 

20 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Pro22 gram $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

23 2025. 

Æ 


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