I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3522 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to facilitate 

tree planting that reduces residential energy consumption, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2021 

Ms. MATSUI (for herself, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. MCKINLEY, and 

Mr. FORTENBERRY) 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 to facilitate tree planting that reduces residential 

energy consumption, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trees for Residential 

5 Energy and Economic Savings Act of 2021’’ or the 

6 ‘‘TREES Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TREE PLANTING GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall esVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3522.IH H3522

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1 tablish a program under which the Secretary may award 

2 grants to eligible entities to facilitate covered projects in 

3 accordance with this section. 

4 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the Program, 

5 the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Agri6 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service. 

7 (c) APPLICATIONS.—To receive a grant under the 

8 Program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 

9 an application at such time, in such form, and containing 

10 such information as the Secretary may require, including 

11 the following: 

12 (1) A description of how the proposed covered 

13 project will reduce residential energy consumption. 

14 (2) An estimate of the expected reduction in 

15 residential energy consumption to be achieved by the 

16 covered project. 

17 (3) A description of the total eligible costs of 

18 the project and other sources of funding for the cov19 ered project. 

20 (4) A description of anticipated community en21 gagement in the covered project. 

22 (5) A description of the tree species to be plant23 ed under the covered project and the suitability of 

24 such species to the local environment. 


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1 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the Pro2 gram, the Secretary shall give priority to covered projects 

3 that— 

4 (1) provide the largest potential reduction in 

5 residential energy consumption for households with a 

6 high energy burden; 

7 (2) provide maximum amounts of— 

8 (A) shade during periods when residences 

9 are exposed to the most sun intensity; and 

10 (B) wind protection during periods when 

11 residences are exposed to the most wind inten12 sity; 

13 (3) are located in a neighborhood with a low 

14 percentage of tree canopy cover; 

15 (4) are located in a neighborhood with a high 

16 percentage of senior citizens or children; 

17 (5) are located in an area where the average 

18 annual income is below the regional median; 

19 (6) will collaboratively engage community mem20 bers to be affected by the tree planting; and 

21 (7) will employ local residents as a substantial 

22 percentage of the workforce of the covered project, 

23 with a focus on local residents who are unemployed 

24 or underemployed. 


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1 (e) TREE PLANTING GOALS.—Subject to the avail2 ability of appropriations, the Secretary shall, to the max3 imum extent practicable, award grants under the Program 

4 in a manner that facilitates the planting of at least 

5 300,000 trees each year. 

6 (f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

7 of a covered project assisted by a grant awarded under 

8 the Program shall be 90 percent. 

9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Program, 

11 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

12 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) COVERED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 project’’ means a tree planting project carried out to 

15 reduce residential energy consumption. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE COST.—The term ‘‘eligible cost’’ 

17 means, with respect to a covered project— 

18 (A) the cost of carrying out the project, in19 cluding— 

20 (i) planning and design activities; 

21 (ii) establishing nurseries to supply 

22 trees; 

23 (iii) purchasing trees; and 

24 (iv) preparing sites and planting trees; 


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1 (B) the cost of maintaining and monitoring 

2 planted trees for a period of not more than 3 

3 years; 

4 (C) the cost of training activities; and 

5 (D) any other cost determined appropriate 

6 by the Secretary. 

7 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means each of the following: 

9 (A) A State government entity. 

10 (B) A local government entity. 

11 (C) An Indian Tribe. 

12 (D) A nonprofit organization. 

13 (E) A retail power provider. 

14 (4) ENERGY BURDEN.—The term ‘‘energy bur15 den’’ means the percentage of household income 

16 spent on residential energy bills. 

17 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

18 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

19 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

20 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

21 (6) LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITY.—The term 

22 ‘‘local government entity’’ means any municipal gov23 ernment or county government entity with jurisdic24 tion over local land use decisions. 


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1 (7) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

2 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de3 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

4 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

5 501(a) of such Code. 

6 (8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

7 the program established under subsection (a). 

8 (9) RETAIL POWER PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘re9 tail power provider’’ means any entity authorized 

10 under State or Federal law to generate, distribute, 

11 or provide retail electricity, natural gas, or fuel oil 

12 service. 

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

14 means the Secretary of Energy. 

Æ 


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