Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act

Subjects: Environmental Protection


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1238 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1238

To amend the Plant Protection Act for purposes of mitigating the threat 
              of invasive species, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 20, 2023

   Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Braun, and Ms. Hassan) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Plant Protection Act for purposes of mitigating the threat 
              of invasive species, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Invasive Species Prevention and 
Forest Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT TO INVASIVE SPECIES.

    Section 442 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``directly or 
        indirectly'' before ``threatens'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``shall remain'' and inserting the 
                following: ``shall--
            ``(1) remain'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) be transferred not later than 60 days after the date 
        on which the Secretary determines that there is an emergency 
        described in subsection (a).'';
            (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Emergency Determination.--In determining whether there is an 
emergency described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider, 
but shall not treat as a dispositive factor, whether there are 
sufficient Federal funds available to timely achieve the arrest, 
control, eradication, or prevention of the spread of the applicable 
plant pest or noxious weed.''.

SEC. 3. FOREST RECLAMATION GRANTS.

    Subtitle K of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1473I. FOREST RECLAMATION GRANTS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means 
        any of the following:
                    ``(A) A Federal agency.
                    ``(B) A State cooperative institution.
                    ``(C) A college or university offering a 
                baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of food, 
                forestry, and agricultural sciences.
                    ``(D) An organization described in section 
                501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.
            ``(2) Noxious weed; plant pest.--The terms `noxious weed' 
        and `plant pest' have the meanings given those terms in section 
        403 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702).
    ``(b) Grant Awards.--For purposes of addressing the critical threat 
to numerous tree species posed by nonnative plant pests and noxious 
weeds, the Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible 
entities under which the eligible entities shall--
            ``(1) conduct research to promote the restoration of 
        affected tree species, including research on--
                    ``(A) biological control of nonnative plant pests 
                or noxious weeds threatening or heavily damaging native 
                tree species;
                    ``(B) exploration of genetic manipulation of plant 
                pests or noxious weeds;
                    ``(C) enhancement of pest-resistance mechanisms of 
                hosts; and
                    ``(D) development of other strategies for restoring 
                individual tree species; and
            ``(2) develop, and disseminate to the public, tools and 
        information based on the research conducted under paragraph 
        (1).
    ``(c) Applications.--An eligible entity seeking to receive a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including a description of a comprehensive forest 
restoration research program to be carried out by the eligible entity 
using the funds received through the grant.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity receiving a grant 
        under this section shall use the funds received through the 
        grant to conduct research intended to address specific 
        questions relating to the recovery of tree species that are 
        native to the United States and suffering severe levels of 
        mortality caused by nonnative plant pests or noxious weeds.
            ``(2) Matching requirement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible entity receiving a 
                grant under this section shall provide matching funds 
                from non-Federal sources in an amount equal to not less 
                than 20 percent of the grant.
                    ``(B) Indirect costs.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Indirect costs charged 
                        against a grant awarded under this section 
                        shall not exceed 30 percent of the total 
                        Federal funds provided under the grant award.
                            ``(ii) Inclusions.--Indirect costs 
                        described in clause (i) shall include--
                                    ``(I) equipment used in relation to 
                                the grant;
                                    ``(II) capital improvements of 
                                facilities that are necessary to carry 
                                out the grant;
                                    ``(III) accounting costs, personnel 
                                costs, and administrative costs 
                                incurred by an eligible entity 
                                necessary to carry out the grant; and
                                    ``(IV) such other costs as the 
                                Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            ``(3) Maximum amount of grants.--An eligible entity may not 
        receive more than a total of $400,000 per year in grant funding 
        under this section.
    ``(e) Cooperation Among Eligible Entities.--To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall encourage eligible entities to 
cooperate in setting research priorities under this section.
    ``(f) Committees.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall--
            ``(1) establish a committee of experts composed of 
        representatives of the Forest Service, the Animal and Plant 
        Health Inspection Service, the Agricultural Research Service, 
        and State forestry agencies to advise the Secretary on criteria 
        appropriate for--
                    ``(A) defining research topics eligible for funding 
                under this section;
                    ``(B) reviewing the adherence of grant proposals to 
                the purposes described in subsection (b)(1); and
                    ``(C) membership in scientific peer review panels 
                to review grant applications under this section; and
            ``(2) establish an advisory committee composed of 
        representatives of land-grant colleges and universities and 
        affiliated State agricultural experiment stations, the forest 
        products industry, recreationists, and professional forester, 
        conservation, and conservation scientist organizations to 
        assist the committee of experts established under paragraph (1) 
        with respect to the responsibilities of that committee 
        described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of that paragraph.
    ``(g) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
first grant is awarded under this section, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate a report describing the use of funds under this 
section in the previous year.
    ``(h) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
the Secretary shall use to carry out this section--
            ``(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
            ``(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            ``(3) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            ``(4) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.''.

SEC. 4. FOREST RESTORATION IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.

    Subtitle K of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310 et seq.) (as amended by 
section 3) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1473J. FOREST RESTORATION IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means 
        any of the following:
                    ``(A) A cooperating forestry school.
                    ``(B) A land-grant college or university.
                    ``(C) A State agricultural experimental station.
                    ``(D) An organization described in section 
                501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.
            ``(2) Noxious weed; plant pest.--The terms `noxious weed' 
        and `plant pest' have the meanings given those terms in section 
        403 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702).
    ``(b) Grant Awards.--The Secretary may award grants on a 
competitive basis under this section to eligible entities to support--
            ``(1) the implementation of research conducted under 
        section 1473I; or
            ``(2) any other solution that the committee established 
        under subsection (f)(1) of that section determines to be 
        effective in restoring forest tree species native to forests in 
        the United States that have suffered severe levels of mortality 
        caused by nonnative plant pests or noxious weeds.
    ``(c) Application.--An eligible entity seeking to receive a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including a demonstration that the eligible entity has a 
program in effect with a forest restoration strategy that incorporates 
a majority of the following components:
            ``(1) Collection and conservation of native tree genetic 
        material.
            ``(2) Production of propagules of native trees in numbers 
        large enough for landscape-scale restoration.
            ``(3) Preparation of planting sites in former habitats of 
        the native tree species that are the subjects of the 
        application.
            ``(4) Planting of native tree seedlings.
            ``(5) Post-planting maintenance of native trees.
    ``(d) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary shall select an eligible 
entity to receive a grant under this section based on the degree to 
which the application submitted by the eligible entity under subsection 
(c) addresses the following criteria:
            ``(1) The risk posed to the forests of the State in which 
        the work is to be conducted using funding received through the 
        grant by nonnative plant pest or noxious weed species present 
        in the State.
            ``(2) The proportion of the forest land of the State 
        composed of species vulnerable to nonnative plant pests or 
        noxious weeds present in the United States.
            ``(3) The rate of spread in the State, through natural or 
        human-assisted means, of nonnative plant pests or noxious 
        weeds.
            ``(4) The environmental and public health safety of the 
        project proposed to be conducted using funding received through 
        the grant, as demonstrated by supporting research.
    ``(e) Matching Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity receiving a grant 
        under this section shall provide matching funds from non-
        Federal sources in an amount equal to not less than 10 percent 
        of the grant.
            ``(2) Indirect costs.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Indirect costs charged against a 
                grant awarded under this section shall not exceed 30 
                percent of the total Federal funds provided under the 
                grant award.
                    ``(B) Inclusions.--Indirect costs described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall include--
                            ``(i) equipment used in relation to the 
                        grant;
                            ``(ii) capital improvements of facilities 
                        that are necessary to carry out the grant;
                            ``(iii) accounting costs, personnel costs, 
                        and administrative costs incurred by an 
                        eligible entity necessary to carry out the 
                        grant; and
                            ``(iv) such other costs as the Secretary 
                        determines to be appropriate.
    ``(f) Funding.--
            ``(1) In general.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit 
        Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section 
        $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026.
            ``(2) Limitation.--Of the funds made available under 
        paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not more than 5 percent may be 
        used by the Secretary for expenses relating to the 
        administration of this section.''.

SEC. 5. STUDY ON PROTECTION OF FORESTS FROM NONNATIVE PLANT PESTS AND 
              PATHOGENS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) many Federal agencies have important roles to play in 
        addressing nonnative plant pests and pathogens in the 
        stewardship and management of forests by those Federal 
        agencies;
            (2) because of a lack of national policy, nonnative plant 
        pests and pathogens of forests are a low priority for all 
        Federal agencies; and
            (3) efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of 
        nonnative plant pests and pathogens, and especially to reduce 
        the resulting damage and restore tree species to forests, lack 
        coordination and action.
    (b) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to 
        in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall seek to enter into 
        an agreement (referred to in this section as the ``Agreement'') 
        with the National Academy of Sciences, or another 
        nongovernmental entity that the Secretary determines to be most 
        appropriate, under which the National Academy of Sciences or 
        other entity, as applicable, not later than 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, shall conduct, and submit to 
        Congress a report describing the results of, a study to analyze 
        the available resources that Federal agencies have to research, 
        and find solutions to, nonnative plant pests and pathogens.
            (2) Recommendations.--The report submitted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall include recommendations--
                    (A) with respect to--
                            (i) establishing a national policy to 
                        effectively counter the threat posed by 
                        nonnative pests and disease pathogens to tree 
                        species, including preventing the introduction 
                        and spread of those pests and pathogens, 
                        minimizing the damage caused by those pests and 
                        pathogens, and restoring affected tree species 
                        to the forest;
                            (ii) improving coordination and cooperation 
                        among Federal agencies with responsibility for 
                        management and repair of the decimation of tree 
                        species affected by nonnative pests and disease 
                        pathogens and associated ecological 
                        destruction;
                            (iii) addressing the low prioritization by 
                        the Federal agencies described in clause (ii) 
                        of nonnative plant pests and pathogens 
                        affecting forests and trees;
                            (iv)(I) identifying expertise and site and 
                        facility resources within the Federal agencies 
                        described in clause (ii); and
                            (II) improving coordination among those 
                        agencies with respect to the management and 
                        repair described in clause (ii), including 
                        coordination with academic institutions and 
                        other appropriate nonprofit organizations;
                            (v) the establishment of a center for 
                        nonnative forest pest control, prevention, and 
                        species restoration within the Department of 
                        Agriculture, including potential organizational 
                        structures of such a center, with an emphasis 
                        on including representation of a wide variety 
                        of appropriate agencies within the center, 
                        including the Animal and Plant Health 
                        Inspection Service, the Agriculture Research 
                        Service, the National Institute of Food and 
                        Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation 
                        Service, the Forest Service, and any other 
                        agency that the Secretary determines is 
                        appropriate; and
                            (vi)(I) giving priority to the emergency 
                        response of the Department of Agriculture to an 
                        emergency relating to nonnative pests and 
                        disease pathogens;
                            (II) clarifying the coordination of the 
                        Department of Agriculture with other Federal 
                        agencies in responding to those emergencies; 
                        and
                            (III) identifying funding levels sufficient 
                        to carry out responses to those emergencies; 
                        and
                    (B) that--
                            (i) take into account existing Federal 
                        resources; and
                            (ii) may be implemented through further 
                        legislative and administrative action.
            (3) Consultation.--The Agreement shall require the National 
        Academy of Sciences or other entity, as applicable, to consult 
        with specialists in entomology, genetics, forest pathology, 
        tree breeding, forest and urban ecology, and invasive species 
        management.
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