I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2562 
To address the nationwide shortage of tree seedlings, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2021 
Mr. BENTZ (for himself, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. NEWHOUSE, and Mr. GOSAR) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ag-
riculture 
A BILL 
To address the nationwide shortage of tree seedlings, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Solving Our Shortages 
for Seedlings Act’’ or the ‘‘SOS for Seedlings Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SEEDLING STRATEGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Ag-
riculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 
shall develop and implement a national strategy to in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:56 May 28, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2562.IH
H2562
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
crease the capacity of Federal, State, Tribal, and private 
nurseries to address the nationwide shortage of tree seed-
lings. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub-
section (a) shall— 
(1) be based on the best available science and 
data; and 
(2) identify and address— 
(A) regional seedling shortages of bareroot 
and container tree seedlings; 
(B) regional reforestation opportunities 
and the seedling supply necessary to fulfill such 
opportunities; 
(C) opportunities to enhance seedling di-
versity and close gaps in seed inventories; and 
(D) barriers to expanding, enhancing, or 
creating new infrastructure to increase nursery 
capacity. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL NURSERIES. 
Section 2 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (16 U.S.C. 
576a; commonly known as the ‘‘Knutson-Vandenberg 
Act’’), is amended by striking ‘‘each fiscal year after year 
ending June 30, 1934, not to exceed $400,000,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030, 
$25,000,000,’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:56 May 28, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2562.IH
H2562
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 4. LOAN PROGRAM FOR STATE, TRIBAL, AND PRIVATE 
NURSERIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
carry out a loan program to make or guarantee qualified 
nursery loans to eligible entities under this section. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a quali-
fied nursery loan or loan guarantee under this section, an 
eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary of Agriculture 
an application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may require, in-
cluding a plan to maintain the genetic and physical quality 
of seedlings of the eligible entity. 
(c) PRIORITY.—In making qualified nursery loans or 
loan guarantees under this section, the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall give priority to eligible entities that— 
(1) are small businesses, in particular small 
businesses located in rural areas; 
(2) create or support jobs, particularly in rural 
areas; and 
(3) serve regions with high demand for reforest-
ation. 
(d) QUALIFIED NURSERY PROJECT.—A loan or loan 
guarantee under this section may only be used to carry 
out a qualified nursery project to— 
(1) develop, expand, enhance, or improve nurs-
ery capacity or infrastructure; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:56 May 28, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2562.IH
H2562
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
(2) establish nurseries; or 
(3) develop or implement quality control meas-
ures at nurseries. 
(e) LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEE TERMS.— 
(1) AMOUNT GUARANTEED.—The portion of a 
loan that the Secretary of Agriculture may guar-
antee under this section may not be greater than 80 
percent of the principal amount of such loan. 
(2) REPAYMENT.—The period of repayment for 
a loan made under this section shall not exceed 20 
years. 
(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 
(1) LIMITATION
ON
AUTHORITY.—The total 
amount of qualified nursery loans made or guaran-
teed under this section by the Secretary may not ex-
ceed $1,000,000,000. 
(2) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall en-
sure, to the maximum extent practicable, that loans 
made or guaranteed under this section are distrib-
uted across diverse geographic regions. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a State, Tribal, or local government; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:56 May 28, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2562.IH
H2562
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
(B) a domestic private, non-profit, or coop-
erative organization. 
(2) NURSERY.—The term ‘‘ ‘nursery’’ means a 
State, Tribal, or local government or private owned 
facility that grows, stores, extracts, or monitors 
bareroot or container tree seedlings. 
(3) QUALIFIED
NURSERY
LOAN.—The term 
‘‘qualified nursery loan’’ means a low-interest loan, 
the proceeds of which are used to cover the costs to 
the borrower of carrying out a qualified nursery 
project described in subsection (d). 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:56 May 28, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2562.IH
H2562
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS