Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act

Bill: 115-hr-5519
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Welch, Peter [D-VT-At Large]
Introduced: 2018-04-13
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Advisory bodies

Animal and plant health

Congressional oversight

Department of Agriculture

Ecology

Endangered and threatened species

Environmental assessment, monitoring, research

Executive agency funding and structure

Forests, forestry, trees

Government studies and investigations

Horticulture and plants

Land use and conservation

Pest management

Research administration and funding
Latest action: action_date: 2018-04-30
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research.

Summaries:
action_date: 2018-04-13
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act</b></p> <p>This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to award competitive grants for the federal government, state cooperative institutions, colleges and universities, and nonprofit entities to address critical threats to numerous tree species by non-native plant pests and noxious weeds.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5519 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 13, 2018 Mr. Welch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Plant Protection Act for purposes of mitigating the threat of invasive species, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act . 2. Expanding emergency authority with respect to invasive species (a) In general Subsection (a) of section 442 of the Plant Protection Act ( 7 U.S.C. 7772 ) is amended by striking noxious weed threatens and inserting noxious weed directly or indirectly threatens . (b) Emergency defined Section 442 of the Plant Protection Act ( 7 U.S.C. 7772 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (d) Emergency defined In this section, the term emergency means an outbreak of a plant pest or noxious weed that the Secretary determines is occurring at a time during which insufficient Federal funds are available to timely achieve the arrest, control, eradication, or prevention of the spread of such plant pest or noxious weed. . (c) Disbursement of funds Subsection (b) of section 442 of the Plant Protection Act ( 7 U.S.C. 7772 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: Any funds so transferred with respect to a designation of an emergency under subsection (a) shall be transferred not later than 60 days after the date on which such designation is made. . 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 new section: 1473H. Forest reclamation grants (a) Establishment of program The Secretary, for purposes of addressing the critical threat to numerous tree species posed by non-native plant pests and noxious weeds, shall award competitive grants for studies of a two- to five-year duration to eligible institutions under which such eligible institutions— (1) conduct research to promote the restoration of affected tree species, including research on— (A) biological control of plant pests or noxious weeds threatening native tree species heavily damaged by non-native pests; (B) exploration of genetic manipulation of plant pests or noxious weeds; (C) enhancement of host-resistance mechanisms; 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 this section. (b) Eligible institutions An entity eligible to receive a grant under this section is any of the following: (1) An agency of the Federal Government. (2) A State cooperative institution. (3) A college or university offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of food, forestry, and agricultural sciences. (4) A nonprofit entity described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code). (c) Application Each eligible institution seeking to receive a grant under this section shall submit a comprehensive forest restoration research program to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (d) Use of funds (1) In general An eligible institution receiving a grant under this section may use funds received through such grant only to conduct research intended to address specific questions related to the recovery of tree species native to the United States suffering severe levels of mortality caused by non-native plant pests or noxious weeds. (2) Matching requirement Notwithstanding section 1492, an eligible institution 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. 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. (3) Maximum amount of grants The total amount of grant funding a grant recipient is eligible to receive under this section shall not exceed $100,000 per year. (e) Cooperation among eligible institutions The Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall encourage eligible institutions to cooperate in setting research priorities under this section. (f) Administration In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall— (1) establish a committee of experts composed of representatives of the United States Forest Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 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 grant proposals’ adherence to the purposes specified in subsection (a)(1); and (C) membership in scientific peer review panels to review grant applications; (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 conservation organizations to assist the committee of experts established under paragraph (1) with respect to the responsibilities of such committee specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of such paragraph; and (3) submit, beginning one year after the date on which the first grant is awarded under this section, and annually thereafter to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the use of funds under this section in the previous year. (g) Funding Of the funds available to the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to carry out this section— (1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; (3) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; and (4) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. (h) Definitions In this section, the terms plant pest and noxious weed have the meanings given such terms in section 403 of the Plant Protection Act ( 7 U.S.C. 7702 ). .