[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5519 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5519
To amend the Plant Protection Act for purposes of mitigating the threat
of invasive species, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 13, 2018
Mr. Welch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
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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. 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.''.
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 new section:
``SEC. 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).''.
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