,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cbdd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ab1 #bjai,mr4 ,welch introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,plant ,protection ,act for purposes of mitigating the threat of invasive species1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,invasive ,species ,prevention and ,forest ,restoration ,act4 #b4 ,expanding emergency authority with respect to invasive species 7a7 ,in general ,subsection 7a7 of section #ddb of the ,plant ,protection ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #gggb7 is amended by striking noxious weed threatens and inserting noxious weed directly or indirectly threatens4 7b7 ,emergency defined ,section #ddb of the ,plant ,protection ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #gggb7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7d7 ,emergency defined ,in this section1 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 arrest1 control1 eradication1 or prevention of the spread of such plant pest or noxious weed4 4 7c7 ,disbursement of funds ,subsection 7b7 of section #ddb of the ,plant ,protection ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #gggb7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,any funds so transferred with respect to a designation of an emergency under subsection 7a7 shall be transferred not later than #fj days after the date on which such designation is made44 #c4 ,forest reclamation grants ,subtitle ,k of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ccaj et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #adgc;,h4 ,forest reclamation grants 7a7 ,establishment of program ,the ,secretary1 for purposes of addressing the critical threat to numerous tree species posed by non-native plant pests and noxious weeds1 shall award competitive grants to eligible institutions under which such eligible institutions-- 7#a7 conduct research to promote the restoration of affected tree species1 including research on-- 7,a7 biological control of plant pests or noxious weeds threatening native tree species heavily damaged by non-native pests2 7,b7 exploration of genetic manipulation of plant pests or noxious weeds2 7,c7 enhancement of host-resistance mechanisms2 and 7,d7 development of other strategies for restoring individual tree species2 and 7#b7 develop and disseminate to the public tools and information based on the research conducted under this section4 7b7 ,eligible institutions ,an entity eligible to receive a grant under this section is any of the following3 7#a7 ,an agency of the ,federal ,government4 7#b7 ,a ,state cooperative institution4 7#c7 ,a college or university offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of food1 forestry1 and agricultural sciences4 7#d7 ,a nonprofit entity described in section #eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code 7and exempt from tax under section #eja7;a7 of such ,code74 7c7 ,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 time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 7d7 ,use of funds 7#a7 ,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 weeds4 7#b7 ,matching requirement ,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 #bj percent of the grant4 ,indirect costs charged against a grant awarded under this section shall not exceed #cj percent of the total ,federal funds provided under the grant award4 7#c7 ,maximum amount of grants ,the total amount of grant funding a grant recipient is eligible to receive under this section shall not exceed #djj1jjj per year4 7e7 ,cooperation among eligible institutions ,the ,secretary1 to the maximum extent practicable1 shall encourage eligible institutions to cooperate in setting research priorities under this section4 7f7 ,administration ,in carrying out this subsection1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 establish a committee of experts composed of representatives of the ,forest ,service1 the ,animal and ,plant ,health ,inspection ,service1 the ,agricultural ,research ,service1 and ,state forestry agencies to advise the ,secretary on criteria appropriate for-- 7,a7 defining research topics eligible for funding under this section2 7,b7 reviewing grant proposals' adherence to the purposes specified in subsection 7a77#a72 and 7,c7 membership in scientific peer review panels to review grant applications2 7#b7 establish an advisory committee composed of representatives of land-grant colleges and universities and affiliated ,state agricultural experiment stations1 the forest products industry1 recreationists1 and conservation organizations to assist the committee of experts established under paragraph 7#a7 with respect to the responsibilities of such committee specified in subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c7 of such paragraph2 and 7#c7 submit1 beginning one year after the date on which the first grant is awarded under this section1 and annually thereafter1 to the ,committee on ,agriculture of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry of the ,senate a report on the use of funds under this section in the previous year4 7g7 ,funding ,of the funds available to the ,commodity ,credit ,corporation1 the ,secretary shall make available to carry out this section-- 7#a7 #c1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjai2 7#b7 #e1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj2 7#c7 #h1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjba2 and 7#d7 #aj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbb4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this section and in section #adgc;,i1 the terms plant pest and noxious weed have the meanings given such terms in section #djc of the ,plant ,protection ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ggjb74 4 #d4 ,forest ,restoration ,implementation ,grants ,subtitle ,k of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ccaj et seq471 as amended by section #c1 is further amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #adgc;,i4 ,forest ,restoration ,implementation ,grants 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may award grants on a competitive basis under this section to eligible entities to support-- 7#a7 the implementation of research conducted pursuant to section #adgc;,h2 or 7#b7 any other solution that the committee established under subsection 7f77#a7 of such section determines to be an effective solution to restore forest tree species native to forests in the ,united ,states that have suffered severe levels of mortality caused by non-native plant pests or noxious weeds4 7b7 ,eligible entities ,an entity eligible to receive a grant under this section is any of the following3 7#a7 ,a cooperating forestry school4 7#b7 ,a land-grant college or university4 7#c7 ,a ,state agricultural experimental station4 7#d7 ,a non-profit1 non-governmental organization4 7c7 ,application ,each eligible institution seeking to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 ,such application shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the ,secretary that the entity has a program in effect with a forest restoration strategy that incorporates a majority of the following components3 7#a7 ,collection and conservation of native tree genetic material4 7#b7 ,production of propagules of native trees in numbers large enough for landscape scale restoration4 7#c7 ,preparation of planting sites in former habitats of the native tree species that is the subject of the proposal4 7#d7 ,planting of native tree seedlings4 7#e7 ,post-planting maintenance of native trees4 7d7 ,selection criteria ,the ,secretary shall select an eligible entity to receive a grant under this section based on the degree to which the entity's application addresses the following criteria3 7#a7 ,risk posed to the forests of the ,state in which the work is to be conducted by non-native plant pest or noxious weed species present in the ,state4 7#b7 ,the proportion of such ,state's forest composed of species vulnerable to non-native plant pests or noxious weeds present in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,the non-native plant pests or noxious weeds' rate of spread via natural or human-assisted means4 7#d7 ,the environmental and public health safety of the proposed project1 as demonstrated by supporting research4 7e7 ,matching requirement ,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 #aj percent of the grant4 ,indirect costs charged against a grant awarded under this section shall not exceed #cj percent of the total ,federal funds provided under the grant award4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #be1jjj1jjj for each fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4 7#b7 ,limitation ,of the funds made available under paragraph 7#a7 for a fiscal year1 not more than #e percent of such amounts may be used by the ,secretary for expenses related to administering the program under this section4 4