,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bhig  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #ah 
7legislative day1 ,september #af71      
#bjbe,ms4 ,hirono 7for herself and ,mr4 
,schatz7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1
 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the
 ,food1 ,agriculture1 ,conservation1 and
 ,trade ,act of #aiij to provide        
research and extension grants to support
 the study of insects and pests that    
impact tropical plants1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,tropical ,plant    
,health ,initiative ,act4  #b4 ,tropical
 plant health initiative  7a7 ,in       
general ,section #afgb7;d7 of the ,food1
 ,agriculture1 ,conservation1 and ,trade
 ,act of #aiij 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #eibe7;d77 
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  7#ba7 ,tropical plant health
 initiative ,research and extension     
grants may be made under this section   

for the purposes of-- 7,a7 developing   
and disseminating science-based tools   
and treatments to combat plant pests and
 noxious weeds 7as those terms are      
defined in section #djc of the ,plant   
,protection ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ggjb77  
that impact tropical plants1 including--
 7i7 coffee plants2  7ii7 macadamia     
trees2  7iii7 cacao trees2  7iv7        
plantains and bananas2  7v7 mangos2     
7vi7 floriculture and nursery crops2    
7vii7 vanilla plants2 and  7viii7 any   
other tropical plant1 as determined by  
the ,secretary2  7,b7 establishing an   
areawide integrated pest management     
program in areas in which those tropical
 plants are affected by1 or are at risk 
of being affected by1 plant pests or    
noxious weeds 7as so defined72  7,c7    
surveying and collecting data on        
production and health of those tropical 
plants2  7,d7 investigating biology1    
immunology1 ecology1 genomics1 and      
bioinformatics of those tropical plants2
 and  7,e7 conducting research on       

various factors that may contribute to  
or be associated with immune systems of 
those tropical plants and other serious 
threats to those tropical plants4  4    
7b7 ,authorization of appropriations    
,section #afgb7;h7 of the ,food1        
,agriculture1 ,conservation1 and ,trade 
,act of #aiij 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #eibe7;h77  
is amended by striking #bjbc and        
inserting #bjcj4