[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10000 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10000
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Mountain Pine
Beetle Response Program under which the Secretary may issue competitive
grants for use carrying out emergency mountain pine beetle response
projects on National Forest Service lands, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2026
Ms. Pettersen (for herself and Mr. Neguse) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in
addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Mountain Pine
Beetle Response Program under which the Secretary may issue competitive
grants for use carrying out emergency mountain pine beetle response
projects on National Forest Service lands, 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 ``Emergency Mountain Pine Beetle
Response Act''.
SEC. 2. MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE RESPONSE PROGRAM.
(a) Program Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish a competitive
grant program to be known as the ``Mountain Pine Beetle Response
Program'' (referred to in this section as the ``Program'') under which
the Secretary may issue a grant to sponsor for use carrying out an
emergency mountain pine beetle response project described in subsection
(c).
(b) Selection.--
(1) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
the Program, a sponsor shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such form, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require, including a
description of the emergency mountain pine beetle response
project proposed to be carried out with grant funds.
(2) Selection priority.--In selecting an applicant to
receive a grant under the Program, the Secretary shall give
priority to applicants that propose to carrying out emergency
mountain pine beetle response project--
(A) designed to protect municipal water supplies
and critical infrastructure;
(B) designed to reduce wildfire risk to communities
in the wildland-urban interface;
(C) focused on an area that has experienced, or is
experiencing, a mountain pine beetle outbreak resulting
in high tree mortality or low natural ecological
regeneration; and
(D) that aligns with a State forest action plan or
watershed strategy.
(c) Emergency Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project.--An emergency
mountain pine beetle response project described in this subsection is a
project carried out on National Forest System lands for purposes of
restoring forest health in an area that experienced, or is
experiencing, a mountain pine beetle outbreak resulting in significant
tree mortality, that may include the following activities:
(1) Removal of beetle-killed or beetle infested hazard
trees.
(2) Processing of beetle-killed or beetle infested hazard
trees.
(3) Forest thinning and other fuels reduction of plant
debris associated with mountain pine beetle mortality to alter
or clear fuels created by the outbreak and address a public
safety, critical infrastructure, or watershed health need.
(4) Reforestation, including tree planting.
(5) Ecological restoration designed to promote
biodiversity.
(6) Watershed protection and stabilization measures,
including--
(A) slope stabilization;
(B) sediment and runoff control;
(C) flood and erosion mitigation; and
(D) planning, monitoring, and technical assistance
for purposes of maintaining watershed health.
(d) Disbursement.--In disbursing grant funds awarded to a grant
recipient under the Program, the Secretary--
(1) may disburse all or part of such grant funds to the
recipient at any time during the period beginning on the date
on which the grant is awarded and ending 30 days after the date
described in paragraph (2); and
(2) shall ensure that all such grant funds are disbursed
not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary
receives written notification from the recipient attesting that
the emergency mountain pine beetle response project for which
the grant was awarded is complete.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(2) National forest system.--The term ``National Forest
System'' has the meaning given such term in section 11(a) of
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(3) Sponsor.--The term ``sponsor'' means--
(A) a State or local government;
(B) an Indian Tribe;
(C) a water management district, water conservation
district, special district, or a public water,
wastewater, and stormwater utility; and
(D) an electric utility, transmitting utility, or
transmission organization (as such terms are defined,
respectively, in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 796) or electrical transmission provider.
(4) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban
interface'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
<all>