S. 5290 (Introduced-in-Senate)

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue competitive grants and enter into cooperative agreements to respond to and address mountain pine beetles, and for other purposes.

August 6, 2026

Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue competitive grants and enter into cooperative agreements to respond to and address mountain pine beetles, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

This Act may be cited as the “Emergency Mountain Pine Beetle Response and Coordination Act”.

(1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term “Indian Tribe” has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

(2) MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE RESPONSE PROJECT.—The term “mountain pine beetle response project” means a project that—

(A) is carried out on National Forest System land for purposes of restoring forest health in an area that experienced, or is experiencing, a mountain pine beetle outbreak resulting in significant tree mortality; and

(i) Removal of beetle-killed or beetle-infested hazard trees consistent with the applicable forest plan.

(iii) 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.

(IV) planning, monitoring, and technical assistance for purposes of maintaining watershed health.

(3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term “National Forest System” has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).

(4) PROGRAM.—The term “Program” means the Mountain Pine Beetle Response Program established under subsection (b).

(5) SECRETARY.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.

(C) a water management district, a water conservation district, a special district, or a public water, wastewater, and stormwater utility; and

(D) an electric utility, transmitting utility, or Transmission Organization (as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796)) or an electrical transmission provider.

(7) 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).

(b) Program establishment.—The Secretary shall establish a competitive grant program, to be known as the “Mountain Pine Beetle Response Program”, under which the Secretary may issue a grant to a sponsor for use in carrying out a mountain pine beetle response project.

(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 mountain pine beetle response project proposed to be carried out with the 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 carry out a mountain pine beetle response project—

(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) Disbursement.—In disbursing grant funds awarded to a grant recipient under the Program, the Secretary—

(1) may disburse all or part of those 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 on which the Secretary receives the written notification described in paragraph (2); and

(2) shall ensure that all of those 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 mountain pine beetle response project for which the grant was awarded is complete.

(a) Definition of covered entity.—In this section, the term “covered entity” means each of the following:

(b) Cooperative agreement authorization.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may enter into a cooperative agreement with a covered entity to provide for activities to support the detection, treatment, and mitigation of mountain pine beetle infestations on land subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary or that covered entity, which may include the following:

(5) Hazard reduction in areas affected by mountain pine beetle infestations, consistent with the applicable forest plan.

(1) MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT.—On request of a covered entity that is party to an agreement entered into under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, shall provide to that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect to the monitoring and management of mountain pine beetle infestations, including with respect to—

(2) WORKFORCE AND WOOD PROCESSING.—On request of a covered entity that is party to an agreement entered into under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under Secretary for Rural Development, shall provide to that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect to—