HR7518-119

In Committee

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to ensure adequate staffing and resources for the Institute of Tropical Forestry and the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.

119th Congress Introduced Feb 11, 2026

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to strengthen tropical and Pacific islands forestry research capacity. It updates section 2407's heading to include Pacific Islands Forestry and requires the Secretary to ensure that the Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico has at least 50 staff and adequate resources, and that the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry has at least 30 staff and adequate resources, so both institutes can substantially advance science, research, demonstration, and knowledge exchange for their statutory forestry activities.

Who Benefits and How

The Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico, the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, forestry researchers, Puerto Rico communities, Pacific island communities, and land managers benefit from minimum staffing levels and resource commitments that support tropical and island forestry science.

Who Bears the Burden and How

USDA and the Forest Service must provide enough personnel and resources to meet the 50-person and 30-person minimums and support the institutes' research, demonstration, and knowledge-exchange activities. Federal budget planners must account for the staffing and resource floor.

Key Provisions

  • Amends the forestry institute statute to include the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry in the section heading and structure.
  • Requires the Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico to have at least 50 staff and adequate resources.
  • Requires the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry to have at least 30 staff and adequate resources.
  • Directs resources toward science, research, demonstration, and knowledge exchange for tropical and Pacific island forestry activities.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Requires USDA to ensure minimum staffing and adequate resources for the Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico and the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.

Key Policy Areas

Agriculture, Environment, Research & Science

Primary Purpose

Requires USDA to ensure minimum staffing and adequate resources for the Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico and the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.

Policy Domains

Agriculture Environment Research & Science

Substantive provisions

Identified Gains
  • Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico
  • Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry
  • Forestry researchers
  • Puerto Rico communities
  • Pacific island communities
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Forestry researchers:
Puerto Rico communities:
Pacific island communities:
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry:
Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico:
Identified Costs
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Forest Service administrators
  • Federal budget planners
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Federal budget planners:
Department of Agriculture:
Forest Service administrators:

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Mar 20, 2026

Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.

Feb 11, 2026

Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

Feb 11, 2026

Introduced in House

Feb 11, 2026

Ms. Tokuda (for herself, Mr. Hernández, and Mr. Case) introduced …

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Agriculture Environment Research & Science
Actor Mappings
"itf"
→ Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico
"ipif"
→ Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry
"secretary"
→ Secretary of Agriculture

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology