McIntire-Stennis Act District of Columbia Equality Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The McIntire-Stennis Act District of Columbia Equality Act makes one targeted amendment to the Cooperative Forestry Act. It adds the District of Columbia to the jurisdictions included for purposes of McIntire-Stennis funding.
McIntire-Stennis supports cooperative forestry research and related education through eligible public institutions. Treating the District as included allows qualifying District activities and institutions to compete or participate under the same statutory inclusion rule that applies to covered jurisdictions. USDA would need to incorporate the District into its eligibility, allocation, application, and oversight processes.
The bill does not name a particular District institution, award a fixed dollar amount, create a separate appropriation, guarantee that an application will be approved, or waive the program's research, matching, planning, reporting, and audit rules. The financial effect on other jurisdictions depends on future appropriations and the allocation method. If the total program amount remains fixed, including another jurisdiction may dilute existing shares; if Congress increases funding, that tradeoff may be reduced.
Who Benefits and How
The District government gains recognition as a covered jurisdiction. Eligible District forestry research institutions may receive federal program funding, and forestry researchers and students may gain projects, training, and academic opportunities. Urban forest managers and District residents may benefit from research tailored to dense-city forests, tree health, climate resilience, and land management.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USDA staff must update program guidance, formulas, applications, and monitoring to include the District. District institutions must satisfy the same compliance and reporting rules as other recipients. Existing state forestry institutions may receive smaller relative shares if appropriations remain fixed. Federal accounts bear added costs only to the extent participation produces additional obligations or Congress supplies more funding.
Key Provisions
- Adds the District of Columbia to McIntire-Stennis funding coverage.
- Expands jurisdictional eligibility for cooperative forestry support.
- Allows qualifying District institutions to pursue program funds.
- Requires USDA to administer the program for the added jurisdiction.
- Preserves ordinary application, matching, and oversight requirements.
- Provides no named award or guaranteed funding amount.
- Creates no separate appropriation for District participation.
- Limits the amendment to the existing cooperative forestry program.
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
Adds the District of Columbia to the jurisdictions included for funding under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act, allowing eligible District forestry research and education activities to participate in that federal program.
Key Policy Areas
Cooperative Forestry Research, District of Columbia, USDA Formula Funding, Forestry Education, Urban Forest Management
Primary Purpose
Adds the District of Columbia to the jurisdictions included for funding under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act, allowing eligible District forestry research and education activities to participate in that federal program.
Policy Domains
Section 2 inclusion of the District in cooperative forestry funding
Identified Gains
- District government forestry programs
- District forestry research institutions
- Forestry researchers working in the District
- Forestry students receiving research training
- Urban forest managers using local research
- District residents benefiting from forest resilience
Identified Costs
- USDA staff updating program administration
- District institutions meeting grant requirements
- State forestry institutions sharing fixed funds
- Existing McIntire-Stennis recipients
- Federal forestry accounts supporting added participation
- USDA formula analysts recalculating allocations
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E155)
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
District forestry research institutions, District institutions meeting grant requirements, Forestry students receiving research training
Positive-direction: District forestry research institutions, Forestry students receiving research training
Negative-direction: District institutions meeting grant requirements, State forestry institutions sharing fixed funds
Federal cooperative-forestry accounts, USDA cooperative-forestry staff, USDA formula analysts
Existing McIntire-Stennis recipients, Forestry researchers working in the District
Positive-direction: Forestry researchers working in the District
Negative-direction: Existing McIntire-Stennis recipients
District residents benefiting from forest resilience
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "applicant"
- → Eligible District forestry research institution
- "researcher"
- → Forestry researcher working in the District
- "administrator"
- → USDA official administering McIntire-Stennis funds
- "added_jurisdiction"
- → District of Columbia
- "existing_recipient"
- → State institution receiving cooperative forestry funds
Note: {'scope_ids': ['dc_mcintire_stennis_inclusion'], 'description': 'The amendment creates jurisdictional eligibility rather than a guaranteed grant or new appropriation; District institutions remain subject to ordinary program rules, and effects on existing recipients depend on future funding and allocation decisions.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A cooperative forestry research or education activity that satisfies the existing program requirements after District inclusion.
The possible reduction in existing jurisdictions' relative shares if the total appropriation does not rise when the District is added.
The amendment treating the District of Columbia as included for funding under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act.
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