D.C. finally gets a seat at the federal forestry funding table
H.R. 7650 — McIntire-Stennis Act District of Columbia Equality Act · Filed by Eleanor Norton (D-DC) · Introduced Feb 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act to include the District of Columbia as an eligible recipient of federal forestry research and education funding. Currently, the Act provides grants to states and land-grant universities for forestry programs; this change extends that eligibility to D.C., treating it the same as the states for purposes of receiving these funds.
Why we flagged it
The bill corrects a geographic exclusion by extending existing federal forestry funding eligibility to D.C., a straightforward equity measure with no new programs or appropriations—only inclusion of a previously excluded jurisdiction.
What the text implies
- D.C.'s inclusion may increase total federal forestry funding demand if D.C. institutions (universities, parks departments) actively apply; the bill does not appropriate new money, so funding may be redistributed among existing grantees.
- The amendment's effect depends on the full text of Section 8 of 16 U.S.C. 582a–7, which defines the scope of 'include' and the total pool of available funds—this analysis is limited to the amendment itself.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
D.C. residents gain access to federal forestry research, education, and cooperative programs previously unavailable to them, expanding public investment in urban forestry, environmental science, and land management in the nation's capital. The change removes a geographic exclusion with no offsetting cost to other citizens.
Who stands to gain
- District of Columbia government agencies
- D.C.-based universities and research institutions
- D.C. forestry and environmental programs
Named in the bill
District of Columbia, McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act, Public Law 87-788, 16 U.S.C. 582a-7, U.S. Department of Agriculture (implied administrator)
Where it stands
- Feb 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 23, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (388 characters) on Oct 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,388 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-21.
“D.C. finally gets a seat at the federal forestry funding table” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7650 Report an error
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