Neighborhood Tree Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8474 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8474 To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to provide States and communities with additional assistance to plant and maintain trees, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 23, 2026 Ms. Brown (for herself, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Sykes, and Ms. Titus) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to provide States and communities with additional assistance to plant and maintain trees, 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 ``Neighborhood Tree Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds that-- (1) the presence of a healthy and well-maintained urban forest can-- (A) support-- (i) the physical and mental health of community residents; (ii) the regulation of air quality; (iii) the mitigation of the urban heat island effect; (iv) the reduction of energy demand; and (v) stormwater management; and (B) provide other benefits; (2) according to research of the Forest Service, the estimated value of benefits described in paragraph (1) exceeds $18,000,000,000; (3) the maintenance and management of an urban forest offers additional opportunities relating to workforce development, job creation, and enhancement of property values; (4) urban forest canopy cover is inequitably distributed among racial groups and income levels, exacerbating disparities in exposure, for example, to the urban heat island effect and in related health risks or financial burdens relating