Norton Introduces Bill to Make D.C. Eligible for Federal Forestry Research Funding for UDC
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill to amend the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act to make the District of Columbia eligible for federal forestry research funds. The McIntire-Stennis Act provides U.S. states and territories with formula funds to support state-designated institutions' cooperative forestry research programs. Norton said that her bill would make D.C. eligible for funding that would particularly support research at the University of the District of Columbia's (UDC) College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences, whose programs complement the city's ongoing forestry efforts. UDC is the nation's only urban land-grant university. Norton successfully got her provision to enable UDC to receive federal funding for forestry research under the McIntire-Stennis Act included in the Senate-passed 2013 Farm Bill.
"D.C., whose residents pay the highest taxes per capita in the nation, should be eligible for these critical federal forestry research funds," Norton said. "I have gotten D.C. treated as a state for the purposes of most federal funding, and this legislation is no different. The University of the District of Columbia is the nation's only urban land-grant university and would benefit tremendously from these funds."
Norton's introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the Introduction of the McIntire-Stennis Act District of Columbia Equality Act
February 20, 2024
Today, I introduce the McIntire-Stennis Act District of Columbia Equality Act, which would correct an apparent oversight in the exclusion of the District of Columbia from eligibility for funding under the McIntire-Stennis Act (Act).
The Act provides the states and certain territories with formula funding to support state-designated institutions’ cooperative forestry research programs. The funding available under this Act assists the states and territories in carrying out forestry research programs at state forestry schools and colleges and developing a trained pool of forest scientists capable of conducting needed forestry research.
District of Columbia residents pay full federal taxes and therefore D.C.is treated as a state under federal programs, with limited exceptions. The Act defines “State” to include Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, whose residents do not pay full federal taxes. D.C.’s exclusion from the Act makes it ineligible for federal funding that would support research at D.C.’s public university, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences at UDC, the nation’s only urban land-grant university, offers programs that complement D.C.’s ongoing forestry efforts and serve individuals in D.C. and beyond. Rectifying D.C.’s exclusion from the Act would ensure equal treatment for D.C. and provide UDC a fair share of resources.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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