Sponsors (5)
The bill directs federal funds and governance changes to expand urban tree canopy and prioritize historically underserved communities—trading increased public spending and new administrative/local maintenance burdens (and some displacement risk) for measurable public-health, climate-resilience, job, and environmental-justice benefits.
Residents of low-canopy, high-heat urban neighborhoods (particularly low-income and communities of color) would gain more shade and improved air quality, reducing heat-related illness and respiratory problems.
Communities would receive substantial federal funding for tree planting and maintenance that creates local jobs, workforce training, and contracting opportunities.
The bill establishes a funded program (rising federal deposits up to the program's later-year levels) to scale urban forestry and agroforestry projects, increasing the overall capacity to plant and maintain trees in priority neighborhoods.
Taxpayers would fund sizable federal deposits and ongoing program costs, which increases federal spending and could require budget offsets or divert funds from other priorities.
If planting is prioritized without fully funded, sustained maintenance, the long-term care burden and costs could fall on cash-strapped local governments or homeowners.
Improved tree canopy and neighborhood investment could raise property values and contribute to gentrification and displacement risks for current low-income residents.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Neighborhood Tree Fund at USDA to fund urban tree canopy projects prioritized for high‑poverty, low‑canopy, high‑heat, and historically redlined neighborhoods, with a five‑year funding schedule.
Official title: 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.
Introduced April 27, 2026 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress April 27, 2026
Creates a federal Neighborhood Tree Fund administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand and improve tree canopy in cities and towns, with priority for high-poverty, low‑canopy, high‑heat, and historically redlined neighborhoods. Sets program standards for community engagement, climate‑informed project design, species selection, monitoring, and limits spending on assessments, and provides a five‑year schedule of authorized funding levels to support grants to states, tribes, local governments, nonprofits, and community tree groups. It also changes membership rules for the national urban forestry advisory council to ensure representation from small and low‑income communities.