{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://balint.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=80", "Rep. Becca Balint Introduces Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act", "2023-05-10", "2023", "2023-05", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Becca Balint", "B001318", "balint.house.gov", "balint", "https://balint.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Washington, D.C \u2013 Today, Rep. Balint introduced the Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act. The bill would expand access to the US Department of Agriculture emergency funding to combat the threat of non-native species to our forests.\n\n\u201cI, like so many Vermonters, am concerned about the future of our natural resources and ecosystems. To protect our forests and the health of native species, it\u2019s clear we need to take federal action. I\u2019m proud to partner with Senator Welch to preserve our environment in the face of invasive species,\u201d said Rep. Balint.\n\nThe Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act would:\n\nExpand the USDA\u2019s access to emergency funding to combat invasive species.\n\nEstablish a grant program to support institutions focused on researching restoration of native tree species that have been severely damaged by invasive pests.\n\nAuthorize funding to implement promising research findings on protection of native tree species.\n\nMandate a study to overcome the lack of centralization and prioritization of non-native insect and pathogen research and response within the federal government, and develop national strategies for saving tree species.\n\nSenator Welch led Senators Braun and Hassan in introducing the Senate companion.\n\nText of the bill here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:55:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://balint.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=80"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7779868319630623, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}