{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://goodlander.house.gov/media/press-releases/goodlander-pappas-introduce-bill-to-protect-forest-service-research-facilities-from-closure/", "Goodlander, Pappas Introduce Bill to Protect Forest Service Research Facilities from Closure", "2026-06-25", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Maggie Goodlander", "G000604", "goodlander.house.gov", "goodlander", "https://goodlander.house.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) introduced legislation to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from closing any U.S. Forest Service Research and Development facility, including Experimental Forests, unless Congress expressly authorizes the closure. Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) co-leads the legislation.\n\nThe legislation comes amid deep concern over the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service reorganization plan, which initially slated New Hampshire\u2019s Bartlett Experimental Forest for closure and placed Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest under review. Following extensive advocacy from the New Hampshire delegation, Hubbard Brook was retained while Bartlett remains under evaluation for possible closure.\n\n\u201cThis bill is very simple,\u201d said Congresswoman Goodlander. \u201cNo administration should be able to shutter world-class facilities that support our entire forest economy without the communities that rely on them getting a say. Granite Staters depend on these incredible forests to sustain good-paying forest economy jobs, protect our air and water, and keep the northern forests in our country healthy for generations to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur nation\u2019s public forests provide us with clean air and water, allow for outdoor recreation, and are part of our way of life in New Hampshire,\u201d said Congressman Pappas. \u201cThe Protecting America\u2019s Forest Act would stop the administration\u2019s attempt to reorganize the U.S. Forest Service which oversees our public lands and world-class research program. I\u2019m glad to be leading this legislation with Congresswoman Goodlander, and I\u2019ll continue to fight overreach by the administration and protect our great outdoors.\u201d\n\nIn New Hampshire, Bartlett and Hubbard Brook are nationally recognized research assets that help foresters, landowners, scientists, and policymakers understand and manage northern forests. These facilities serve as the backbone of science-based forest management, and provide critical information to support conservation, climate resilience, wildfire preparedness, and the forest products sector across the country.\n\nIn April, Goodlander and Pappas joined 60 of their colleagues in a letter opposing the proposed reorganization of the Forest Service and calling for the effort to be halted. The members warned that the proposal would undermine the agency\u2019s world-class research program, worsen staffing and expertise losses, and put public lands and nearby communities at risk.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-26T06:29:35Z", "2026-06-26T06:31:46Z"]], "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://goodlander.house.gov/media/press-releases/goodlander-pappas-introduce-bill-to-protect-forest-service-research-facilities-from-closure/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7350179366767406, "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"}