{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-create-monarch-and-pollinator-highways", "Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Create Monarch and Pollinator Highways", "2019-11-20", "2019", "2019-11", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "Mike Rounds", "R000605", "www.rounds.senate.gov", "rounds", "https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2013 U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) to introduce new, bipartisan legislation to help states create pollinator-friendly habitats along roads and highways. This legislation would help address the steep decline of pollinator populations, which poses a serious threat to American farmers and the American food supply.\n\n\u201cBees play a vital role in making sure food gets on our table, acting as pollinators for approximately one-third of all agricultural products in the U.S.,\u201d said Rounds. \u201cOur legislation seeks to use innovation and targeted conservation practices to protect and improve bees\u2019 natural habitat so they can continue to provide this essential service and make certain future generations of crops and plants are produced.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, the Monarch and Pollinator Highway (MPH) Act of 2019 would establish a federal grant program available to state departments of transportation and Indian tribes to carry out pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way.\n\nMPH Act grants could be used for:\n\nThe planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate grasses, wildflowers and milkweed;\n\nMowing strategies that promote early successional vegetation and limit disturbance during periods of highest use by target pollinator species;\n\nImplementation of an integrated vegetation management approach to address weed and pest issues;\n\nRemoving nonnative grasses from planting and seeding mixes except for use as nurse or cover crops; or\n\nAny other pollinator-friendly practices the Secretary of Transportation determines will be eligible.\n\nThe bill also requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to help states develop best practices around pollinator-friendly roads and highways. The bill would require DOT to develop and make available to state departments of transportation a prioritization ranking of pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, and to provide technical assistance to states that request it.\n\nThe MPH Act comes as the population of monarch butterflies, honeybees and other pollinators face dangerous declines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that approximately 35% of the world\u2019s food crops depend on pollinators for survival.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T23:43:09Z"]], "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://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-create-monarch-and-pollinator-highways"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0889663137495518, "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"}