PSI Sci
New here? Follow the money and the votes · Not sure of your district? Find your U.S. House member · Find your state legislators

S. 962: Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2017

Before you vote › Federal bills

S. 962: Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-04-27 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-04-27 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2017

Plain summary

Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2017 This bill amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to direct the Forest Service to establish a landscape-scale restoration program to provide financial and technical assistance for landscape-scale restoration projects on state and private forest lands that maintain or improve benefits from trees and forests on such lands. The program shall: address the national private forest conservation priorities specified under the Act; and enhance public benefits from trees and forests, as identified in a state-wide assessment and a long-term state-wide forest resource strategy under the Act. The program shall also have one or more objectives, including to: protect or improve water quality or quantity; reduce wildfire risk, including through hazardous fuels treatment; protect or enhance wildlife habitat; improve forest health and forest ecosystems, including addressing native, nonnative, and invasive pests; or enhance opportunities for new and existing markets in which the production and use of wood products strengthens local and regional economies. The Forest Service shall allocate from the amounts made available under this bill: 50% for the competitive process for distributing funds for landscape-scale restoration projects; and 50% proportionally to states to maximize the achievement of the restoration program's objectives and to address the highest national priorities, as identified in state-wide assessments and long-term state-wide forest resource strategies. The bill amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to allocate funds and use specified authorities of the Department of Agriculture or of the Department of the Interior, as appropriate, to assist cross-boundary hazardous fuel reduction and wildfire mitigation programs.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Steve Daines (R-MT)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] reported raising $2.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-s962 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115