Westerman pushes trillion trees bill; virus derails appearance with Trump

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., plants a tree on his property in this screenshot from a video he made to promote Arbor Day.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., plants a tree on his property in this screenshot from a video he made to promote Arbor Day.

Last week was supposed to be a big one for 4th District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman -- a chance for the Hot Springs Republican to highlight his forestry legislation, the Trillion Trees Act, while planting a tree with the president.

The covid-19 pandemic uprooted those plans, however; instead of shoveling dirt at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the congressman planted Ozark Premier plum trees on his own property.

"We had the Trillion Trees meeting over at the White House, I guess the week before the pandemic really broke, and there was a lot of talk then about doing a big event for Arbor Day or Earth Day," Westerman said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

The efforts were scaled back once the pandemic broke out, he said.

With Congress out of session, Westerman spent most of the week in Arkansas, returning in time to vote on Thursday's $484 billion coronavirus relief bill.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMqHTWax4o]

At the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., promoted Westerman's bill without him.

"We'll be planting, over a period of time, 1 trillion trees," Trump said during the ceremony on the South Lawn. "That's a lot of trees, Kevin. How do we do that, huh? Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes, sir, we do," McCarthy replied. "We even have a bill."

Afterward, the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, highlighted the event on Twitter, writing: "Today on the South Lawn of the White House, @POTUS planted a beautiful maple tree, the first of 1 Trillion trees this Administration has committed to planting worldwide."

The wording of Westerman's forest management bill doesn't obligate the U.S. to plant 1 trillion trees.

Instead, it states the "sense of Congress" that the global Trillion Trees Initiative should be supported and calls on the U.S. to take a leadership role in the international effort.

Trump announced his support for the campaign during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, a goal he highlighted during his State of the Union address the following month.

Westerman, with the support of House Republican leadership, filed his legislation days later.

While the tree planting gets most of the attention, the Trillion Trees Act entails "a lot more than just planting trees," Westerman said in February shortly after his bill was unveiled.

In addition to promoting reforestation, the bill also includes "market incentives for carbon sequestration," such as "sustainable buildings and residence credits."

It also makes it harder for environmentalists to block forest management plans, restricting the length of preliminary injunctions and requiring judges to consider carbon storage factors when forest management plans are challenged in court.

While encouraging increases in tree planting, the bill also seeks to encourage "sustainable increases in domestic timber harvest."

The legislation also would create an "educational grant program," known as the "5th Grade Forestry Challenge," that would enable elementary school students to plant seedlings while also learning about forest management and carbon storage.

The measure faces opposition from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity, among others, which say it would increase logging, decrease judicial independence and undermine the National Environmental Policy Act.

If the Trillion Trees Act passes, Westerman envisions a three-decadeslong effort to encourage tree planting.

With roughly 10% of the world's trees in the United States, the country can do its part by planting 100 billion trees, Westerman has said.

The U.S. already plants roughly 2.5 billion trees per year, about 75 billion over the next 30 years.

Westerman wants to see that increase by 800 million per year, to just over 3.3 billion. The extra 25 billion trees would enable the country to meet the 100 billion goal.

Westerman already has 36 co-sponsors for his bill, including three Democrats.

"We hope to see a bipartisan Senate version of the bill introduced soon," he said.

Although Westerman wasn't able to attend the presidential ceremony, he planned to watch the video, he said.

His own Arbor Day video is on his Facebook page. Instead of dignitaries, he was joined by Clyde, a tail-wagging black Labrador with an intense interest in the dirt around the tree.

If Westerman can't be at the White House, he tells his audience, "this is the next best thing, getting to plant trees in my backyard."

SundayMonday on 04/27/2020

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