Passed
359 Yea62 Nay11 Not voting2/3 required
HR-375-119
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Sponsored by Jill Tokuda (D-HI)
What it does
This bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to partner with the Secretary of Agriculture and the State of Hawaii to address Rapid Ohia Death — a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Ceratocystis fimbriata that kills the native ohia tree. It would direct the U.S. Geological Survey and the Forest Service to continue researching how the disease spreads, direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage ungulates (hoofed animals such as pigs and deer that can carry and spread the fungus) on federal, state, and private land with landowner consent, and direct the Forest Service to provide financial assistance and staffing to prevent the disease's spread and restore native Hawaiian forests.
Who benefits
Native Hawaiian communities and cultural practitioners for whom the ohia tree holds deep cultural and spiritual significance. Hawaii's tourism and outdoor recreation industries, which depend on healthy native forests. Watershed protection beneficiaries — ohia forests are critical to Hawaii's freshwater supply, so all Hawaii residents benefit indirectly. Researchers and scientists at the USGS and Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry who would receive continued funding and infrastructure. Native wildlife that depends on ohia forest habitat. Private landowners in affected areas who would receive ungulate management assistance at no direct cost to themselves.
Who is hurt
Hunters and hunting organizations in Hawaii who may face increased ungulate management or removal efforts on lands where they currently operate. Private landowners who may experience disruption from ungulate management activities on or near their property, even with the consent requirement. Federal agencies that must absorb implementation costs within existing or future appropriations. Taxpayers who fund the federal programs involved, to the extent new spending is authorized.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that Rapid Ohia Death has already killed millions of ohia trees across Hawaii — the ohia is the most common native tree in the state and a keystone species for native forest ecosystems and freshwater recharge. They contend that coordinated federal-state action is urgently needed because the disease has no known cure and spreads rapidly through soil, water, and wind, making early containment and research the only viable strategy to prevent irreversible ecological and cultural loss.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that this bill authorizes ongoing federal involvement in what is primarily a state and local land management issue, raising questions about whether federal resources are being directed efficiently when Hawaii's state government and existing federal programs could address the disease without a separate statutory mandate. They contend that the bill lacks specific funding authorizations or measurable benchmarks, making it difficult to assess whether federal expenditures will produce meaningful results or simply duplicate efforts already underway.
Constitutional context
The bill rests on Congress's Commerce Clause authority (Art. I, §8, cl. 3), which underpins federal land management and environmental statutes, and the Necessary and Proper Clause. The provision allowing ungulate management on private land only "with the consent of private landowners" appears designed to avoid Takings Clause concerns under the Fifth Amendment — mandatory physical access to private property without consent could constitute a per se taking under Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021).
Checks and balances
The executive branch — specifically the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture — gains coordinating authority and direction to act; Congress retains oversight through appropriations, and private landowner consent requirements limit agency reach onto non-federal land.
Historical precedent
The original Rapid Ohia Death Response Act was enacted in a prior Congress, making this a continuation of an existing federal response framework rather than a first-of-its-kind intervention.
Passed