Kennedy, Hyde-Smith reintroduce bipartisan bill to help Louisiana communities respond to pine beetle infestations

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today joined Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and four bipartisan colleagues in reintroducing the Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act, which would help landowners and those involved in the timber industry combat pine beetle infestations and remove unsafe, infested trees.

"Louisiana's timber industry creates more than 37,000 jobs in our state and supplies the rest of our country with much-needed wood products. That's why it's so important that we beat back pine beetle infestations and make sure Louisianians and other Americans who work in the timber field don't get hung out to dry," said Kennedy.

"The end of drought conditions didn't end the pine beetle infestation or lessen costs to combat them. There is a real need to tailor USDA disaster programs to truly help states like Mississippi where most of its forests are privately owned or within city limits. Most of these folks do not have the upfront money to carry out timely or thorough eradication work. The Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act addresses these issues effectively," said Hyde-Smith.

Central Louisiana faced a devastating pine beetle outbreak in 2024, which, combined with 2023 drought conditions, hurt Louisiana's timber industry and left many dead pine trees at risk of damaging homes and infrastructure.

The Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act would:

• Authorize an 85 percent cost-share payment to landowners to cover the cost of tree removal, commercial thinning and related activities.

• Establish a 50 percent cost-share payment to incentivize loggers, haulers and tree removal services to do this work, which typically yields little profit.

• Make landowners eligible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Emergency Loan program, allowing them to access financing for emergency work upfront, rather than waiting for work to be completed.

• Authorize USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office committees, rather than the FSA national office, to administer program assistance immediately following confirmed pine beetle infestations and natural disaster designations.

• Authorize the USDA to make grants to states and municipalities for infested tree removal and related activities.

Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) cosponsored the bill.

Full text of the Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act is available here.