Bill

H.R. 375 (119th): Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2025

Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2025 This bill establishes requirements to research and control Rapid Ohia Death, which is the disease caused by the fungal pathogen known as Ceratocystis fimbriata that affects the tree of the species Metrosideros polymorpha . Specifically, the Department of the Interior must partner with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Hawaii to control and address Rapid Ohia Death. In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry must continue to research Rapid Ohia Death vectors and transmission. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must continue to partner with USDA, Hawaii, and local stakeholders to manage ungulates (e.g., certain mammals such as deer) in Rapid Ohia Death control areas on federal, state, and private land, with the consent of private landowners. Finally, the Forest Service must provide (1) financial assistance to prevent the spread of the fungus and to restore the native forests of Hawaii, and (2) staff and necessary infrastructure funding to the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry to research the fungus.

house · Substantive

Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026
Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out.

Recorded summary

The bill, the Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2025, requires the Department of the Interior to partner with the USDA and Hawaii to control Rapid Ohia Death, a fungal disease caused by Ceratocystis fimbriata that affects Metrosideros polymorpha (ohia) trees. It directs the USGS and the Forest Service's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry to continue research on the disease's vectors and transmission, and requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue managing ungulates such as deer in control areas, with private landowners' consent. It also directs the Forest Service to provide financial assistance for preventing the fungus's spread and restoring native Hawaiian forests, and to fund staff and infrastructure for the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.

environmental_protectioninvasive_speciesnative_forest_restorationstewardshipwildlife_management

Theological note: The bill concerns stewardship of creation: protecting native Hawaiian forests from a destructive pathogen through research, coordinated management, and restoration. Scripture grounds human care for the land in dominion exercised as stewardship, and the measure's respect for private landowner consent bears on property and lawful authority. This is issue relevance only; it names no direct moral evil.

How this bill is scored

Recorded votes

Roll 24 · 23-Jan-2025 3:35 PM · On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass · Passed

Yea 359 · Nay 62 · Other 11

Yea

Nay

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