HR 3276 United States House · 119th Congress

Local Communities & Bird Habitat Stewardship Act of 2026

The Local Communities & Bird Habitat Stewardship Act of 2025 establishes the Urban Bird Treaty Program, which provides grants and technical assistance to local groups - including cities, nonprofits, community organizations, and academic institutions - to protect and restore urban bird habitats. Key provisions include funding for habitat restoration (e.g., removing invasive species and planting native plants), reducing urban bird hazards, and engaging communities in monitoring and education. The program, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, authorizes $1 million annually from 2026 to 2032 for projects focused on conserving urban bird populations through collaborative local efforts. It directly affects communities seeking to enhance green spaces and support bird conservation in populated areas.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Sub-Topics: Conservation Wildlife

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2025

Committee Review

Sep 2026

House Passage

Sep 2026

Senate Passage

President

Introduced May 8, 2025 Last action Sep 15, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House → Engrossed in House · 4 edits · Sep 14, 2026

MODERATE

The Engrossed version of HR 3276 makes several significant changes: it removes the entire congressional findings section, drastically cuts authorized funding from $1 million per year to $200,000 per year (an 80% reduction), shifts the funding window from FY2026-2032 to FY2027-2033, changes the requirement to use the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation from mandatory to discretionary, and adds a new geographic distribution requirement for grants across city sizes.

Scope change

The bill's scope is largely unchanged in terms of what it covers (urban bird habitat conservation grants), but its practical reach is significantly narrowed by the 80% funding reduction. The new geographic distribution requirement adds a constraint on how grants are allocated, ensuring smaller cities have access to funding.

SCOPE

The entire congressional findings subsection was removed, eliminating the legislative justification that cited bird population decline data, the $279 billion economic impact of birdwatching, disease transmission risk reduction benefits, and ecological infrastructure arguments.

FISCAL

Authorized appropriations were reduced from $1,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2032 to $200,000 per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2033, an 80% funding cut and a one-year delay in the start of funding.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement that the Director enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to administer the grant program was changed from mandatory (shall) to discretionary (may), giving the Director the option but not the obligation to use the Foundation.

A new geographic distribution requirement was added, directing the Director to ensure equitable distribution of grant awards among small, midsize, and large cities as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics EDGE locale boundaries documentation.

Floor votes · House Sep 14, 2026

How they voted

345–60

Passed · 27 other

Total votes 432

Sep 14, 2026

D Democratic214

206 Yea 8

96% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican217

138 Yea 60 Nay 19

63% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Sep 15, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

upper

Sep 14, 2026

Introduced

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 345 - 60 (Roll no. 297). (text: CR H5578-5579)

lower

Sep 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 345 - 60 (Roll no. 297).

lower

Sep 14, 2026

Introduced

Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

lower

Aug 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-758.

lower

Jun 10, 2026

Introduced

Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

lower

Jun 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

lower

Jun 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Discharged

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee Hearings Held

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries.

lower

May 8, 2025

Committee

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

lower

May 8, 2025

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

1 primary · 21 co-sponsors