The Hardwood Federation has started producing a weekly “D.C. Cheat Sheet” newsletter to keep the industry up-to-date on the latest news from Washington D.C. Check out the May 19th edition below and sign up to receive your copy today.
USDA Export Promotion Pays Big Dividends
A major economic impact study released on Wednesday gives teeth to industry’s request for more USDA dollars to promote agriculture exports, including U.S. hardwoods. The study shows that export programs have added on average $9.6 billion in exports per year during the last 42 years. To put the figure in context, the Federation and its allies recently sent a coalition letter urging Congress to allocate $235 million in 2023 for ag exports.
California Congressmen Rally for “Save Our Sequoias” Bill
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) are working on a bill that would promote tree thinning in the Sierra Nevada mountains to fend off wildfires that threaten the region’s giant redwoods. While talking about the threat of wildfires during a meeting with HF on Wednesday, Rep. Costa said that “people used to think that redwoods were fireproof, but they’re not.” Rep. Westerman (R-AR) echoed those comments in a meeting later in the day, lamenting the fact that 19 percent of our redwoods have burned during the past few years. Although specific language isn’t available, Rep. McCarthy has said that he will look at streamlining regulations to promote best forest management practices as a major component of a final bill.
HFPAC Makes the Rounds on the Hill
This week, HFPAC has met with a variety of industry champions, including Reps. Carl (R-AL), Costa (D-CA), Graves (R-AL), Stauber (R-MN), GT Thompson (R-PA), Tiffany (R-WI), Westerman (R-AR) on Wednesday, and Sens. Boozman (R-AR) and Manchin (D-WV) on Thursday. These members all expressed support for industry positions on effective forest management, accounting for carbon stored in finished hardwood products, and solutions to the supply chain crisis.
Source: Hardwood Federation