The Hardwood Federation produces a “D.C. Cheat Sheet” newsletter to keep the industry up-to-date on the latest news from Washington D.C. Check out the November 13th edition below and sign up to receive your copy.
Government Shutdown Ends: Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 5371) to end the longest government funding lapse in history—43 days. The vote was largely along party lines (222-209) and the president signed the measure shortly thereafter. The bill extends government funding through January 30, 2026, and includes full fiscal year 2026 appropriations for the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, as well as Legislative Branch Operations. The package buys Congress 11 more weeks to ramp up funding negotiations to complete work on the remaining fiscal 2026 spending bills. To that end, the Senate plans to begin consideration of four appropriations bills reported out of committee earlier this year. These include Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-HUD. Not yet on deck is the FY 2026 Interior Appropriations bill, which funds critical programs such as the Wood Innovation and Community Wood Grant programs.
Current Farm Bill Extended to September 2026: The government funding deal signed last night also includes a one-year extension of the remaining provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill that were not reauthorized as part of the budget reconciliation signed by the president on July 4. Recall that the big-ticket items that drive the Farm Bill rewriting process—row crop agriculture, dairy, and nutrition programs—were enacted July 4. Other provisions that do not enjoy mandatory funding were left out of that deal, namely the Wood Innovation and Community Wood Grant programs, as well as the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, among others. These programs are now authorized through the end of the next fiscal year—September 30, 2026.
USTR Suspends Investigation into Chinese Shipping Practices: On Monday, USTR officially suspended the Section 301 investigation into Chinese ship building activities for one year. This announcement comes as part of the US-China trade deal reached in October. Both countries will take action to de-escalate tensions around global shipping. According to the White House Fact Sheet:
- China will remove measures it took in retaliation for the US’s announcement of a Section 301 investigation on China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance, and remove sanctions imposed on various shipping entities.
- The US will suspend for one year, starting on November 10, 2025, implementation of the responsive actions taken pursuant to the Section 301 investigation on China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance. In the meantime, the United States will negotiate with China pursuant to Section 301 while continuing cooperation with Korea and Japan on revitalizing American shipbuilding.
Source: Hardwood Federation