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 20th edition below and sign up to receive your copy.
Waters of the U.S. Pendulum Swings Back: The ongoing regulatory ping pong game over the definition of regulated waters has swung back as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week proposed a revised definition of waters of the US, aiming to bring Clean Water Act protections in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA. The proposed rule would reverse the Biden administration’s definition of waters of the U.S., and would exclude certain features such as ditches, converted cropland, waste treatment systems, and groundwater from being considered waters of the U.S. The proposal would require tributary streams to have a direct or predictable connection to navigable waterways to be considered federal waters and would not consider ephemeral streams as protected waters because they are not relatively permanent.
The Hardwood Federation has been a long-time supporter of this approach and applauds EPA’s decision to abide by the Sackett ruling.
Legislation to Boost Housing Starts: Bipartisan legislation is pending in both the House and Senate that looks to increase housing starts and make home ownership more accessible. The legislation (S. 1686 and H.R. 2854) is the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) and is led by Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA).
In many areas of the country, the cost to build or rehab a home exceeds the price at which the home could be sold once completed. The NHIA establishes a new tax credit which would help fill that “value gap” for developers, thus reducing their risk of loss and encouraging investments in new and rehabbed housing. The goal for this tax credit is to make homeownership more feasible and support broader revitalization and economic development strategies in disinvested urban and rural communities. The Neighborhood Coalition—one of the supporters of the bill–estimates that, if enacted, NHIA could result in 500,000 new starter homes nationwide.
Because NHIA focuses exclusively on single to four-family unit structures, the impact on dimensional lumber and other wood products manufacturers could be considerable. Depending on the type of home built, Forest Economic Advisors estimates that this bill alone could result in additional 7 billion to 10 billion board feet of demand. The Hardwood Federation team has been meeting with the bill sponsors to explore options for including hardwood-specific language in the measure. Evidently, a modified version of the bill is being developed and will be made available sometime early next year.
Career and Technical Education Gets a Hearing: The theater has been relatively dark on the workforce development/CTE front. However, on Wednesday, November 19, the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education held a hearing titled “From Classroom to Career: Strengthening Skills Pathways Through CTE.
Last year, Congress came close to reauthorizing the bedrock statute that underpins our workforce development infrastructure in the U.S. This is the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that has not been updated since 2014. Bipartisan interest in WIOA reform and reauthorization exists as evidenced by hearings earlier in the year in the House and Senate that focused on WIOA improvements that would address challenges in connecting job seekers with available opportunities. A Stronger Workforce for America Act remains the focal point of discussions, including provisions to:
- Dedicate 50 percent of funding to skills training and supportive services
- Establish “critical industry skills funds” for upskilling workers in priority industries
- Enhance employer partnerships and streamline program accountability
Congress has also expressed strong interest in improving workforce data collection systems, which would allow states to better align training programs with labor market needs.
Source: Hardwood Federation