The Hardwood Federation wrapped up another successful fly-in to Washington, D.C. in June. Sixty-five representatives of the industry and our associations conducted nearly 100 meetings with members of Congress, Hill staff, and key members of the Trump Administration.
Members of the Hardwood Federation participated in meetings with administration officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). These were excellent opportunities to focus on specific hardwood priorities, including the pending economic relief package in the Senate. We also made sure to ask that hardwood lumber be included in upcoming negotiations between the U.S. and China, specifically encouraging that Chinese lumber purchase commitments be secured. The U.S. and China will be conducting these negotiations through a bilateral “Board of Trade” which still is being developed.
The importance of the U.S. government’s continued engagement on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) also was noted during conversations.
USDA Farm Production and Conservation Undersecretary Richard Fordyce, a longtime supporter of the hardwood community, expressed strong support for our relief package proposal and noted the importance of the industry coming together as a united front to advocate for a successful package. He and his team committed to swift (by government standards) implementation should Congress allocate the funds.
Josh Jamison, the chief of staff to Natural Resources and Environment Undersecretary Michael Boren (who has oversight over the U.S. Forest Service), echoed this support and also encouraged the Hardwood Federation’s board to raise lumber purchases with USTR and to submit formal comments noting the importance of including lumber on the list of agricultural products to be discussed by the Board of Trade.
USTR officials spent a significant amount of time with the federation board members, expanding their understanding of hardwood issues and the impact of Chinese, Vietnamese, and European Markets. They also encouraged us to officially comment on the Board of Trade, noting the list of included products still is very much in the development stage. Prior to the fly-in, the federation already was developing Board of Trade comments and has secured commitments from House and Senate leaders to solicit signatures from their colleagues on a letter from Congress to USTR encouraging the inclusion of lumber.
On Hill day, 15 teams of hardwood leaders descended on a very busy Capitol Hill. Our key messages to Congressional offices were simple:
- Support the $200 million in economic relief for the hardwood industry currently included in the Senate agriculture relief package language.
- Include hardwood industry friendly initiatives allowing for greater truck weights in the Transportation bill.
- Pass the Farm Bill and include funding for Wood Innovation and Energy grant programs, funds for forest products related job training, including woody biomass in the Renewable Fuels Standard, and approve binding language recognizing the carbon neutrality of biomass.
- Sign the letter asking that hardwood lumber be added to the Board of Trade discussion topics.
- Encourage the Trump Administration to continue efforts to reduce the burdens of
the EUDR.
Feedback from our meetings generally was positive. The federation followed up with each office our teams met with, thanking them for their time and interest. As we continue to meet with Congress in the coming weeks and months, I am confident that the work fly-in participants did during their time on the Hill will set the stage for productive interactions going forward.
The third and final component of the annual fly-in is HFPAC events that recognize key Congressional leaders. This year we focused on smaller groups than we have in the past in response to the high number of Congressional departures and retirements, as well as to prudently spend the PAC dollars so generously contributed by those of you in the industry.
This year we were pleased to welcome, among others, House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA), House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) (who is poised for Agriculture Committee leadership in the next Congress), and rising star Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY). Our PAC events gave the members of Congress time to interact with industry leaders and to see firsthand the strength of industry engagement in the political process. We will continue to identify strong hardwood advocates among both Democrats and Republicans and support their election bids.
Jack Matson of Mill Tech commented, “I thought it remarkable how far the Hardwood Federation has come. When I was first on the hill 25 years ago, most Senators, Congressmen, and staffers looked at us like we were from another planet. Almost no one knew the hardwood story and worst of all, they only pretended to care. The majority
of the offices that we visited this time around were well versed on the hardwood issues, almost parroting the message better than we were. The few that didn’t know the story were eager to learn and fascinated by the industry.”
This efficiently captured many of the post-event comments we received and is reflective of the Hardwood Federation’s continuing goal to bring awareness and understanding of this uniquely American industry to the highest level of U.S. policy making. Thank you to everyone who participated in the fly-in, this year and in years past. Every interaction builds on past efforts.
Dana Lee Cole is the executive director at the Hardwood Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based hardwood industry trade association that represents thousands of hardwood businesses in every state in the United States and acts as the industry advocacy voice on Capitol Hill. She can be reached at dana.cole@hardwoodfederation.com.
