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Hardwood Industry Makes Their Voice Heard

On Tuesday, October 14, the Hardwood Federation transmitted a letter to Trump Administration officials making the case that U.S. hardwood companies should be included in any trade assistance programs addressing agriculture industries negatively impacted by trade and tariff policies. While the farming community, particularly those how harvest soybeans are the focus of significant attention as exports have slowed, it is important for decision makers at the highest level to understand that the hardwood industry, an important agricultural industry sector, is also suffering from uncertain global markets.  The letter was sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutkin, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Over 430 hardwood mills, manufacturers, yards, logging companies, and suppliers signed on to the letter.

Working with Monument Advocacy, a D.C. based consulting group hired by the Federation to increase our outreach capacity, the industry letter has resulted in significant attention from the press.  You can see a sample of recent stories covering the letter here. And we are not done yet.  Monument continues to share the letter with state and local press outlets and connect hardwood industry members with journalists as requested. If you have press contacts in your local area, feel free to share the letter and encourage coverage.

Articles from home states are also being shared with Members of Congress.  The federal government shutdown has closed the doors of many offices, but officials are still working in their home states.  It’s a great time to share the letter with your representatives and senators.  You can find office e-mail addresses at Contact.Gov.

The Hardwood Federation continues to focus advocacy efforts on raising awareness of current challenges facing the industry and the need to structure trade agreements that support exports or provide bridge support to sustain hardwood operations until such deals can be achieved. Thank you to everyone that has supported the Hardwood Federation as we make every effort to address the challenges of today.



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Washington Watch

Welcome to the First Session of the 119th Congress.

Both the House and Senate are in session this week. In the Senate, the upper chamber had planned to begin consideration this week of four appropriations bills reported out of committee earlier this year. These include Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-HUD. However, the Senate is not convening until late Tuesday and may leave early  this week to begin the Thanksgiving recess. This window maybe too tight for floor consideration.

The House Natural Resources Committee may mark-up H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act that amends the National Environmental Policy Act process to set firmer decision deadlines on projects and reduce the judicial review period.

U.S. House of Representatives

  • The House is in Session.

U.S. Senate

  • The Senate is in Session.

Cheat Sheet

November 20, 2025

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 US 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 US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA. The proposed rule would reverse the Biden administration’s definition of waters of the US, and would exclude certain features such as ditches, converted cropland, waste treatment systems, and groundwater from being considered waters of the US. 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 4-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.

Thoughts on the Cheat Sheet? Let us know at Hardwood.Federation@hardwoodfederation.com! 

 



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