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The United Voice of the Hardwood Industry

The Hardwood Federation brings together 30 associations dedicated to promoting and supporting the hardwood industry. We are the voice of the industry in Washington and we are proud to represent you. 

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Washington Watch

Welcome to the Second Session of the 119th Congress.

This is the last week when both houses of Congress will be in session before the November 3 mid-terms. House Members are likely to fly-out Thursday, with the Senate expected to remain in town for the rest of the month.

The key action this week will be in the Senate, where the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee is expected to resume consideration of the Agricultural Act of 2026—the Senate’s Farm Bill reauthorization measure. Recall that the committee discontinued consideration of the bill on August 6 after votes were insufficient to move the measure to the Senate floor. It is anticipated that Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may return to the Capitol this week, which would provide the necessary vote to the bill to advance to the Senate floor.

In the House, the House Agriculture Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday titled “Increasing Demand and Opportunities for Homegrown Products Here and Abroad." And on the House floor, Members will vote on the Ratepayer Reduction Act, (H.R. 9340), legislation that would require major technology companies and data center developers—not residential households or small businesses—to bear the full incremental costs of new power generation, transmission lines and distribution upgrades. Data center electricity demand-and resulting higher electric bills-has become a political issue around the country. This bill cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously earlier this year and is expected to pass the House this week.

Cheat Sheet

September 17, 2026

Hardwood Industry Testifies Before House Ag Committee:  The US hardwood industry was well represented during a House Agriculture Committee meeting addressing the topic of “Increasing Demand and Opportunities for Homegrown Products Here and Abroad.”  Tyler Shields, Chief Operating Officer of Bingaman and Sons in Kraemer, PA was invited by Chairman GT Thompson, (R-PA) to join representatives from the farming and fresh produce sectors. You can view the entire hearing here, Tyler’s comments begin at the 37 minute, 40 second mark. We appreciate Tyler encouraging Committee members to support the Hardwood Federation’s work to secure economic relief for hardwood producers during his prepared comments.

Farm Bill Passed Out of Senate Ag Committee:  Yesterday, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee voted to move the Agricultural Act of 2026 to the Senate floor. The vote was along party lines-12-11. Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) return to Washington proved to be the difference.

As we have noted, there are many HF-supported provisions in this bill. Among them are:

  • Reauthorization of both the Wood Innovation and Community Wood Grant programs.
  • Forestry and forest products workforce development language modeled after the Jobs in the Woods Act
  • Reauthorization of the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels program, which provides direct payments to wood pellet producers.
  • Binding biomass carbon neutrality language
  • Reauthorization and modernization of the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

The bill will not likely see action before the November mid-term elections. Democrats remain opposed to the measure around the SNAP cost share issue which poses challenges for floor consideration. The HF team will continue to press ahead in hopes that the measure can clear the upper chamber later in the fourth quarter.

Additional Tariff Powers for President Approved: Yesterday, the full House approved H.R. 5334, the Lindsay O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, by a 262-159 vote. While there is broad support for most of the provisions in this bill, the sections around new tariff authorities had attracted widespread opposition from the business community. Under the legislation, the President would be authorized to increase the tariff rate up to 500 percent on goods from Russia and countries “that knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products.” Industry concerns centered on the vagueness of criteria for the new tariff authorities and that they may be used to impose levies on some of our key trading partners. The bill now heads to the President’s desk.

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

 



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