On January 3, the 115th U.S. Congress convenes for its opening day proceedings and the first orders of official business begin. The annual budget process will commence over the coming months and Congress will largely determine federal spending allocations, including how funds are distributed by congressional committees for programs important to the wood products industry generally grouped under agriculture and energy.
From spending bills to building energy code legislation to transparency in the regulatory process, the American Wood Council (AWC) is watching and will be working with the incoming Administration and Congress to determine how policies affecting our industry will be shaped. With the dawn of a new Congress, all pending legislation must be re-introduced. For example, regulations intended to protect the environment will require the wood products industry to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to comply. Protecting the environment is laudable but legislation is needed to ensure regulations are carefully designed to provide net benefits to the public based on best available scientific and technical information, and evaluated through a transparent and accountable rulemaking process.
A top priority for AWC in 2017 is the Timber Innovation Act, which would establish a performance-based research and development program to advance tall wood building construction in the United States. Continuing efforts from last year, AWC and members of the Wood Products Alliance are again joining forces to have the bill re-introduced in the House and Senate, and increase the number of co-sponsors for both bills. This legislation is important because it promotes research and technical assistance to help familiarize professionals with the possibilities of building with mass timber, all of which will provide wide-ranging benefits to the U.S. economy and environment. To date, more than 100 supporting organizations, including state and national associations, corporations and small businesses, labor groups and nonprofits, have pledged their support.
The carbon neutrality of biomass energy also continues to be a principal concern. Wood products manufacturers use biomass residuals from manufacturing and sustainable forestry operations to produce energy, providing significant carbon-reducing benefits to the environment. In fact, on average, three-quarters of the energy from AWC member facilities is generated from carbon-neutral biomass. Unfortunately, Environmental Protection Agency regulations, such as the Clean Power Plan, do not clarify the carbon benefits of biomass and it is therefore treated the same as fossil fuels. AWC will continue to work with Congress, the incoming Administration, and regulatory agencies to provide needed guidance for our industry to efficiently use manufacturing residuals for biomass energy.
Another priority is watching broad energy legislation, which aims to address the rapidly transforming energy landscape and includes provisions on efficiency, infrastructure, supply, and accountability. AWC is invested in energy legislation because provisions can be included that would be beneficial for the wood products industry, such as building energy code neutrality, curtailing the role of the Department of Energy from one of advocacy to one of technical assistance.
AWC will also be watching spending bills concerning the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), the nation's only federally-funded wood utilization research lab. Funding for this program goes toward research and technology that enables wise and efficient use of wood resources, while keeping forests healthy and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Finally, with the goal to increase transparency in the regulatory process, the House of Representatives last year passed the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016 (H.R. 5226) to make a host of information related to pending agency regulatory actions publicly available. The bill would direct federal agencies to publish a list of each pending regulatory action, the date the agency began to develop or consider the action, its status, an estimate of the date it will be final and in effect, a brief description of such action, and each public communication about the action issued by the agency.
The coming year offers a unique opportunity for the wood products industry to remain united and work together on important policy issues like these and many others.