Cheat Sheet

May 7, 2026

Farm Bill Passes the House: Late last week, the Farm Bill (H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food and National Security Act) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 224-200. Fourteen Democrats voted for the measure, joining all but three Republicans in support.  We are hopeful the House action will jump start the Farm Bill rewriting process in the upper chamber. The House-passed measure includes the Hardwood Federation-supported Jobs in the Woods Act language, a binding biomass carbon neutrality provision which we intend to bolster in the Senate and language reauthorizing and updating both the Wood Innovation and Community Wood Grant programs, among other beneficial provisions.

As we noted last week, the effort to amend the “renewable biomass” definition in the Renewable Fuel Standard did not succeed during House floor consideration.  However, the debate is far from over. We anticipate continued efforts as the Senate begins its Farm Bill reauthorization process in the coming days and weeks.

European Union Simplification Announcement Offers No Real Change: Earlier this week, the European Commission published its much anticipated EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) simplification document. Despite the best effort of the united US forest products industry, including the Hardwood Federation and the American Hardwood Export Council, minimal changes were made to the existing rule for the US supply chain. Our primary concern, the definition of “plot of land” requiring onerous reporting measures, was not mentioned at all, nor was any explanation of why proposed corrections were rejected.  The Federation and AHEC will continue to work with our allies to push for meaningful change.

Lacey Act Violators Sentenced: The Boise Cascade Company was sentenced and fined for violating the Lacey Act which prohibits the import of illegally harvest wood and wood products as well as efforts to circumvent U.S. duties on imports.  The company was found guilty and paid a fine of $6.4 million.  The Hardwood Federation was instrumental in amending the Lacey Act to cover wood and wood products and continues to support and advocate for increased funding for investigation and compliance measures.