Election 2026 – Blue Wave Sweeps Through the Country: The votes have spoken and big changes are on the horizon in 2027.  Democrats will control both Houses of Congress, will hold a majority of Governorships, and picked up at least 500 state legislative seats. Votes are still being counted, including those impacting the Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska, but they will not change the fact that Democrats will be in charge of Congress for the next two years.

The Hardwood Federation has worked hard over the years to conduct our work on a bipartisan basis; and although there are challenges ahead (as there always are), we are well positioned to work with many of those that will be taking up committee gavels in the new year.  You can do a deeper dive of the election results and how they impact the Hardwood Federation’s agenda here.

Democrats Priorities Begin to Emerge: Presumed Speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries and Democrats poised to lead key congressional committees after the midterms say they will target President Trump’s tariffs in January. Jeffries said his goal is to pass legislation to “to stop the Trump tariffs.” Current Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and likely future Chair, Ron Wyden (D-OR) said he would seek “to reassert congressional authority over our country’s trade policy to bring down costs, end Trump’s disastrous and corrupt tariffs, reestablish critical trade partnerships, and hold trade cheats accountable.” Likely House Budget Committee Chair Brendan Boyle (D-PA-02) made similar comments vowing to “fight to reverse [Trump’s] costly tariffs and devastating health care cuts and bring an end to the war in Iran.”

Read more at Inside Trade

Hardwood Federation Member Associations Send Letter Asking for Diesel Relief:  All thirty-one association members of the Hardwood Federation signed on to a letter asking the Administration and USDA to include hardwood supply chain companies in relief efforts to address the high cost of diesel fuel.  While it will be a challenge to include every industry sector making the case for relief in any final program, this is an important message to the Administration continuing to remind them of the overall challenging economic environment of the US hardwood industry.