SAWMILL Act
Sponsored By: Representative Newhouse
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create the Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program to provide loan guarantees for rural sawmills and wood-processing facilities. It ties those guarantees to federal lands the Agriculture and Interior secretaries identify as high priority for ecological restoration involving vegetation removal.
Show full summary
- Sawmill owners and wood processors in rural areas could receive guarantees to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve facilities if they are within 250 miles of eligible federal land and would substantially lower restoration costs.
- Managers of federal land restoration projects would have more nearby processing capacity to handle vegetation removal, a change the bill links directly to reducing restoration expenses as judged by the Secretaries.
- The Secretary of Agriculture, working with the Secretary of the Interior, must identify eligible federal land within 1 year of enactment and at least every 5 years thereafter to target restoration-linked timber processing.
*Authorizes up to $220 million in loan guarantees for the program.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Loan guarantees for rural sawmills
This bill would create loan guarantees for rural sawmills and wood-processing facilities. Eligible owners could use a guaranteed loan to start, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve a facility. The facility must be in a rural area and within 250 miles of eligible federal land. Agriculture and Interior would have to find the facility would cut restoration costs on that land. Total guarantees could not exceed $220 million, and USDA could set conditions.
Identify priority federal lands for restoration
The Agriculture and Interior Departments would have to list federal lands that need vegetation removal for restoration. They would finish the first list within one year of enactment and update it at least every five years. The list would guide restoration work and related programs.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Newhouse
WA • R
Cosponsors
Sewell
AL • D
Sponsored 11/21/2025
Bynum
OR • D
Sponsored 1/20/2026
Ezell
MS • R
Sponsored 1/20/2026
Hageman
WY • R
Sponsored 1/21/2026
Riley (NY)
NY • D
Sponsored 1/21/2026
Thanedar
MI • D
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Maloy
UT • R
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Fulcher
ID • R
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Costa
CA • D
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Scott, David
GA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Kelly (MS)
MS • R
Sponsored 3/30/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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