President Obama is expected to sign the long-awaited Farm Bill that will now land on his desk, thanks to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday passing a nearly $1 trillion spending measure with a strong bipartisan 68-32 vote. "Many people said this would never happen in this environment, but Congress has come together to pass a major bipartisan jobs bill," Sen. Debbie Stabenow, (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told The New York Times. "This effort proves that by working across party lines, we can save taxpayer money and create smart policies that lay the foundation for a stronger economy."
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President Obama is expected to sign the long-awaited Farm Bill that will now land on his desk, thanks to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday passing a nearly $1 trillion spending measure with a strong bipartisan 68-32 vote. "Many people said this would never happen in this environment, but Congress has come together to pass a major bipartisan jobs bill," Sen. Debbie Stabenow, (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told The New York Times. "This effort proves that by working across party lines, we can save taxpayer money and create smart policies that lay the foundation for a stronger economy."
The bill is a considerable victory on a number of fronts for the hardwood forest products industry, proclaimed the Hardwood Federation, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association and advocacy group. Among other directives, the legislation provides the following:
• Full funding for vital export programs through the Market Access and Foreign Market Development programs.
• Stronger domestic market opportunities for forests, specifically with improvements to the Bio-based Markets Program, mandatory funding for renewable energy programs that stimulate markets for residuals, and a strengthened commitment to expanding prospects for wood in green building markets-the fastest-growing market for wood products.
• Regulatory treatment of forest roads, providing greater economic and legal certainty for forest landowners.
• Forest management provisions that will strengthen the health and vitality of the U.S. forest system and the wood products industry.
Tuesday's vote brings to a close two years of heated partisan debate and stalled negotiations, and bodes well for the hardwood industry, according to the Hardwood Federation, which issued a statement that read, in part: "The U.S. forest products industry is a considerable economic force and the hardwood sector plays a significant role. The industry produces about $200 billion in products annually and employs nearly 900,000 men and women in good paying jobs. The industry meets a payroll of approximately $50 billion annually and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states. The 2014 Farm Bill, through much cooperation and some compromise, is an important step towards preserving and strengthening the companies and employees who depend on forest products."
The bill also includes an important provision championed by the National Association of Home Builders that will enable millions of Americans to maintain access to critical rural housing programs. "NAHB commends House and Senate leaders for working in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that allows more than 900 communities nationwide to retain their status as 'rural' areas where residents have access to important USDA rural housing programs that help low- and very-low income households obtain homeownership or suitable rental housing," NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C., said in a statement. NAHB estimates that this important provision in the Farm Bill regarding the definition of a rural community will generate $1.2 billion more investment in housing in these areas, including new single-family and multifamily construction and remodeling. The USDA redraws its maps defining rural areas following every census, and the maps drawn after the 2010 census would have removed these communities from the program due to their population.
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