SAWMILL Act
Sawmill Infrastructure: New Loan Guarantee Program
The SAWMILL Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time.
Legislative Progress
The bill has bipartisan support from both parties, which is a strong start. However, it is currently in the early stages of the committee process where many bills fail to move forward.
Key Points
- This bill creates a new program to help rural sawmills get loans. The government would guarantee up to $220 million in total loans to help these businesses start up, reopen, or upgrade their equipment.
- To qualify, a sawmill must be located in a rural area and within 250 miles of federal land that needs ecological restoration. This includes removing excess trees and plants to improve the health of the forest.
- The goal is to make it cheaper for the government to take care of federal lands. If there is a sawmill nearby to process the wood being removed, the cost of cleaning up the forest goes down.
- The Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior will work together to identify which federal lands are the highest priority for this work. They will update this list at least every five years.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SAWMILL Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.