Timber and forest products companies would gain a direct route to compete for federal construction, renovation and military building contracts under bipartisan legislation introduced in the United States House of Representatives, where mass timber would carry a two-tier contracting preference. That is according to Glenn “GT” Thompson, the Pennsylvania Republican who introduced the Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act alongside Oregon Democrat Andrea Salinas.
Structured across two tiers, the bill puts mass timber made in the United States and responsibly sourced from state, federal, private and Tribal forestlands first in line for federal work. An optional second tier extends to products drawn from restoration practices, fire mitigation projects and forest owners, while a whole-building lifecycle assessment requirement would gather evidence on the environmental performance of wood in federal buildings.
For Thompson, whose district includes the Allegheny National Forest, the measure aims to expand markets for the timber that Pennsylvania’s foresters and mills are already ready to supply. “Timber and forest products have long been an important economic engine,” Thompson said.
Tying the bill to Oregon’s mass timber industry and to construction costs, Salinas argued that federal demand would expand the sector, support jobs and help bring down building costs amid the housing crisis. “Our wood products are sustainable and cost-effective building materials,” Salinas said.
The push comes as US softwood demand remains weak, with imports across the largest markets falling almost 2 million cubic metres in the first quarter under steep duties on Canadian supply and a weak homebuilding market. National Alliance of Forest Owners president and chief executive Dave Tenny welcomed the bill as a lever for rural communities and domestic manufacturing.
“Strong markets for innovative wood products like mass timber help sustain rural communities,” Tenny said. The American Forest Resource Council and the Forest Landowners Association also endorsed the measure, alongside Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group and the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association.
On the Senate side, Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Idaho Republican James Risch lead a companion bill, giving the legislation a path in both chambers. Mass timber — the engineered material made by bonding wood panels, beams and columns into structural components — can carry mid- to high-rise buildings.
For now, Thompson and Salinas are advancing a measure that puts American-made, responsibly sourced mass timber first in line for federal construction, renovation and military building work.
