The Hardwood Federation produces a “D.C. Cheat Sheet” publication to maintain the business up-to-date on the newest information from Washington D.C. Try the November ninth version beneath and enroll to obtain your copy.

Spending Payments Promote Biomass as Carbon Impartial

On November 3, the Home handed Fiscal 12 months (FY) 2024 Inside and Atmosphere appropriations laws (H.R. 4821), a invoice that features vital language classifying biomass as carbon impartial throughout federal businesses. Previous to leaving city for the August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee handed its model of the FY 2024 Inside-Atmosphere spending invoice with the identical language that’s within the Home-passed model. Though the 2 payments will doubtless expertise rocky negotiations to hammer out a compromise invoice, centered on the Home model which features a 39percent discount in EPA’s price range that won’t cross the Senate, we’re optimistic that the biomass provision will turn into regulation, delivering a win for business.

Producers Lay Out Tax Priorities

On November 2, the Hardwood Federation joined the Nationwide Affiliation of Producers and allies in a letter to Capitol Hill urging motion on the package deal of enterprise tax profit extensions that’s at the moment pending on the Home ground. The package deal—for which HF can be advocating—would prolong by 2025 the one hundred pc bonus depreciation profit which started ratcheting down this 12 months. It could additionally retroactively prolong the analysis and growth tax credit score which phased out in 2022 and restore extra beneficiant curiosity deductibility provisions (curiosity deductions based mostly on Earnings Earlier than Curiosity, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) as a substitute of the present EBIT commonplace)). Following constructive statements from Home tax writers this week and election of a brand new Speaker of the Home, we’re hopeful that Congress will act on this package deal by 12 months’s finish.

Lawmakers Scramble to Fund Authorities, Expired Farm Invoice

With authorities funding resulting from expire on November 17, bipartisan Senate leaders are weighing the potential for combining all 9 remaining spending payments for FY 2024 right into a single package deal, together with the Inside-Atmosphere automobile for business’s biomass provision. This might assist expedite discussions on the parameters of a Persevering with Decision (CR), the length of which stays a shifting goal. As lawmakers focus on extra paths ahead for federal funding and Home GOP members search to start Rep. Johnson’s (R-LA) Speakership on a powerful be aware, the percentages of a authorities shutdown subsequent week seem to decrease. Within the occasion lawmakers transfer ahead with one other CR, farm invoice leaders might try to make use of it as a automobile to connect extension of funding for farm invoice packages that expired on October 1. Though Home leaders, together with Speaker Johnson (R-LA) and Home Ag Chair GT Thompson (R-PA) stay publicly dedicated to passing a farm invoice within the Home earlier than the top of the 12 months, there is no such thing as a likelihood {that a} last, negotiated package deal with the Senate can cross the end line till someday in 2024.

Supply: Hardwood Federation