# Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2023

This bill increases federal funding and support for community wood processing facilities—places that take timber and forest materials and turn them into usable products. Think of these as local sawmills and wood manufacturing operations that process trees into lumber, wood chips, and other forest products. The bill makes it easier for these facilities to get government grants to build new operations, upgrade existing ones, or expand what they're currently doing.

The main changes boost the money available for these projects significantly. The federal government will now provide up to $50 million per year (instead of $25 million) from 2024 through 2028 to help communities fund wood processing facilities. Individual projects can now receive up to $5 million in grants, and the government will cover up to 50 percent of project costs instead of the previous 35 percent. This means communities and businesses don't have to come up with as much of their own money to get these facilities off the ground.

The bill also broadens what kinds of projects qualify for funding. Previously, the program focused narrowly on sawmills and energy production from wood. Now it covers a wider range of forest products manufacturing—including facilities that process wood for construction materials, paper products, and other uses. The bill also removes some restrictions that limited how much thermal energy these facilities could produce, making it easier to fund operations that use wood waste for heating or power generation.

For rural communities, this could mean more local jobs in forestry and manufacturing, better use of forest resources, and economic development opportunities. For the timber industry, it provides easier access to capital for upgrading equipment and facilities. The changes take effect immediately and allocate funding through 2028.

Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2023

Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp

Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2023 This bill makes changes to grant programs administered by the Forest Service to promote wood products. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2028 and modifies a program that supports capital costs for installing community wood energy systems and building innovative wood products facilities, including by increasing the maximum grant amount per facility. The bill also modifies a program that provides grants to develop and expand the market for innovative wood products. Specifically, the bill (1) modifies the grant priorities, and (2) increases the portion of a project's cost that may be covered by such a grant.