Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment designated Bentz No. 2 which modestly expands the definition of ``renewable biomass'' under the Renewable Fuel Standard so that it includes materials generated in the manufacture of forest products, such as mill residuals, wood chips, bark sawdust, and shavings.

The amendment would also amend the current statutory other framework to include as renewal biomass, trees, shrubs, and slash from our Federal forests, Tribal forests, non-Federal land, and public lands, rather than being limited to a small part of these lands. This amendment would allow materials from these sources to be economically used for domestic biofuel production.

I thank Chairman Westerman, Congressman Fulcher, and Congressman Stauber for their support of this amendment.

The amendment falls within the farm bill under title VIII, forestry, and title IX, energy. Consistent with these titles, this amendment will incentivize removal of excess fuel from our forests, thus reducing fire risk and improving forest health, and it will make possible the productive use of what otherwise would be considered waste.

For too long, Federal policy has treated wood fiber from Federal lands in only two ways: either as merchantable sawtimber with commercial value or as waste with no value whatsoever. This policy ignores an entire category of low-value woody material that could be removed from Federal forests, including slash, limbs, storm debris, thinning materials, small diameter trees, and other byproducts that do not fit neatly into traditional lumber markets but still carry real economic value. This amendment would help realize on that value.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment is a practical fix. It treats Federal forest material as an opportunity, not a liability. It creates value where Federal policy currently perpetuates waste, and it provides land managers, mills, and rural communities with another tool to make Federal forests healthier, more productive, and less dangerous.

Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).

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Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott).

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Bentz and Mr. Westerman for their work on this issue. It is a very simple proposal and I think the most important thing for the forestry industry. The forestry industry is not healthy right now. It doesn't matter if its the logger or the person who drives the truck or the person who actually owns the land with the trees on it. It creates value from what otherwise would be waste.

It is a good amendment. It is a simple amendment. I encourage the adoption of it.

Again, I thank Mr. Bentz and Mr. Westerman for their work on this issue.

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Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close.

Mr. Chairman, this is an excellent bill, and we need it in Oregon. We have 30 million acres of trees. We absolutely need what this bill would provide.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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