March 25, 2025 2:50 a.m. 

On Monday, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden along with Idaho Senators James Risch and Mike Crapo launched a renewed bipartisan effort to promote the use of mass timber in federal building projects and military construction.

A joint release said the Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act would incentivize the use of mass timber building materials by providing a preference in federal building contracts for mass timber products, giving mass timber companies the ability to compete for federal construction, renovation, or acquisition of public buildings and for military construction.

The bill’s re-introduction coincides with the start of the International Mass Timber Conference – the largest gathering of mass timber experts in the world – in Portland this week.

The legislation is endorsed by a lengthy list of timber and forestry related organizations and by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

The full text of the legislation can be found at: C:\Users\kat\AppData\Local\Temp\KAT25277.loc