Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act modernizes USDA wood-related grant programs. It renames the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program as the Community Wood Facilities Grant Program, shifts language from woody biomass to primarily forest biomass including processing or manufacturing, raises the federal cost-share percentage from 35 percent to 50 percent, replaces the old grant cap with a $5 million maximum, and increases eligible thermal-energy project size from 5 megawatts to 15 megawatts. It also raises the federal share for certain projects from 25 percent to 50 percent and authorizes $50 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. The Wood Innovations Grant Program is conformed to emphasize construction, use, or retrofitting for forest products manufacturing and a 50 percent amount.
Who Benefits and How
Community wood facility developers benefit from larger grants, higher federal cost shares, and a $5 million cap. Forest products manufacturers benefit because the bill explicitly supports construction, use, or retrofitting for manufacturing. Rural timber communities benefit if more forest biomass projects create local processing demand and facility jobs. Wood energy users benefit because eligible thermal projects can be up to 15 megawatts instead of 5 megawatts.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USDA Rural Development and forestry grant staff must update program rules, selection criteria, grant caps, and funding administration. Federal taxpayers bear $50 million per year in authorized funding from fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Applicants must still provide matching funds for the nonfederal share of projects. Competing energy or building-material suppliers may face more federally supported wood facility competition.
Key Provisions
- Renames and broadens the Community Wood Facilities Grant Program to support primarily forest biomass and forest products manufacturing.
- Raises federal cost share from 35 percent to 50 percent and sets a $5 million grant cap.
- Expands eligible thermal-energy project capacity from 5 megawatts to 15 megawatts.
- Authorizes $50 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 and conforms the Wood Innovations Grant Program.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Expands USDA community wood and wood innovations grants by raising cost-share and grant caps, shifting toward forest products manufacturing, increasing eligible thermal capacity, and authorizing $50 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Key Policy Areas
Forestry, Rural Development, Manufacturing
Primary Purpose
Expands USDA community wood and wood innovations grants by raising cost-share and grant caps, shifting toward forest products manufacturing, increasing eligible thermal capacity, and authorizing $50 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Community wood facility developers
- Forest products manufacturers
- Rural timber communities
- Wood energy users
Identified Costs
- USDA forestry grant staff
- Federal taxpayers
- Wood grant applicants
- Competing energy suppliers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.
Ms. Perez (for herself, Mr. Newhouse, and Ms. Pingree) introduced …
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Community wood facility developers, Forest products manufacturers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology