Last October, the Pellet Fuels Institute gathered in Washington, D.C., to execute a federal policy fly-in. Three different groups of producer members met with nearly 30 members of Congress or their staff, discussing our industry and the contributions we make to rural economies and the forest products sector within our respective states and districts. Our fly-in team was well-prepared. At each meeting, we walked attendees through our full slate of federal policy priorities, from the expansion of the tax credit on qualifying wood pellet appliances to a lasting federal policy determination that forest-based energy is carbon neutral. Staffers and members alike nodded along in polite agreement, careful not to make specific promises one way or another. Some members demonstrated more familiarity, knowledge and support regarding wood pellet manufacturing than others, but there wasn’t a real sense of urgency in any of the meetings. When our team outlined the Farm Bill provisions that were important to and utilized within our sector, shoulders shrugged. No one felt optimistic that a Farm Bill would “get done” anytime soon. On several occasions, we heard a new Farm Bill might fall into 2025, after the 2024 election cycle. Within two weeks of our fly-in, a one-year extension of the existing Farm Bill was announced (to preserve vital agricultural producer payments) and forward progress on the bill was ground to a halt.While the Pellet Fuels Institute considered its federal policy strategy for 2024, we were committed to once again executing an in-person fly-in to build upon the relationships that we’ve been working to establish, and to expand our reach by finding new superfans within the House and Senate. Our traditional fall fly-in isn’t feasible, however, being that it’s an election year that finds both chambers on recess for some campaigning back home. Summer also felt wrong, so we looked to the spring and decided that we would focus specifically on members in both chambers with appointments to their respective agriculture and forestry committees. Early in 2024, our legislative affairs committee decided that a trip with a sharp focus on the PFI’s Farm Bill priorities was our best bet, regardless of where Farm Bill negotiations were.We selected May 1 somewhat arbitrarily and went to work securing our appointments and building out our day. As our advocacy group gathered for breakfast that morning, news was breaking that both a House and Senate version of the Farm Bill had been introduced. Unveiling the Senate’s version of the legislation fell to Chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee Sen. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan. As it happened, our team was scheduled to sit down with committee staff that morning. Over eggs and bacon, we worked through the 94-page summary that outlined in broad strokes what was in the Senate’s version of the $1.5 trillion spending bill, looking specifically at the forestry and energy titles that contain the PFI’s small handful of Farm Bill priorities. A quick survey revealed that our priorities in the forestry title (Community Wood Grant and Wood Innovation Grant programs) were included, and in the case of the Community Wood Grant, doubled in size to $50 million. Within the energy title, the Advanced Biofuels Payment Program remained in place. While the bill’s funding was authorized as opposed to mandatory (meaning an appropriations step would be necessary each year), the news felt like a base hit—if not exactly a home run. Still, this was an introduced piece of legislation, a far cry from a bill likely to win passage through both chambers and signed into law.Our meetings later that morning and in the afternoon stood in stark contrast our meetings last fall. The Farm Bill, and the two versions that had been introduced that day, were the talk of the town. Every staffer we met with was busying themselves with a thorough review of the summary documents and anticipating the debates and negotiations to come. Gone were the shoulder shrugs and resigned postures, and while no one was ready to say that a Farm Bill might get negotiated and signed into law before the election, everyone agreed the legislation was back on its feet and at least walking toward the finish line.The PFI’s Farm Bill priorities, specifically the programs in the forestry and energy titles are tiny—miniscule even—in the context of a piece of legislation with over a trillion dollars in spending across its five-year life.Generating attention for these remote corners of legislation isn’t easy, even with policymakers from states boasting significant pellet production. May 1 felt different. Our conversations felt urgent and tightly aligned with the news of the day. That alone felt like a win. The coming months will determine whether that day was the beginning of a resolution to a vital piece of federal policy, or if it was another false alarm. Either way, the PFI was there, and our timing could not have been better. Author: Tim Portz&nbsp; Executive Director, Pellet Fuels Institute&nbsp; tim@pelletheat.org&nbsp; www.pelletheat.org&nbsp;

2024-05-21 - Timing is Everything (Biomass Magazine)

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While the Pellet Fuels Institute considered its federal policy strategy for 2024, we were committed to once again executing an in-person fly-in to build upon the relationships that we’ve been working to establish, and to expand our reach by finding new super fans within the House and Senate.

Timing is Everything

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