Jerry Konter, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Savannah, Ga., issued the following statement in support of legislation introduced by Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) and Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-04):
“Rep. Westerman’s ‘No Timber from Tyrants Act’ is a moral and economic imperative that needs to be enacted immediately. Banning imports of Russian and Belarusian wood products will help to further economically isolate Russia and deny President Putin another source of funding for his unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, the legislation also calls for responsibly increasing domestic lumber production from federal lands to address the resiliency of our national forests, create jobs, reinvigorate the forest industry and improve housing affordability. Time is of the essence and Congress must act swiftly on this bill.”
According to the statement on the Rodgers/Westerman website, in 2021, the U.S. imported more than half-a-billion dollars’ worth of wood products from Russia ($459 million) and Belarus ($52 million). Specifically, the No Timber From Tyrants Act would:
- Ban imports of Russian and Belarusian wood products while Russia continues its violent and senseless war against Ukraine; and
- Improve the health of our nation’s forests and create new jobs by directing the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior to harvest more timber from overgrown, fire-prone federal lands to make up for the lost imports.
“The timber industry helped build the Pacific Northwest, and with more than 6.5 million acres of forestland, Eastern Washington is in a position to lead and deliver results,” said Cathy McMorris Rodgers. “By proactively managing these forests and responsibly harvesting more timber, we can increase exports to support our allies, decrease the world’s dangerous dependence on Russia, and make our lands more resilient to catastrophic wildfires.
“The No Timber From Tyrants Act is a win-win for Eastern Washington and the United States,” she continued. “Just like the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, this legislation will help us expand our energy dominance on the world stage and fight back against Putin, and I’m proud to help introduce it today.”