Federation Works with Bipartisan Senators to Promote Red Oak in Federal Procurement

By DANA COLE, Executive Director of the Hardwood Federation

On July 12, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) led a bipartisan group of eight other senators in a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) and General Services Administration (GSA) to use red oak in federal government procurement of flooring for military truck beds. Senator Shaheen responded to outreach from and worked closely with the Hardwood Federation team to draft and send this communication urging action to grow domestic markets for hardwood lumber. Senator Shaheen, Hardwood Federation staff, and industry members reached out to key members of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee and the Senate Armed Services Committee to garner support and letter signatures. Fortunately, many of the Committee members come from hardwood states and immediately understood the importance of this effort. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who co-led the effort, Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Angus King (I-ME) and JD Vance (R-OH) joined Sen. Shaheen in the letter. 

The Senate letter echoes the Hardwood Federation’s talking points that using Red Oak will replace “critically endangered Apitong hardwood from tropical forests with a readily available, sustainable domestic source of lumber,” scoring a win/win for the U.S. economy and environment. Specifically, the letter calls upon the agencies “to expedite transition to domestic Red Oak lumber for hardwood floorboards in U.S. military and other government vehicles, trailers and platforms.” In late November 2023, the GSA approved the use of red oak for military applications within the context of an agency directive. The Senate letter is intended to build momentum for agency action and make the GSA directive a high priority.

The GSA’s Commercial Item Description, a formal government procurement document referenced in the Senate communication, notes that truck beds made of “foreign Apitong were unsustainable and counter to numerous U.S. Government regulatory and ethical commitments for responsible environmental stewardship in procurement.” GSA further found that the material was also “not compliant with the Buy American Act of 1933 or Trade Agreements Act of 1979.”

In addition to the letter to the relevant agencies, as part of this year’s reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Sen. Shaheen also secured report language as part of the Senate Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA bill to press the Department of Defense and GSA on switching to red oak and away from apitong for its truck trailer beds. The NDAA is one of the few bills guaranteed to move forward in the Lame Duck session of Congress following the election. As the NDAA funds and authorizes critical military operations and initiatives, it is a top priority every December for Congressional action. The Hardwood Federation team is working with Senator Shaheen’s staff and our other champions on the Hill to ensure this report language remains in the final product that President Biden will sign.

This is only the first strike at a long list of government purchases that use materials other than U.S. hardwoods. Senator Shaheen and other signatories to the letter have offered to support additional efforts to move the DOD and other large government purchasers to-ward domestic materials. The Federation will continue to build on this bipartisan effort to support the U.S. hardwood industry.

NOTE: This article’s deadline was two weeks before the 2024 election. Check out our next submission to Hardwood Matters for how the election results will impact the hardwood industry in 2025!