Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Senators Angus King (I-ME), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), sent a letter to the General Services Administration (GSA) urging the utilization of mass timber in federal building projects. The Senators are also inquiring the agency about its process on integrating mass timber into the federal procurement process and using low-carbon building materials in the construction and renovation of federal buildings. The Senators’ letter highlights the opportunity mass timber products present in creating rural jobs, reducing wildfire risk, increasing forest resiliency, while also reducing the carbon footprint of federal buildings.
“By incorporating more mass timber products into federal buildings, the GSA has a unique and historic opportunity to help reduce the carbon footprint of federal buildings, all while reducing waste and construction costs and increasing seismic and fire resiliency,” write the Senators.
“Since 2015, mass timber has seen unprecedented growth in its use across the United States—from just a handful of buildings 8 years ago to almost 2,000 today. Further, the mass timber industry offers Americans access to good paying forestry jobs,” they continued.
The Senators point to language included in the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations report and seek an update about the progress to address procurement of low embodied energy and carbon materials in Federal procurement processes. Language in the FY23 FSGG report states: GSA should evaluate the use of innovative wood products as a green building material and potential aid in carbon storage, which can deliver a cost-effective and sustainable path to reduce excessive hazardous fuels loads and foster long-term forest resilience by expanding markets for low-grade and low-value wood, providing economic diversity for forest communities and reducing wildfire risk in the process.
The Senators request answers to the following questions:
- What steps is GSA taking to implement the language included in the FY23 omnibus appropriations bill, directing the agency to work with partners to expand the utilization of mass timber and innovative wood products in federal buildings?
- How can federal agencies better incorporate mass timber into the planning, construction, and renovation of federal buildings and what guidelines are you putting in place to make happen?
- What challenges exist in expanding use of American-made mass timber and other innovative wood products in federal buildings?
- How has the GSA collaborated with the Forest Service on these efforts?
As an early champion of mass timber, Merkley also raised the question to former Commissioner Albert during a September hearing held by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The mass timber industry has become important to Oregon’s economy and environment, as the state has seen employment in this sector grow six times faster than it has in the rest of the U.S. over the past decade.
Full text of the letter can be found here and follows below:
Dear Commissioner Doomes,
We write to urge you to increase the utilization of mass timber in federal building projects. Mass timber products represent an opportunity to both create rural jobs, reduce wildfire risk, and increase forest resiliency, while also reducing the carbon footprint of federal buildings.
As you know, the impact of the federal procurement process is significant—with the GSA Green Building Advisory Committee reporting that federal funding supported the construction of over 253 million square feet of buildings, representing more than $11 billion in value. By incorporating more mass timber products into federal buildings, the GSA has a unique and historic opportunity to help reduce the carbon footprint of federal buildings, all while reducing waste and construction costs and increasing seismic and fire resiliency.
Since 2015, mass timber has seen unprecedented growth in its use across the United States — from just a handful of buildings 8 years ago to almost 2,000 today. Further, the mass timber industry offers Americans access to good paying forestry jobs. In fact, in Oregon, employment in this sector has grown six times faster than it has in the rest of the United States over the past decade.[1]
Given the numerous benefits of American-made mass timber and wood innovation products, please provide answers to the following:
- What steps is GSA taking to implement the language included in the FY23 omnibus appropriations bill, directing the agency to work with partners to expand the utilization of mass timber and innovative wood products in federal buildings?
- How can federal agencies better incorporate mass timber into the planning, construction, and renovation of federal buildings and what guidelines are you putting in place to make happen?
- What challenges exist in expanding use of American-made mass timber and other innovative wood products in federal buildings?
- How has the GSA collaborated with the Forest Service on these efforts?
We applaud the initial steps that GSA has taken to identify ways to increase the sustainability of the building materials used in the construction of federal buildings and increase the use of mass timber. We look forward to hearing your response to my questions and continuing to work with you to promote the use of mass timber in the public procurement process.
Sincerely,
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[1] Business Oregon, “Forestry & Wood Products,” https://www.oregon.gov/biz/programs/homeareas/byboregon/targetindustries/pages/forestry.aspx.
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