[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4528]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL FOR ENCOURAGING WOOD USE IN 
                         BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, Pennsylvania's Fifth 
Congressional District, which I am proud to represent, has a deep 
heritage with wood products and timber industries. Wood is the ultimate 
green building material and should be encouraged for its environmental 
benefits.
  Unfortunately, USDA's Bio-Preferred Program did not recognize wood 
products, despite the obvious benefits of using such material in 
buildings. Because of this, I authored the Forest Products Fairness Act 
of 2013. This legislation, which was ultimately included in the 2014 
farm bill, modified USDA's definition of bio-based products to 
specifically include forest products.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the U.S. Green Building Council 
in taking the next step with the recent changes to their Leadership in 
Energy Environmental Design, or LEED, green building rating system.
  This change will encourage more use of domestic wood in building 
construction. The change includes lumber companies certified by the 
American Tree Farm System and landowners certified by the Sustainable 
Forestry Initiative or the Forest Stewardship Council.
  This decision by the U.S. Green Building Council is another step in 
the right direction and will provide a boost to many across 
Pennsylvania involved in the industries that rely on our significant 
timber resources.

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