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S. 2221119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Jul 9, 2025Decoded by AI · checked against the record
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
The SAWMILL Act would let small rural sawmills apply for federal loan guarantees, capped at $220 million, to open or expand near federal lands needing restoration.
50-second read · 5 questions answered below
This bill would create a federal loan guarantee program for small sawmills and wood-processing facilities in rural areas. To qualify, a business must be within 250 miles of federal lands — including tribal forests — identified as high priority for ecological restoration. The facility must also meaningfully lower the cost of doing that restoration work.
Rural sawmill owners and wood-processing business operators would be the primary applicants. Communities located near federal forests could also be affected if restoration activity in those areas increases.
Small rural sawmills often struggle to get financing on their own, so a government-backed loan could make it possible for them to open, reopen, upgrade, or expand. Having more local processing capacity near federal lands is tied to how restoration work on those lands gets carried out and at what cost.
AI-drafted summary. Verify it against the official text before you act on it. Read the official bill on Congress.gov
Right now: a Senate committee is reviewing it. If the House changes it, it goes back to the Senate before reaching the President.
Latest action: — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.