Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill with my colleague, Senator Smith that will help the hardworking loggers across this Nation whose operations have suffered serious losses directly due to the pandemic. In Maine alone, logging has a roughly $650 million annual economic impact, and is the backbone of the forest products economy. The industry is made up of countless multi-generational family businesses, whose survival is being seriously threatened. In Maine and in many places across the Country, the logging industry first felt the effects of COVID-19 in January as exports to foreign markets were significantly limited if not eliminated entirely. Declines in demand for paper products and other wood fiber based products caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted shutdowns, slowdowns, and closures across the globe. As a result, Maine has seen declining demand for wood from mills across the board, and low prices and quotas driven by that lack of demand. And while timber prices have remained relatively stable, mills have drastically reduced their processing capacity--resulting in a ripple effect that has hit loggers and timber hauling companies hard. The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine projects at least a 20 percent reduction in the annual harvest, which would threaten more than 600 jobs and represent the potential loss of $86 million in economic activity in my State.…”