Simpson Cosponsors No Timber From Tyrants Act

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson has supported several recent measures to help inflict damage on Russia’s war chest for their malicious invasion of Ukraine.  Among these efforts include supporting H.R. 6968, the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, signed into law April 8, and cosponsoring H.R. 7437, the No Timber From Tyrants Act.

“Russia’s egregious actions cannot go unpunished, and every action must be taken to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s unprovoked invasion,” said Simpson.

H.R. 7437, the No Timber From Tyrants Act was introduced by Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and would ban the importation of lumber and timber-related products from Russia and Belarus.  It would also ramp up responsible harvesting of American timber to create new jobs, produce more sustainable wood products, and make lands more resilient to catastrophic wildfires. 

The timber industry in Russia plays a major role in its natural resource-based economy.  Last year, Russian timber exports were valued at $13.9 billion, with the United States importing $500 million in wood products from Russia and Belarus in 2021. 

The No Timber From Tyrants Act would responsibly ramp up domestic timber harvesting on public lands and national forests by directing the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to make up for lost imports by harvesting more timber from overgrown and fire-prone federal lands consistent with already authorized forest management plans.  Importantly, this bill does not allocate more acres for timber harvest, but rather would step up production under the rigorous environmental standards already in place in the United States.

“Banning Russian timber imports and responsibly harvesting more wood products in the United States is an important step we can take to isolate the Russian economy making it difficult for Putin to replace equipment and manpower needed for his costly and egregious invasion of Ukraine,” said Simpson. “This legislation’s goal of harvesting more timber at home will improve forest health, reduce wildfires, and create rural jobs.  We should be working to meet our domestic timber needs here at home – and I am pleased to cosponsor legislation that would accomplish this while supporting Ukraine.”

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