In a big win for NRMCA and coalition allies, the Senate farm did not include the Tall Wood Building Prize Competition. Since mid-April, NRMCA and the other members of the Stop the Timber Innovation Act (TIA) Coalition have been lobbying the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee to keep this provision out. Other members of the North American Concrete Alliance include the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA). This compromise language is a victory for NRMCA. Although the research directives in the TIA were included in the farm bill, they do not include any additional authorizations, funds or new programs for the study of mass timber and tall wood buildings. Rather, they simply reiterate things that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently doing.
In addition to meetings on Capitol Hill with Senate offices and committee staff, NRMCA members took action. During the course of this lobbying effort, NRMCA members sent over 1,200 letters to Senate offices, including nearly 800 letters in the last week alone. These messages were heard loud and clear and showed the Senate offices that this was an important issue. Thank you to everyone who responded and sent letters to their senators, and thanks in particular to Steve McDonald with Geiger Ready-Mix and Jackie Clark with Ash Grove for mobilizing industry folks in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri.
If you have feedback or questions, please contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org or 240-485-1156.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association