SAWMILL Act

The SAWMILL Act establishes a $220 million loan guarantee program for rural sawmills and wood-processing facilities. It provides guarantees to eligible entities (like sawmill operators) located within 250 miles of federally designated "high priority" lands needing ecological restoration through vegetation removal. The program requires that the facility's presence must substantially lower the cost of these restoration projects, as determined by the Agriculture Secretary. This directly affects rural wood-processing businesses and federal land management efforts focused on ecological restoration. The loan guarantees are limited to $220 million total and require coordination between the Agriculture and Interior Departments.