Wood Utilization Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Wood Utilization Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a wood utilization program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make, insure, and guarantee loans to eligible recipients for demonstration and pilot projects in the utilization and manufacture of forest products; (2) require removals of specified materials by timber purchasers or contractors to enhance long-term forest resource productivity; and (3) sell, consolidate for sale, or otherwise dispose of slash, other underutilized material, and dead and dying timber for energy production giving first priority for such purchases to public bodies or cooperatives. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, and other arrangements and to provide technical, financial, and related assistance for such purposes. Requires that non-Federal cooperators contribute at least 50 percent to projects established under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out such purposes. Directs the Secretary to make annual reports to the Congress on such program, to make specified surveys, and to coordinate such reports and surveys with other specified comprehensive surveys, land management plans, and forest resource programs. Requires that the administration of this Act be consistent with the administration of the National Forest Management Act and the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 10, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 10, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JAMES WEAVER (D-OR) introduced it on September 10, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 10, 1979, 17167 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17167 days ago, on September 10, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers