Shaheen, Capito Lead Colleagues in Bipartisan Letter Urging Administration to Prioritize Transition to U.S. Red Oak Lumber Over Foreign-Sourced Apitong in Military Vehicles and Government Fleets
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in urging U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Lloyd Austin and General Service Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin Carnahan to prioritize the transition to domestic Red Oak lumber for hardwood floorboards in U.S. military and other government vehicles, trailers and platforms. In their letter, the Senators note how, in addition to enhancing sustainability and reducing CO2 emissions, the transition to Red Oak lumber fuels strong domestic economic opportunities.
The Senators wrote, in part: “Replacing critically endangered Apitong hardwood from tropical rainforests with a readily available, sustainable domestic source of lumber makes clear sense, and we urge you to make implementing this directive a priority.”
The Senators continued: “The United States should welcome and fully embrace this opportunity to support the domestic hardwood industry and protect fragile ecosystems. We strongly believe that the DoD and GSA should immediately identify all eligible production trailer models that currently specify or contain Apitong floorboards and prioritize the transition to utilize domestically grown and processed Red Oak lumber as defined by the new directive.”
The letter follows a GSA directive issued on November 27, 2023, instructing DoD and GSA to use floorboards sourced from domestic Red Oak instead of the critically endangered tropical Apitong. Co-signers on Shaheen and Capito’s letter include U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Casey (D-PA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Angus King (I-ME), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and JD Vance (R-OH).
In New Hampshire, where Red Oak is the dominant hardwood species, the forest products industry generates $1.5 billion of direct economic output and supports approximately 12,000 jobs.
The full letter can be found here and below.
Dear Secretary Austin and Administrator Carnahan:
We write to encourage the Department of Defense (DoD) and General Services Administration (GSA) to expedite the transition to domestic Red Oak lumber for hardwood floorboards in U.S. military and other government vehicles, trailers and platforms, consistent with GSA’s directive issued on November 27, 2023. Replacing critically endangered Apitong hardwood from tropical rainforests with a readily available, sustainable domestic source of lumber makes clear sense, and we urge you to make implementing this directive a priority.
U.S. Red Oak is a cost-effective, high-quality alternative for floorboard applications in U.S. military and other fleets that will benefit domestic manufacturing and the environment. GSA’s Commercial Item Description for hardwood floorboards notes that use of foreign Apitong was unsustainable and counter to numerous U.S. Government regulatory and ethical commitments for responsible environmental stewardship in procurement. It was also not compliant with the Buy American Act of 1933 or Trade Agreements Act of 1979. By contrast, not only does the Northern Red Oak’s new growth greatly exceed harvest throughout its native range, but also its domestic supply chain and transit produces less CO2 emissions than that of the tropical Apitong.
The United States should welcome and fully embrace this opportunity to support the domestic hardwood industry and protect fragile ecosystems. We strongly believe that the DoD and GSA should immediately identify all eligible production trailer models that currently specify or contain Apitong floorboards and prioritize the transition to utilize domestically grown and processed Red Oak lumber as defined by the new directive.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
###
