SAWMILL Act

This bill establishes requirements for the Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program , to be carried out by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior. These Secretaries are mandated to periodically identify federal lands that are high or very high priority for ecological restoration requiring vegetation removal. Under this program, the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, will provide loan guarantees to eligible entities. These entities are defined as individuals or businesses owning or operating sawmills or other wood-processing facilities in rural areas. To qualify, facilities must be located within a 250-mile radius of identified eligible federal land, and their operation must substantially decrease the cost of conducting ecological restoration projects on that land. A total of not more than $220,000,000 in loan guarantees may be provided under the Program to support the establishment, reopening, retrofitting, expansion, or improvement of these facilities.