Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) announced that the COVID-19 relief package that passed Congress and was signed into law included $200 million for logging and log hauling businesses that have been seriously impacted by the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. Senator .
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) announced the COVID-19 relief package that passed Congress and was signed into law included $200 million for logging and log hauling businesses that have been seriously impacted by the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis, according to a news release.
Senator Collins and Congressman Golden introduced and Senator Angus King (I-ME) and Congresswoman Pingree (ME-01) co-sponsored logger relief legislation earlier this year, and Senator Collins championed the funding in the final agreement.
The logging industry has experienced a steep decline in demand for wood fiber since the coronavirus pandemic began, leading to an estimated 20 percent or more drop in the timber harvest this year.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday is expected to sign into law a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that will send payments of $600 to millions of Americans and provide a financial lifeline for thousands of struggling businesses across the country.
The help includes a measure that could save Maine craft breweries over $1 million a year in taxes. The state’s loggers, shipbuilders and others may benefit from the omnibus legislation too.
After being mired in months of political stalemate, the package on Monday passed both houses of Congress by lopsided margins and went to Trump’s desk Tuesday morning. Among the provisions is the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which lowers the federal excise tax on beer, wine and spirits from small producers.
Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press
Maine loggers are cheering the inclusion of $200 million for the industry in the new COVID-19 relief package Congress passed Monday night.
Dana Doran, president of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, estimates that the state’s harvest has dropped by as much as 40% this year, putting an estimated 900 loggers and truckers out of work.
The aid package, he says, should help the industry stay afloat until spring, when it’s hoped that pulp and paper markets damaged by the pandemic will open back up.
“It’s historic. Loggers have never been recognized. And now we feel like there’s some parity between loggers and farmers or fishermen. And loggers are the farmers of the forest; they should be treated just the same as other farmers who are out there,” Doran says.
For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, Maine loggers will be getting some help from a COVID-19 relief package.
It s great news for Maine s timber harvesters and haulers who have, up to this point, not been included in all the federal aid that s helped Maine businesses. The aid is part of the approved $900 billion dollar COVID-19 relief package, and will go to timber harvesting and hauling businesses that have experienced a loss of not less than 10 percent in gross revenue during 2020, compared to last year.
The businesses have been hard hit by the pandemic, with most contractors reporting a 30-40% reduction in wood markets this year, resulting in severe revenue losses, layoffs, loss of clients, and reduced productivity. All this for an industry that contributed an estimated $619 million to the Maine economy in 2017 and supported more than 9,000 jobs, according to the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine.