Proposed Legislation Targets Illegally Harvested Lumber

May 16, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on May 2007 Proposed legislation in Congress aimed at preventing commerce in illegally sourced wood--and products made from that wood--in the U.S. market could outlaw the sale of furniture made from such materials.

H.R. 1497, or the “Legal Timber Protection Act,” extends provisions of amendments added in 1981 to the Lacey Act of 1900 that prohibit trafficking in illegally sourced wildlife to include plants, including trees, illegally harvested outside the United States, as well as products made from those plants, such as furniture.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)--joined by Jerry Weller (R-IL) and Robert Wexler (D-FL)--introduced the LTPA March 13, and it was shortly thereafter referred to the House Subcommittee on Fisheries Wildlife and Oceans.

According to the Library of Congress, the proposed legislation has 21 co-sponsors.