S. 2598 — Forest Bioeconomy Act

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to expand research on using wood from forest management projects (1) to develop new markets, including nontraditional ones, for material with little or no commercial value; (2) to enhance the economic viability of manufacturing products from such material; and (3) as feedstock for renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel. This section establishes within the Forest Service an Office of Technology Transfer—headed by a Chief Commercialization Officer who reports to the Deputy Chief for Research and Development—to oversee technology transfer expenditures, represent the Forest Service on the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer and similar entities, coordinate with other offices and federal entities, engage private sector partners including venture capital firms, and manage patent protections for Forest Service inventions. The section further establishes a Technology Transfer Working Group, consisting of the Deputy Chief for Research and Development, the Chief Commercialization Officer, research station representatives, and others with relevant expertise, to coordinate opportunities, provide guidance on Stevenson-Wydler Act requirements, and disseminate information on technology transfer procedures; requires the working group to report to Congress within one year of enactment on specified Forest Service technology transfer activities over the prior five years and recommendations for changes; directs inclusion of key performance indicators on such activities in the President's annual budget submission beginning the year after the report; and authorizes $5 million annually for the office. This section amends the National Forest Foundation Act to authorize the foundation to conduct technology transfer and commercialization activities, in addition to cooperative forestry. This section establishes a small business voucher pilot program.

This section establishes a mass timber science and education program, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Deputy Chief of the Forest Service for Research and Development, to address research needs of architects, real estate developers, and the forest products industry related to mass timber (i.e., cross-laminated timber, nail laminated timber, glue laminated timber, dowel laminated timber, laminated strand lumber, and laminated veneer lumber) and tall wood buildings (i.e., residential buildings over 4 stories or commercial buildings over 5 stories constructed with mass timber). The program shall (1) provide practical research on carbon impacts in originating forests and mass timber end-use; (2) develop research on flammability, fire performance, structural characteristics, energy use, acoustics, and hybrid slab construction; (3) solicit competitive, peer-reviewed funding proposals; (4) disseminate findings; and (5) develop a voluntary curriculum on mass timber structural design, benefits, and limitations for engineering and architecture schools. The Secretary shall coordinate with colleges and universities; submit to congressional committees by September 30, 2026, a strategy assessing mass timber knowledge, improving information sharing, monitoring projects, and setting research priorities; and appoint a stakeholder advisory group of technical experts (including a Forest Service scientist, university researcher, trade association representative, architect or developer, local permitting official, forest products company representative, and nongovernmental organization expert on tall wood buildings or building codes) to meet annually on science needs and strategy development. The Secretary may use up to $4 million from Forest Service research appropriations, excluding Forest Inventory and Analysis funding, to carry out the program.