NEWS

3,400 staffers have been let go at the U.S Forest Service, about 10% of the total USFS workforce. Firefighters and other public safety officials are exempt from the cuts. 

PHOTO © Preston Keres USFS

Read more: Forest Service fires 3,400 people after ‘deferred resignation’ deadline passes →

The new budget resolution passed by the House of Representatives Budget Committee includes a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts across committees, with a target of $2 trillion; a $4.5 trillion cap on the deficit impact of the plan to extend the 2017 tax cuts; and an incremental $300 billion for the border and defense. The resolution increases the debt limit by $4 trillion. The resolution still needs to pass in the House of Representatives.

On January 31, President Trump issued the Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation executive order. The aggressive executive order includes a requirement that for each new regulation issued, at least ten prior regulations must be eliminated, and imposes a "significantly less than zero" incremental cost cap for all new regulations.

PHOTO © Daniel Torok

In this quarter's design-focused Surface & Panel magazine, DHA highlights the natural aesthetics and versatility of hardwood plywood, hardwood veneer, and engineered wood flooring in our quarterly column. In addition to the feature in Surface & Panel, the North American Building Material Distribution Association requested permission to feature the article and will publish it on their Channel Connection website, Hub & Spoke website, and in their monthly newsletter.

On February 13, President Trump signed a memorandum ordering the development of a comprehensive plan "for restoring fairness in U.S. trade relationships and countering non-reciprocal trading arrangements." According to the White House, the plan would equalize U.S. tariffs to those of trading partners and consider non-tariff barriers as well as value-added taxes imposed on imports from the U.S.

PHOTO © USCBP