Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today Senator Crapo of Idaho, Senator Merkley of Oregon, Senator Risch of Idaho, and I are introducing the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act. This legislation replaces the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) to provide revenue sharing with and compensation to over 700 rural forested counties in the over 40 States that host America's treasured, public forested lands and wildlife refuges.

In 2000, then-Senator Larry Craig, also of Idaho, and I, had signed into law SRS: a 6-year long safety-net program to stabilize county budgets following years of depleted revenue sharing payments from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Oregon and California Grant Lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Over its lifetime, SRS has been a success, providing more than $6.8 billion nationwide for rural roads, schools, and healthy forest projects. SRS also provided the basis for the beginning of, and the now growing propensity for, the USFS and the BLM to collaborate with local people and interests on the management of these public lands, and for local folks and counties to collaborate together and with the USFS and BLM, in return.

Despite its many successes, the continuation of SRS is in jeopardy. The program expired in fiscal year 2016. Congress passed a two-year extension of the program, but after its expiration. And this was not the first time nor the last time Congress allowed it to expire--SRS is expired right now, though Senator Crapo and I are attempting, in these last moments of the 115th Congress, to reauthorize it again for at least a year, perhaps two.

This stop and start existence of this program hits at the heart of any attempts at collaboration. And it certainly undermines any attempts for a county to budget. Our rural counties should not continue to suffer neither this uncertainty, nor the market based uncertainty that comes with simply relying on revenue sharing and forest management for support.

That is why Senator Crapo and I propose an SRS modernization, funding certainty while supporting active forest management. The Forest Management for Rural Stability Act establishes a permanent endowment fund, the Natural Resources Permanent Fund, to provide stable, reliable, increasing payments to counties, in perpetuity, removing them from the vagaries of Congress or the market.

Under this legislation, Congress charters a fiduciary corporation, the Forest and Refuge County Foundation, to manage the endowed fund. The corporation will be independent from any instrumentality of the U.S. government, including Congress, to ensure the principle balance is held in perpetuity and is separate from annual appropriations. The corporation will be overseen by a board of directors responsible for a transparent governance structure. The principle of the fund will be invested to earn interest. To grow the fund, in addition to the investment income, the USFS, BLM, and the Fish and Wildlife Service will deposit their annual revenue sharing receipts into the fund. The interest the fund generates will constitute the payments to the counties, distributed annually using the existing SRS formula. Initial payments to counties will be equal what counties received for Fiscal Year 2017 SRS payments.

The Forest Management for Rural Stability Act continues Congress's commitment to fostering economic growth in rural counties by continuing Forest Service Resource Advisory Committees. In addition, the bill gives county governments greater flexibility in how these funds are spent for economic development and rural jobs.

Passing the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act will update SRS for 2018 and beyond--looking forward for our forested counties, rather than backward to last century efforts.

This bill updates an already successful program that deserves action. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, Social Security provides vital benefits to millions of Americans who work and pay into the system with each paycheck. Because Social Security is fundamental to workers' retirement security, the law protected benefits from creditors. The only exceptions were unpaid Federal taxes, child support or alimony payments, and court-ordered victim restitution. These protections ensured that the social safety net programs would be there for basic needs. That protection was weakened over 20 years ago when the law was changed. Now, more and more seniors face cuts in their Social Security benefits because of student loan debts. The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted the issue with an article titled, ``Over 60, and Crushed by Student Loan Debt.'' We need to take action to restore the strong protections to Social Security and other benefit programs.

We now realize what a profound effect the loss of these protections has had on retirees and individuals with disabilities, who often live on fixed incomes. More and more seniors and people with disabilities are having their Social Security and other lifeline benefits taken away to pay Federal debts. For example, according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Fiscal Service, over 167,000 Americans had their benefits garnished for student loan debt. Those 167,000 had nearly $200 million garnished from their earned benefits. This is just the tip of the iceberg as more Americans start receiving benefits. Between 2008 and 2018, the number of individuals whose Social Security benefits were offset to pay student loans debt increased by 133 percent, from about 72,000 to 169,000. Over that same period, the amount collected from Social Security benefits ballooned from almost $63 million to nearly $200 million, a 217 percent increase.

Social Security plays a critical role in keeping seniors and people with disabilities out of poverty. In Oregon alone, Social Security cuts the poverty rate of the elderly from about 35 percent to 5 percent. However, despite Social Security's critical role in the safety net, close to 1 out of every 10 seniors over age 65 and 1 in 5 disabled workers still live in poverty and that is simply unacceptable.

I, along with Senators Brown, Whitehouse, Leahy, Warren, Hirano, Sanders, Gillibrand, Merkley, and Schatz are reintroducing the Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act. The bill would restore the strong protections in the law that prevented the government from taking earned benefits to pay Federal non-tax debts, and help ensure beneficiaries will be able to maintain a basic standard of living. The bill is supported by AARP, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National Association of Disability Representatives, AFL-CIO, National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives, Social Security Works, National Organization for Women, Justice in Aging, American Federation of Teachers, Alliance for Retired Americans, Economic Policy Institute.

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