Wyden, Crapo, Merkley, Risch Reintroduce Legislation to Provide Long-term Stability for Secure Rural Schools Program

Statement

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, today reintroduced legislation to provide much-needed financial certainty for rural counties to ensure they have the long-term funding needed for schools, road maintenance, law enforcement and other essential services.

The bipartisan Forest Management for Rural Stability Act, which the senators first introduced in December 2018, makes the Secure Rural Schools program--which expired at the end of FY 2018--permanent by creating an endowment fund to provide stable, increasing and reliable funding for county services.

"This is a matter of making sure Oregonians living and working in rural counties have the financial certainty they need and deserve," Wyden said. "It's time to put an end to the financial roller coaster in forested counties in Oregon and permanently invest in our teachers, law enforcement officers, bridges and roads."

"It is time to create a permanent, lasting program for Idaho counties and schools surrounded by tax-exempt federal lands," Crapo said. "A long-term endowment assisted by forest products receipts would ensure certainty for parents, students and those traveling Idaho's roads and bridges."

"One of Oregon's many treasures is our vast swaths of public lands," Merkley said. "Since they're not part of the local tax base, the counties that contain those lands deserve permanent, consistent support from the federal government to fund basic necessities like schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure. I'm urging my colleagues to fulfill this essential commitment to every family in our rural communities without delay."

"For too long, active forest management has not been made a priority, SRS payments have been unreliable, and Idaho's rural counties have paid the price," Risch said. "These communities deserve a long-term solution that enables them to provide critical county services, and this legislation helps restore predictability while investing in county projects and timber management."

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS)--originally co-authored by Wyden--was enacted in 2000 to financially assist counties with public, tax-exempt forestlands. Since then, Wyden, Crapo, Merkley and Risch have worked to give SRS a more permanent role in assisting rural counties with large tracts of federal lands.

Critical services at the county level have historically been funded in part with a 25 percent share of timber receipts from federal U.S. Forest Service lands and a 50 percent share of timber receipts from federal Oregon and California Grant Lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. As those revenues have fallen or fluctuated due to reduced timber harvest and market forces, SRS payments helped bridge the gap to keep rural schools open, provide road maintenance, support search and rescue efforts and other essential county services. Since enacted in 2000, SRS has provided a total of $7 billion in payments to more than 700 counties and 4,400 school districts in more than 40 states to fund schools and essential services like roads and public safety.

In recent years, however, Congress has allowed SRS funding to lapse and decrease, creating massive uncertainty for counties as they budget for basic county services. The senators' Forest Management for Rural Stability Act ends the uncertainty and provides rural counties financial security.