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Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Date: Dec. 9, 2025
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025.

This bill would reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Self- Determination Program (SRS) through Fiscal Year 2026 and provide lapsed payments for 2024 and 2025.

Administered by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management, SRS funding goes to counties to help maintain schools, infrastructure, and other essential community services for many rural counties that contain federal lands exempt from federal property taxes. The SRS program is certainly a critical program for my home state of Idaho. Nearly two-thirds of Idaho is public land, which means a vast majority of rural counties throughout the state depend on this funding. In fact, Idaho ranks third nationally in SRS funding, behind only Oregon and California.

I want to thank my colleagues, especially Representative LaMalfa from California and Representative Fulcher from Idaho, for working diligently to get this bill across the finish line. I am also grateful to Speaker Johnson, House Leadership, and my colleagues for supporting this bill.

As a long-time supporter of the SRS program, and a cosponsor of the House bill, I look forward to seeing this lifeline benefit local communities throughout Idaho.

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