U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) led a bipartisan congressional call for adequate funding for the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program in the president’s budget.
In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the lawmakers cited prevailing uncertainties that have made it difficult for local governments to plan annual budgets since SRS expired in September 2015. The SRS program was not reauthorized for fiscal year 2016 or future years.
Hatch and McMorris Rodger’s bicameral letter was signed by a bipartisan group of 82 lawmakers in the House and the Senate. U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Steve Daines (R-MT), and U.S. Reps. Kristi Noem (R-SD), Tom Reed (R-NY), Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Evan Jenkins (R-WV) were among lawmakers who signed the letter.
Nearly a century ago, Congress passed legislation stipulating that 25 percent of revenues from timber harvests on federal lands would be shared with affected counties for “the benefit of the public schools and public roads in county or counties in which national forests are situated.”
However, reduced timber production over the last three decades has led to revenues dropping more than 70 percent nationwide, and by as much as 99 percent in some counties. In response, Congress first authorized SRS in 2000 to renew revenue sharing arrangements in light of “significant losses faced by forest counties as timber revenues declined,” the letter states.
“This promise is as relevant today as ever given these counties are still expected to provide essential services on their public lands,” the letter continues. “… Forest counties and schools received their last authorized SRS payment in March 2016. Without SRS, existing revenue sharing payments are not sufficient to support the services these counties must provide, and counties are forced to choose between critical services for their citizens.”
SRS payments impact 9 million students in 41 states by providing critical revenues to more than 775 rural counties and 4,400 schools throughout the country. Public lands, and National Forest System lands in particular, often account for 65 to 90 percent of total land in these counties, the letter states.
“The federal government has long recognized its obligation to these forest counties, and we are committed to working in Congress to provide these counties the resources they need to serve their populations,” the letter concludes, asking that OMB work with Congress to correct the issue in fiscal year 2018.