Idaho Sen. Crapo introduces bill to provide certainty for Secure Rural Schools program

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U.S. Senators Mike Crapo of Idaho and Ron Wyden of Oregon have introduced 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.

Senator Crapo says the bipartisan Forest Management for Rural Stability Act makes the recently Secure Rural Schools program permanent by creating an endowment fund to provide stable, increasing and reliable funding for county services.

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was enacted in 2000 to financially assist counties with public, tax-exempt forestlands.

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.

In recent years, however, Congress has allowed SRS funding to lapse and decrease, creating uncertainty for counties as they budget for basic county services. (Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo)

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