Bipartisan group of 83 lawmakers in the Senate and House call for action in the U.S. House of Representatives to aid rural, forested counties
Washington, D.C. –– U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Oregon), alongside U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch (both R-Idaho) are leading a bipartisan coalition of 83 lawmakers in sending a letter today to House leadership requesting urgent reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Self Determination Act.
The bill, which the Senate unanimously passed in June 2025, would reauthorize the program through fiscal year 2026 and provide lapsed payments for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Funding for the SRS program lapsed in September of 2023, with the last authorized payments distributed to counties in early 2024.
“. . . Counties and school districts across 41 states have seen a 63 percent cut in funding. This $177 million loss is devastating for rural communities, leading to school closures, delayed road and bridge maintenance and reduced public safety services. These are not abstract policy debates; they are tangible consequences for local governments and the communities that steward untaxed federal lands,” the letter reads.
Background on the SRS program:
- The first SRS program co-authored by Wyden was authorized in 2000 with enactment of the SRS and Community Self-Determination Act.
- This legislation specifically assists counties containing tracts of federally owned forest land that are tax-exempt.
- The program provides payments to county governments in areas where those forests are located because counties do not receive tax revenue from federal land; the payments come through timber receipts and other revenue generating activities within U.S. national forests.
- In Oregon, $78.4 million was spread across 33 counties to help pay for educational programs, emergency response systems and other services this past year.
- Since the program was not reauthorized, county payments reverted to 1908 timber sharing law, which represents about an 80 percent cut for some counties.
The entire letter is here.