Cantwell and 82 lawmakers in the Senate and House called for action in the U.S. House of Representatives to aid schools in rural, forested counties; WA counties such as Skamania, Okanogan, Lewis, and Yakima rely on SRS to help fund schools and roads; Loss of $177 million in funding as a result of the program’s lapse “is devastating for rural communities, leading to school closures, delayed road and bridge maintenance, and reduced public safety services.”
EDMONDS, WA – Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, after U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and 82 colleagues sent a letter to House leadership requesting urgent reauthorization of the U.S. Forest Service Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. The SRS program provides predictable federal financial assistance to over 700 counties across the U.S. that are home to public, tax-exempt forestland.
The bill, which Sen. Cantwell cosponsored and the Senate unanimously passed in June 2025, would reauthorize the program through fiscal year 2026 and provide back 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.
“Following the program’s expiration at the end of FY 2023, 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,” wrote the senators in the letter. “These are not abstract policy debates; they are tangible consequences for local governments and the communities that steward untaxed federal lands.”
Prior to the SRS program lapsing, the state of Washington received over $15 million in funding that went to 27 counties throughout the state. In FY2024, the state received just over $3.5 million in payments, a little over one-fifth of the amount received the year before. Counties, such as Skamania, Okanogan, Lewis, and Yakima lost close to or over $1 million in assistance for schools and roads.
In the years after the Forest Service was established in 1905, the national forest system tripled in size, growing from 56 million acres in 1905 to 172 million acres in 1908. To compensate counties for potential losses of tax revenue from this early growth, Congress ratified the Act of May 23, 1908. The Act allowed the Forest Service to distribute a portion of agency revenues from timber sales, mineral leases, recreation, grazing, and other sources to states and counties containing national forests and grasslands. Agency revenues from these activities declined in the late 20th century. In response, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 to help stabilize fiscal support for rural county services. In 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reauthorized Secure Rural Schools payments through fiscal year 2023.
Sen. Cantwell has long supported the SRS program and is a cosponsor of S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025. Most recently, in April 2024, she announced $15 million of SRS funds which had been awarded to Washington state for rural school and road projects. Previously, in 2019, she called for the reauthorization of the SRS program, which went on to be included in 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. And in 2017, she introduced a bill to reauthorize the SRS program and urged leadership to include it in any year-end must-pass legislation.
View the full text of the letter HERE and below.
Dear Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries,
With broad bipartisan support in both chambers, we urge swift consideration of S.356, the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization Act of 2025. On June 18, 2025, the Senate unanimously passed this bipartisan legislation, which is co-sponsored by 27 U.S. Senators, and companion legislation (H.R. 1383) is co-sponsored by 75 Members of Congress. We request prompt action to advance this measure in an end of year vehicle or as a standalone bill, to uphold the federal government’s responsibility to communities impacted by federal land ownership.
Since 1908, federal law has required the U.S. Forest Service to share 25 percent of revenue generated on federal land with local governments for “public schools and public roads of the county or counties in which the forest reserve is situated.” For decades, timber sales were the largest source of revenue for local jurisdictions in these areas. However, as revenues declined, this created unexpected and prolonged fiscal challenges for local governments home to untaxed National Forest lands. In response, Congress enacted the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, giving counties the option to receive SRS payments to support public services like road maintenance, infrastructure, education, wildfire mitigation, and other efforts to address public safety. Congress has consistently reauthorized these payments with overwhelming bipartisan support, with the most recent reauthorization expiring at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.
In FY 2023, the SRS program provided $281 million to more than 700 counties across 41 states supporting rural communities across Republican and Democratic districts, underscoring the program’s broad, bipartisan importance to local governments that are home to federally managed land. However, following the program’s expiration at the end of FY 2023, counties and school districts across 41states 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. Failing to reauthorize the SRS program also jeopardizes the critical Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, which provides federal assistance for local governments home to large amounts of U.S. Department of Interior lands.
We urge the U.S. House of Representatives to advance S.356 for immediate consideration as a standalone measure or as part of a broader end of year legislative funding vehicle. Rural counties, parishes, and boroughs across the country are already facing the impact of the program’s expiration. The SRS program underscores the vital partnership between federal land management and local government services, supporting everything from wildfire mitigation and forest health to the maintenance of roads and support of public schools. With longstanding and strong bipartisan support behind SRS, Congress must reaffirm its commitment to these rural counties.
The undersigned stand ready to work with leadership in both chambers and from both parties to ensure that SRS reauthorization moves forward in any viable legislative vehicle before the end of this year.
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