Federal timber monies pursued by legislators
From our weekly issue dated September 24, 2008
(Photo by Illinois Valley News)
Two of Oregon’s representatives in Washington, D.C. are pushing for continuation of federal timber payments, as without them counties including Josephine County will face significant holes in their budgets.
Additionally, Sen. Gordon Smith praised the Senate Finance Committee’s multiyear extension of county payments funding that has
been included in a tax extenders package bill.
The legislation is likely
to hit the Senate floor Thursday, Sept. 25. It would reauthorize county payments funding through 2011.
“I am pleased to see that the Finance Committee has decided to restore county
payments funding and keep Oregon’s counties afloat,” said Smith. “We are
close to the finish line, and Sen. Wyden and I will work together to push this critical funding swiftly into law before it’s too late.”
Smith, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, repeatedly has urged the committee’s chairman and ranking member to include a four-year extension of the county payments funding, totaling approximately $3.3 billion in the energy tax package.
Josephine County has been receiving some $12 million per year from the timber funding.
Fourth District Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield), with 28 members of Congress, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on her to include critical county payments funding in the coming continuing resolution that leadership is considering.
And 2nd District Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has launched an effort to convince House leadership to include a one-year extension of the county timber payments program in the continuing resolution (CR) that Congress must pass before Wednesday, Oct. 1 to keep the federal government running.
“It is crucial that county payments be included in the continuing resolution,” DeFazio said. “Counties in Southwest Oregon have already laid off employees by the hundreds into a bad economy -- we’ve lost sheriff’s patrols, jail beds, teachers and other vital public services.
It is critical that something be done now.
“Curry and Josephine counties could go bankrupt if the funding isn’t extended,” DeFazio said.
He is pursuing a one-year Secure Rural Schools reauthorization in the Continuing Resolution as insurance to ensure an extension of the
program. The Senate is working on a multiyear reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools as part of a broad renewable energy tax incentives package, but has yet to approve that legislation
or send it to the House for consideration.
Because the Senate
legislation may not become law, whereas the Continuing Resolution must be passed by Congress in order to keep the federal government and
essential programs operating, it is prudent to seek inclusion of the one-year reauthorization in the must-pass spending bill, said DeFazio.
He supports the Senate measure, and eagerly anticipates its consideration in the House. The Secure Rural Schools Act expired in 2006. Last year, the Democratic Congress gave counties a one-year extension while DeFazio continued to work on a longer-term solution.
The county payments program provides nearly $280 million a year to 33 Oregon counties for services including schools, roads and law enforcement. Counties receiving funding under the program have a high proportion of federally owned lands. Prior to enactment of the county payments program, they had received a percentage of receipts from timber harvests, which fluctuated from year-to-year.
However, harvest levels decreased precipitously in the late 1990s due to changes in federal forest policy caused by the environmental movement. Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act in 2000 to help stabilize these payments and ensure proper funding for vital county services.
Walden noted, “A year ago, Congress authorized, and the president supported, a short-term extension of the Secure Rural Schools legislation in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill.
“This not a partisan issue and should never be treated as such. Too much is at stake in our rural counties, and we come to (the Senate) in bipartisan spirit hoping (senators) will help as you graciously have in the past.”
He added that, “Until Congress enacts legislation which allows forested communities to properly manage federal forests to generate revenue locally and rebuild
rural economies, they need our help.
“As the timeline and fate of the long-term county payments provision currently
under consideration in the Senate as part of a tax extenders package is still uncertain, we urge you to at least ensure a one-year emergency extension is included in a CR that can be signed into law.”
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