Reauthorize Secure Rural Schools And Community Self-Determination Act

REAUTHORIZE SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - January 29, 2007)

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties and 4,400 school districts across America.

Mr. Speaker, 78 percent of the land in Deschutes County, Oregon, is controlled by the Federal Government. It is a recreational and outdoor paradise. Funds from this program have supported public safety, emergency medical, search and rescue operations, and much more to protect the more than 2 million people who come to central Oregon to recreate every year.

County Sheriff Les Stiles says, ``Search and rescue is a matter of life and death in central Oregon, and supporting these programs is essential given the surge in outdoor recreation.'

Our school kids are hurt, too, because this program has not been reauthorized yet. At the Bend-LaPine School District, administrators face the task of bigger class sizes or fewer teachers as they struggle to meet State and Federal mandates. School Superintendent Doug Nelson says, ``These funds help us ensure programs which don't leave kids behind.'

Mr. Speaker, Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to timber communities. Pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

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