Letter to the Hon. Patrick Leahy, Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, to the Hon. Richard Shelby, Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations - Shaheen, Hassan Call for Full Funding for the PILT Program

Letter

Dear Chairman Leahy and Vice Chairman Shelby:

As Members of Congress representing counties with federal public lands within their boundaries,
we write to request that you work to ensure the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program is
fully funded in fiscal year (FY) 2022.

PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties across 49 states to offset lost property
tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal lands within their jurisdictions. It supports
the many critical services that counties provide on federal public lands. Without full funding for
the PILT program, counties across the nation will be unable to provide essential services such as
law enforcement, education, search and rescue, road maintenance and public health to their
residents and millions of visitors to our public lands.

Moving forward, we look forward to working with you to enact a fiscally responsible, long-term
solution to fully fund PILT and eliminate the uncertainty that counties face each year. As cash
strapped counties across the country work to address budget cuts exacerbated by the pandemic,
full-funding and a long-term solution for PILT is essential to provide certainty that the federal
government will continue to uphold its long-standing commitment to public lands counties.

We look forward to working with you and other Congressional leaders to resolve this pressing
issue facing our communities by fully funding PILT in FY 2022 and ensuring long-term
predictable funding for this important program.

Source