Hastings Participates in Hearing on Secure Rural Schools

Statement

In the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands today, Congressman Doc Hastings (WA-04) spoke about the need to renew the Secure Rural Schools program. The program provides essential federal assistance for schools and roads in rural counties that have been impacted by the decline of federal timber harvests -- including Chelan, Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania and Yakima. Skamania County Commissioner Paul Pearce testified at the hearing in support of the program and its benefits to rural American counties.

"The Secure Rural Schools payments have made the difference for many counties that would otherwise not be able to provide essential services for their residents and quality education for their students," Hastings noted at the hearing. "I am committed to renewing this program and ensuring that Central Washington communities are not penalized because of federal land ownership."

The Secure Rural Schools Act became law in 2000 and provides rural areas that have significant federal forest lands with critical funding needed for schools, roads and local forest management programs. It established a dependable formula for counties receiving revenue-sharing payments for Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.

Prior to the 2000 Act, federal payments to counties were based on timber sales from their federal forest lands. The 1990 listing of the northern spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act and subsequent litigation caused the collapse of the federal timber harvest program in the Northwest, and a sharp decline in revenue to Washington counties with federal forest lands.

The Secure Rural Schools program will expire on September 30th, 2011 without congressional action.

Hastings serves as the top Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee.

Source