Chavez-DeRemer cosponsors Secure Rural Schools funding reauthorization
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) said Monday she is backing the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2023 as a cosponsor.
This bipartisan proposal, led in the House by Reps. Joe Neguse (CO-02), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), and Val Hoyle (OR-04) would renew a key program that provides funding for schools as well as public safety and wildfire prevention efforts in counties with tax-exempt federal forestlands.
“The Secure Rural Schools program provides vital resources and services for rural Oregonians,” said Chavez-DeRemer. “This legislation ensures that timber-dependent counties continue to have access to needed funding for their schools, infrastructure projects, and public safety initiatives. I’m proud to support this effort to invest in our rural communities.”
The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was first introduced in 2000 to assist counties containing federally-owned forestlands that are tax-exempt. The program provides payments based on a formula including economic activity, timber harvest levels, and other considerations that vary from county to county. SRS payments are critical to maintain education programs for many rural counties that contain federal lands exempt from property taxes.
In 2023, counties in Oregon’s 5th District received:
- Clackamas: $1.046 million
- Deschutes: $1 million
- Marion: $1.03 million
- Linn: $2.82 million
The bipartisan, bicameral proposal would reauthorize the U.S. Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program (SRS) through 2026. It is endorsed by the National Association of Counties (NACo), National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition, the National Education Association, AASA The School Superintendents Association, and Association of Educational Service Agencies. The effort is being led in the U.S. Senate by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
