(Idaho State) U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) led U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and 17 other Senate colleagues in reintroducing legislation, S. 356, to reauthorize the U.S. Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program (SRS) through Fiscal Year 2026. The legislation has strong bipartisan backing.
“The SRS program is a vital lifeline for rural counties where federal lands generate insufficient revenue for important local services,” said Crapo. “Failure to reauthorize the program puts most of Idaho’s counties in a precarious position with a lack of funding for schools, road maintenance, public safety, and search and rescue operations. I urge both the Senate and House to take up this measure expeditiously, and remain committed to finding a viable long-term solution that provides more certainty to rural county governments in the future.”
“Idaho’s counties rely on SRS funding for schools and road maintenance,” said Risch. “The federal government made a promise to rural communities, and until we can bring historic timber revenue back to these areas, Congress has an obligation to fulfill that promise. Congress must immediately reauthorize SRS.”
“This is urgent business for the Oregonians living and working in counties that have long depended on millions of dollars from these federal funds for local schools, roads, law enforcement and more,” said Wyden, who co-authored the SRS legislation in 2000. “I’m glad this bill is being reintroduced right at the start of this new Congress in this bipartisan spirit, and I strongly urge our House colleagues to act with the same urgency and bipartisan ethic to reconnect this proven lifeline ASAP for rural communities in Oregon and nationwide.”
“Our bipartisan bill provides reliable funding that is crucial to keeping schools and libraries open, maintaining roads, restoring watersheds, and ensuring there are police officers and firefighters to keep rural communities safe,” said Merkley. “Congress must swiftly pass this bill to extend the SRS program so Oregon communities can maintain access to these important lifelines and resources.”
“Reauthorizing Secure Rural Schools for three years will help counties with large tracts of federal forests meet the needs of residents and visitors,” said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. “Without SRS, counties would face, on average, an 80 percent drop in resources for infrastructure improvement, education programs and forest health projects. Many rural counties and school districts are already making difficult decisions due to a lack of funds. Counties applaud the leadership of Senators Crapo and Wyden and look forward to prompt passage of this vital legislation.”
Additional co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), John Curtis (R-Utah), Patty Murray (D-Washington), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada).
Crapo, Wyden, Risch and Merkley introduced the legislation in the 118th Congress and the Senate unanimously passed it in November 2024. It did not receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives before the end of the Congress. The program needs to be reauthorized as soon as possible to avoid a gap in funding for rural counties that rely on the program for much-needed services.
Congress enacted SRS in 2000 to financially assist counties with public, tax-exempt forestlands. The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management administer the funds. The totals are 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.
Text of the bill is available here.
