Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Bill that Provides Funding for OR Counties
US Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is praising the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining for holding a recent hearing on the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination (SRS) Act.
SRS is bipartisan legislation that Senator Wyden co-sponsors with Senators Mike Crapo of Idaho, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and James Risch of Idaho.
The legislation would invest in rural communities across Oregon and the nation for essential services such as education, road maintenance, search and rescue, wildfire prevention and watershed restoration by reauthorizing the SRS Act through 2026.
Since Wyden first authored the program in 2000, Secure Rural Schools has provided nearly $4 billion to Oregon counties. To preserve this vital lifeline for rural communities, he said SRS must be reauthorized in fiscal year 2024.
In a written statement, Wyden said the Secure Rural Schools program has been important for rural counties in Oregon and nationwide, but lapses in Congressional action have left rural counties dangling on an annual fiscal cliff.
Wyden called the reauthorization of SRS "critical and necessary" to support essential services in rural communities. After the Senate Subcommittee held the hearing on his bill, he said "reauthorization of SRS is one step closer to the finish line."
Posted on 10/27/23 6:39AM by Sam Marsh
