Northwest Lawmakers Look To Extend Secure Rural Schools

A bipartisan group of Idaho and Oregon senators is pushing to extend the Secure Rural Schools program for another three years. Republican Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho, along with Oregon Democrats Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, introduced the legislation Thursday, just one day after the program expired.

Secure Rural Schools provides federal payments to rural counties with large amounts of tax-exempt federal land. The money helps fund schools, roads, bridges, public safety and other essential services.

In Idaho, 34 of 44 counties received payments in 2023, totaling nearly $23 million.

Oregon counties received nearly $49 million dollars in retroactive payments for 2024, followed by another $48.7 million dollars for 2025.

“Counties across Idaho should not have to repeatedly face uncertainty about whether the federal government will uphold its responsibility to communities containing vast amounts of tax-exempt federal land,” said Crapo. “Without action, rural schools and counties will lose resources they rely on to maintain roads, support schools and provide basic services. This three-year reauthorization provides needed stability, but we must continue working toward a permanent solution that gives these communities the predictability they need to effectively plan and budget for the future.”

“Secure Rural Schools is a lifeline for rural Oregon,” Wyden said. “I’ll be working as hard as I can to get this bill across the finish line, but the well-being of rural America shouldn’t be dependent on Congress getting its act together to renew this funding every few years. It’s past time to get rural communities off the financial rollercoaster and deliver a permanent funding solution.”

“Secure Rural Schools funding is a commitment the federal government made to Idaho’s rural counties, helping them maintain roads, schools and other essential services,” said Risch. “As we work to restore the timber revenues that have long sustained these communities, Congress must honor that commitment and reauthorize SRS.”

“The SRS program provides crucial payments that are a lifeline for rural communities here in Oregon and across America—keeping schools open, maintaining roads, restoring watersheds, and providing funding for police officers and firefighters to keep families safe,” said Merkley. “A three-year extension of the program is critical to ensuring the federal government upholds its promise to our communities and that local governments can reliably access these important resources.”

Congress created SRS in 2000 to provide financial assistance to counties with federally owned forestlands that are exempt from collecting local property taxes. Historically, rural counties received a share of receipts generated from timber harvests on federal lands. As timber harvests and associated revenues declined, SRS was established to provide predictable resources for counties and school districts that had historically relied on those receipts.

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