02.14.05

Cantwell Fights to Extend "County Payments" Program for Washington's Timber Communities

Cantwell co-sponsors legislation to extend program that has provided$2 billion to rural communities natinowide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has cosponsored legislation that would extend a federal program compensating counties with large amounts of federal forest land. Since 2001, the "county payments" program has provided some $2 billion for schools and roads in communities in Washington and other states that have lost timber income due to changes in federal forest policies.

This program is set to expire next year, but Cantwell is a cosponsor of legislation (S. 267) that would extend these vital payments through 2014.

"Without the support provided by the county payments program, many rural communities in Washington would struggle to meet basic needs like adequate roads and good schools," Cantwell said.

Unfortunately, reauthorization of this program may be difficult. At a recent subcommittee hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which Cantwell is a member, a Bush Administration official refused to endorse an extension of the program.

Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey warned, "It's a very difficult budget environment right now."

The program is an important source of funding for many of Washington state's counties. (See chart below)

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY DATA:

County Full 2004

Payment Amount Asotin $142,603 Chelan $2,751,520 Clallam $2,388,295 Clark $15,087 Columbia $422,746 Cowlitz $424,503 Ferry $931,985 Garfield $253,069 Grays Harbor $703,820 Jefferson $3,221,181 King $2,229,468 Kittitas $1,042,864 Klickitat $171,434 Lewis $5,258,962 Mason $757,658 Okanogan $2,193,301 Pend Oreille $1,149,300 Pierce $804,262 Skagit $1,295,107 Skamania $10,850,871 Snohomish $2,250,032 Stevens $439,177 Thurston $3,927 Walla Walla $6,407 Whatcom $2,085,315 Yakima $3,470,117 TOTAL $45,263,011

SOURCE: U. S. Forest Service:

Statement of Senator Maria Cantwell

Hearing on the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act

February 8, 2005

Thank you, Chairman Craig.

Thank you for holding this hearing, and thank you for continuing to support and champion the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act. I appreciate this oversight hearing and look forward to working with you and Senators Wyden and Feinstein to reauthorize this law.

As you know, this vital program continues a nearly one hundred year old policy of providing fair and equitable compensation to the citizens of forest counties for their coexistence with federal lands. Simply put, without the support provided by laws like the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act, many rural communities in Washington would struggle to meet their basic needs such as adequate roads and good schools.

Skamania County in Southwest Washington is a good example. Almost eighty percent of Skamania is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest , making it non-taxable by the county. Other large portions of land are owned by the state or timber companies, leaving only two percent of the county eligible to be taxed at full valuation. However, by leveraging funds from the County Payments program, places like Skamania are able to still provide critical public services like education, emergency response, and road maintenance.

And funds provided by this program not only meet the basic needs of rural communities, they also support a diverse array of important programs. Like athletic and music classes which help students in rural school districts compete with students in urban schools for college acceptance.

In addition, title two of this law has increased local community involvement and empowered local citizens through the Resource Advisory Committees. These committees have helped cultivate a sense of ownership, promoting involvement in important projects such as improving wildlife habitat and water quality and reducing the threat of forest fires through fuels reduction efforts.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this oversight hearing because I believe it gives us an opportunity to consider whether we can improve this program even further. I would like to consider ways we can allow counties more flexibility in how they use these funds, whether these payments should be independent of state education funding allocations, and how this program interacts with other compensation programs like the federal program that makes payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) for lands in federal ownership.

For these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working with you as we review the merits of this legislation and look forward to a swift reauthorization. While the bill does not expire until 2006, without this vital safety-net rural counties in Washington will lose more than $40 million dollars in irreplaceable funding for a variety of critical programs. The time is now for a comprehensive review of the law and its implementation, so we can move forward promptly.

Thank you.

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