03.20.07

Cantwell Hails Plan to Save County Payments Program

Local county commissioners praise deal; senator calls upcoming appropriations package last chance to extend program before forest communities see funds dry up

WASHINGTON, DC - Tuesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with her colleagues from western states, struck a deal to extend the County Payments program to prevent dozens of communities across Washington state from losing millions of dollars for schools, roads, and emergency services. The plan extends the program, which expired last year, by five years. The Senate Appropriations Committee will add an extension of the County Payments program to the Iraq Supplemental Appropriations bill, which the Senate is expected to approve in the coming weeks.

"We cannot let this lifeline to rural forest communities disappear," said Cantwell. "Without this program, many of our state's counties will see their funding for schools, first responders, and public services dry up. This deal will extend the county payments program for five years, providing stability and supporting basic services in forest communities with no other way to replace this critical revenue."

Cantwell has long fought to renew and fully fund County Payments to extend funding to the over 700 counties in 39 states that depend on the program. At a recent Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing, she called on Agriculture Secretary Mark Rey to explain his plan to drastically cut the program. The deal announced Tuesday will prevent these cuts.

The plan has the support of Skamania County Commissioner Paul Pearce and Okanogan County Commissioner Bud Hover because of the stability and longer-term extension it would provide.

Under a new County Payments formula proposed for the deal, Washington would see a decrease in County Payment funds over the next five years, but much of the decrease would be made up for by an increase in funding under the Payments in Lieu Taxes (PILT) program—a separate program that compensates local governments for non-taxable federal land within their jurisdictions.

"As representatives for the Washington Timber Counties, Commissioner Bud Hover and I have spent a great deal of time over the past few months in Washington, D.C. working on the Secure Rural Schools and County Payments reauthorization," said Skamania Commissioner Paul Pearce. "Senator Cantwell and her staff have been tenacious advocates for our counties throughout the process. Senator Cantwell has negotiated a formula geared toward the eventual passage in the Senate, while protecting Washington counties and schools. This gives us time to plan both economically as well as for infrastructure needs. I do not believe that this result could have occurred without her diligence and hard work. Senator Cantwell has worked through this in a truly bipartisan manner. All of us owe her our thanks."

Okanogan County Commissioner Bud Hover added, "I want to thank Senator Cantwell and her staff for bringing this issue to the forefront in the Senate. I appreciate the way that the senator has engaged and sought input from the Washington counties through Commissioner Paul Pearce and myself. I would like to personally thank Senator Cantwell for all of her efforts on behalf of the counties and schools of Washington state. It should be noted that today the Washington Association of Counties at their bi-monthly Legislative Steering Committee meeting unanimously approved a letter recognizing the senator's hard work and dedication on this issue."

Under federal law, National Forest land cannot be taxed by counties or other state and local jurisdictions. In place of taxes, a100-year-old Forest Service policy shares revenue generated by timber harvests on federal lands near forest communities. Funds can be used for schools, roads, and essential services. As timber harvests declined during the 1990s due to changing Forest Service policies, hundreds of counties experienced a severe revenue loss. Since 2001, the County Payments program—along with PILT—has helped areas hit hardest by declining timber sales, providing more than $2 billion for schools and roads in communities nationwide.

For county-by-county figures of funds distributed under the County Payments program since 2004, click here.