The Senate on Friday voted to continue the star-crossed county payments program for another year, increasing the odds that desperately needed federal funds will continue to flow to cash-starved rural counties in Oregon and nationwide.WASHINGTON -- The Senate easily passed a one-year extension of the federal timber payments program Thursday, giving hope of a reprieve for Oregon's economically distressed rural counties.
Though 33 of Oregon's 36 counties have received the federal money, rural parts of the state have gained the most money and have been the most dependent on it for their services. Rural counties also have been the most desperate as payments ended this year, leading Curry County to put a sales tax on its May ballot, and the Oregon Legislature to pass a bill allowing strapped counties to use road fund reserves for sheriff's patrols.
Thursday's lopsided 82-16 vote in the Senate was important not just for passage but for the negotiations to come with the House.
The county payments language was attached to a transportation bill that the Senate is expected to finish next week. It then goes to the House. Differences must be resolved in a conference committee.
Though it seems an odd mix of subject matter, attaching the program to the transportation bill gives it a strong chance of success. Congress must approve a transportation bill by the end of March because the federal government's authority to grant highway funds and collect taxes ends then.
Negotiators supporting the timber payments are strengthened by the bipartisan vote on the amendment and the fact that the Obama administration included $294 million for the program in the budget the administration submitted last month. That budget would extend the county payments program in the next fiscal year.
After Thursday's vote, both of Oregon's senators hailed the outcome.
"County payments are the financial lifeline many rural counties in Oregon depend on," said Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat. "The program not only funds necessities such as roads and schools, it also provides rural counties with the fiscal security they need to get on and maintain a sound fiscal path."
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley called it "inexcusable" that the payments were allowed to lapse. "The federal government must keep its commitment to Oregon, and I will not let up until this bill is on the president's desk and signed into law."
Counties and local governments faced a loss of money as early as spring for such crucial services as schools, libraries and law enforcement. The provision approved by the Senate calls for $346 million in payments for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Of that total, Oregon would receive by far the largest share -- $102 million.
The county payments program was created in 2000 to reimburse counties for lost income from the sale of timber on federal lands. In many of the counties, the federal government owns more than 50 percent of the land, pinching the tax base and in some cases limiting the ability of officials to develop their local economies.
The payments were also acknowledgment that the federal government should help local governments after logging on federal land was reduced. Counties receive 25 percent of the revenue from timber sales but when logging plummeted, so did revenue. By law, the money was to be used to finance public education.
In 2008, $250 million poured into 33 Oregon counties from the program.
But the program has been in jeopardy for years, with some in Congress saying the money should have been only temporary relief from the timber crisis, not a long-term plan for financing local government.
Repeatedly the counties have prepared for disaster. And repeatedly Oregon's congressional delegation has managed to get more money approved.
-- Charles Pope
No comments:
Post a Comment