[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HELP FOR LOCALITIES

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, one of the final items to be 
approved by the Senate for inclusion in the fiscal year 1998 Senate 
Interior appropriations bill was my amendment to raise the level of 
funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, or PILT. I want to 
thank the Interior appropriations chairman, Senator Gorton, for his 
assistance and consideration of this important amendment. I also wish 
to thank my cosponsors, Senators Levin, Hatch, Campbell, Smith, and 
Dominici. In particular, I am most appreciative of Senator Levin, his 
hard work and cooperation in securing the support of the subcommittee's 
ranking member was crucial.
  Every year, Mr. President, the Federal Government increases the 
acreage it owns, particularly in the form of national parks. This 
provides increased opportunities for Americans to enjoy the great 
outdoors. At the same time, however, it also increases costs for law 
enforcement, search and rescue and fire departments for literally 
thousands of small towns throughout our Nation.
  Federal land purchases often permanently remove a critical source of 
income from local communities. PILT payments, or ``Payments in Lieu of 
Taxes,'' are made to counties and local communities which contain 
certain federally owned lands that cannot be taxed or, in many cases, 
developed by the local governments. PILT moneys are often the only 
means that counties have to pay for police protection and garbage 
collection and storage as well as funding for one time capital 
investments for new schools, hospitals, and jails. They also are vital 
for offsetting costs incurred by counties for services provided users 
of public lands.
  Unfortunately, Mr. President, and despite the very real benefits 
local communities provide, every year more Federal lands are taken off 
of county tax rolls, while PILT payments remain stagnant and well below 
the level authorized by Congress.
  That is why my colleagues and I took action to reverse this trend, 
and why I am so pleased that the Senate has agreed to raise PILT 
payments to $124 million. I believe this increase has significance 
beyond the amount approved because it demonstrates that the Congress is 
beginning to understand the dilemma faced by a significant number of 
our localities, struggling as they are with increasing costs and a 
shrinking tax base.
  During the conference of the House and Senate, Members agreed to a 
compromise funding level of $20 million. I suspect that the increased 
Senate amount was partially responsible for the conferees agreeing to 
an amount $7 million above the House level. These extra funds will 
provide crucial help to local communities strapped for funds as they 
seek to tend to their own citizens' needs. It has been a long time 
coming and I applaud the Senate for agreeing to support this critical 
program.

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