[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 182 (Friday, December 20, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S9090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BIPARTISAN BUDGET RESOLUTION


                       Payments in Lieu of Taxes

  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I come to the floor today with my friend 
Chairman Wyden to express support for extending natural resource 
programs that are critical to communities across the country. This week 
the Senate passed a bipartisan budget resolution. In January we will 
return to consider legislation to fund the government for the rest of 
the fiscal year.
  This past October, Congress was able to extend critical payments to 
forested counties under the Secure Rural Schools, SRS, program for 1-
year in a bipartisan fashion. Irrespective of the appropriations bill 
that we may take up in January, we now need to do the same for counties 
eligible for payments under the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program, or 
PILT. PILT is a permanently authorized program created in 1976 that 
since 2008 has received direct spending. It is an essential source of 
funding for local governments that cannot collect taxes from Federal 
land within their borders.
  A long-term solution to provide stable direct funding for PILT and 
other natural resource programs that buttress rural economies, like SRS 
and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, is our common goal. In the 
meantime, we remain committed to extending direct spending on PILT and 
look forward to finding an opportunity to do so in the first half of 
2014. Does the distinguished senator from Oregon wish to express 
himself on these points?
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I wish to associate myself with the 
comment of my friend from Montana and affirm that I too share the 
commitments he described. These payments extend a vital lifeline to 
counties across America, many of which are perched on the edge of 
financial disaster. Securing that funding has been a top priority for 
me this Congress. I am pleased that Congress found a way to continue 
its commitment to the Secure Rural Schools Program thanks to the helium 
bill that I worked on with colleagues in the Senate Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee. There is still work to do for the 1,850 PILT-
eligible counties, and I look forward to working with the majority 
leader and Chairman Baucus--who are both longtime champions of PILT--
and other supportive colleagues to find a short-term extension and also 
a long-term solution for these communities.

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