[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. 
        Risch):
  S. 3753. A bill to amend title 36, United States Code, to grant a 
Federal charter to the Forest and Refuge County Foundation, to provide 
for the establishment of the Natural Resources Permanent Fund, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today Senator Crapo of Idaho and I are 
introducing the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act. This 
legislation replaces the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act (SRS) to provide revenue sharing with and 
compensation to over 700 rural forested counties in the over 40 States 
that host America's treasured, public forested lands and wildlife 
refuges.
  In 2000, then-Senator Larry Craig, also of Idaho, and I, had signed 
into law SRS: a 6-year long safety-net program to stabilize county 
budgets following years of depleted revenue sharing payments from the 
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Oregon and California Grant Lands 
managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Over its lifetime, 
SRS has been a success, providing more than $6.8 billion nationwide for 
rural roads, schools, and healthy forest projects. SRS also provided 
the basis for the beginning of, and the now growing propensity for, the 
USFS and the BLM to collaborate with local people and interests on the 
management of these public lands, and for local folks and counties to 
collaborate together and with the USFS and BLM, in return.
  Despite its many successes, the continuation of SRS is in jeopardy. 
The program expired in fiscal year 2016. Congress passed a two-year 
extension of the program, but after its expiration. And this was not 
the first time nor the last time Congress allowed it to expire--SRS is 
expired right now, though Senator Crapo and I are attempting, in these 
last moments of the 115th Congress, to reauthorize it again for at 
least a year, perhaps two.
  This stop and start existence of this program hits at the heart of 
any attempts at collaboration. And it certainly undermines any attempts 
for a county to budget. Our rural counties should not continue to 
suffer neither this uncertainty, nor the market based uncertainty that 
comes with simply relying on revenue sharing and forest management for 
support.
  That is why Senator Crapo and I propose an SRS modernization, funding 
certainty while supporting active forest management. The Forest 
Management for Rural Stability Act establishes a permanent endowment 
fund, the Natural Resources Permanent Fund, to provide stable, 
reliable, increasing payments to counties, in perpetuity, removing them 
from the vagaries of Congress or the market.
  Under this legislation, Congress charters a fiduciary corporation, 
the Forest and Refuge County Foundation, to manage the endowed fund. 
The corporation will be independent from any instrumentality of the 
U.S. government, including Congress, to ensure the principle balance is 
held in perpetuity and is separate from annual appropriations. The 
corporation will be overseen by a board of directors responsible for a 
transparent governance structure. The principle of the fund will be 
invested to earn interest. To grow the fund, in addition to the 
investment income, the USFS, BLM, and the Fish and Wildlife Service 
will deposit their annual revenue sharing receipts into the fund. The 
interest the fund generates will constitute the payments to the 
counties, distributed annually using the existing SRS formula. Initial 
payments to counties will be equal what counties received for Fiscal 
Year 2017 SRS payments.
  The Forest Management for Rural Stability Act continues Congress's 
commitment to fostering economic growth in rural counties by continuing 
Forest Service Resource Advisory Committees. In addition, the bill 
gives county governments greater flexibility in how these funds are 
spent for economic development and rural jobs.
  Passing the the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act will update 
SRS for 2018 and beyond--looking forward for our forested counties, 
rather than backward to last century efforts. This bill updates an 
already successful program that deserves action. I urge my colleagues 
to support this important bill.
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