[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H1155-H1156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COUNTY ELECTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021 UNDER THE SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS 
              AND COMMUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 2000

  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S.

[[Page H1156]]

3706) to provide for the application of certain provisions of the 
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 for 
fiscal year 2021.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3706

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. COUNTY ELECTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021 UNDER THE 
                   SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF-
                   DETERMINATION ACT OF 2000.

       Sections 102(b)(1)(D), 102(d)(1)(F), and 102(d)(3)(D) of 
     the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 
     of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7112(b)(1)(D), 7112(d)(1)(F), 
     7112(d)(3)(D)) shall be applied for fiscal year 2021.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Correa) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3706. This bill makes 
important corrections to the recently passed Secure Rural Schools 
reauthorization. Without these corrections, counties would not have the 
choice of electing to receive SRS payments or electing to receive 
Federal timber harvest receipts. Rather, they would have to take SRS 
payments.
  Furthermore, the current reauthorization does not allow counties to 
elect their allocations in advance of their fiscal year 2021 payments, 
meaning all eligible counties would receive 80 percent Title I funds, 
20 percent Title II funds, and no Title III funds.
  While Title I payments, used for roads and schools, will be the bulk 
of the payment either way, it is important to ensure that counties get 
access to Title III funds. Title III funds are important because they 
can be used for specified county purposes. These purposes can include 
law enforcement on Federal land, search and rescue, and wildfire risk 
reduction.
  This fix will help timber-dependent counties across the country and 
ensure continued support for roads, schools, law enforcement, and 
environmental benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3706. Under longtime 
Federal law, counties located within the National Forest System have 
received a share of revenues generated through the sale of timber 
harvested from those Federal lands.
  This revenue has been critical for forested counties to support 
schools, roads, law enforcement, search-and-rescue operations, and 
other local activities that benefit both our forests and rural 
communities.
  However, with the sharp decline in timber harvesting across the 
National Forest System since the early 1990s, rural counties have seen 
revenues for schools and other important local services plummet as a 
result.
  To offset this lost revenue, Congress created the Secure Rural 
Schools program in 2000 to provide additional funding to participating 
counties based on their average historical timber payments.
  In my own district in north Florida, Putnam County and Marion County 
have received a combined total of more than $624,000 through the Secure 
Rural Schools program, thanks to the sale of timber harvested out of 
the Ocala National Forest.

                              {time}  1515

  In rural counties like Putnam, this funding provides support for the 
county's schools, roads, and other critical services. It is no 
different in Marion County.
  The recent infrastructure bill, signed into law this past November, 
reauthorized the Secure Rural Schools for the next 3 years. However, 
due to a drafting error, this reauthorization did not lock in the 
payment allocations that participating counties last elected in 2013.
  Consequently, payments for this spring will revert to their default 
levels in permanent law. This means that county allocations will revert 
to 80 percent for Title I, 20 percent for Title II, and zero percent 
for Title III.
  To correct this problem, S. 3706 will lock in the 2013 elections for 
the coming year. In doing so, the bill will provide certainty and 
consistency for county payments that will be made in the coming months.
  Fundamental errors like this demonstrate how flawed and rushed the 
process was to pass the infrastructure bill this last year. It also 
demonstrates the need for committee consideration and why committees 
should not be bypassed before bringing a bill to the floor.
  However, given the great importance of county payments to both 
forested counties and rural school districts around the Nation, I 
support this commonsense technical fix and urge my colleagues to vote 
``yes.''
  As we continue to consider how to best steward our national forests 
and support forested communities, I would like to add that increasing 
timber harvesting across the National Forest System will better support 
these counties and reduce the need for this program in the long run.
  Regardless of what the critics say, timber harvesting will encourage 
forest health and will help prevent the devastating wildfires that have 
torn through America's forests in recent years. Our forests are an 
important pillar for our rural economies and provide much-needed 
revenue to our local counties and schools, like those in my own 
district.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge 
adoption of this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Correa) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 3706.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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