Congresswoman Herrera Beutler Hopeful for Passage of Legislation Providing Cash for Timber-Heavy Counties

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A federal program that has historically provided a source of needed funding to Lewis County and several of its school districts could be well on its way to being reauthorized for two years, pending a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today.

Several Republican leaders in the U.S. House, including Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, announced Tuesday they would vote to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program. Herrera Beutler said the vote comes after she had worked with leaders in the House and in committee to secure the vote, which was included in a bipartisan effort that aims to reform doctors’ pay under the federal Medicare program.

“Everyone knows the official way that a bill becomes law, but the devil is in the details,” Herrera Beutler told The Chronicle Wednesday. “Once a week we went through to find an appropriate legislative vehicle. This ended up being that vehicle that we’re hopeful can pass.”

The Secure Rural Schools program, which provided $2.1 million to Lewis County in 2013, aims to provide federal money for counties that have large amounts of national forest land, property from which local taxing districts are not directly benefiting. Lewis County, which contains more than 444,000 acres of federal forest land, much of which is the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, received about $4.81 per acre, the highest payment amount in Washington state, in 2013.

Lewis County received $1.78 million in 2013 from just the Gifford Pinchot National Forest alone, which comprises 372,048 acres primarily in East Lewis County.

The 2013 numbers were the latest available on the U.S. Forest Service’s website. 

The Secure Rural Schools program expired Sept. 30, 2014, and was not initially renewed, cutting off most of the affected counties’ funding. But several House Republican leaders, including Herrera Beutler and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, announced the forthcoming vote that could cement the House’s approval.

Herrera Beutler said time is critical when voting on the two-year extension because several impacted school districts, particularly in Skamania County in the western portion of the Columbia River Gorge, have to make decisions on their budgets in late spring. If signed into law, the extension of Secure Rural Schools would stipulate that payments to counties will take place no later than 45 days after the act is renewed.

“If these school leaders can’t put the budget together by that time at the latest, they would likely have to RIF (reduction in force) teachers before the fall,” Herrera Beutler said. “There’s a time crunch. We were on the floor last week and said time is running out.”

Shari Hildreth, deputy district director for Herrera Beutler, stated in an email to several county commissioners during the process the bill was being formed that several management reforms were on the docket, including the elimination of cancellation liability accounts for stewardship contracts, a requirement that half of Title II funds be used on timber sales and the requirement for a bond for lawsuits that challenge restoration projects.



However, none of those reforms made it to the final bill; instead, the bill as it went up for vote simply provides for a two-year extension of Secure Rural Schools itself.

If the House does approve the bill, then it would move to the U.S. Senate, where it would then go up for a vote. A previous version of the bill died in committee, leading representatives to tweak their proposals.

“I think it’s just the regional need that causes people from both sides to support the bill,” Herrera Beutler said. “I really didn’t understand why it didn’t move forward in the Senate before, but I’m hopeful that this being attached to a piece of legislation that is very bipartisan is positive.”

County leaders’ ears have been pressed close to the ground on the issue, not just because of the financial impacts to timber-rich school districts, but also due to the program also funding road projects throughout the county. Ryan Hart, Vancouver-based district director for Herrera Beutler, has continually updated county commissioners, local mayors and city managers on the progress of the reauthorization of the bill in monthly meetings of city and county leaders.

Edna Fund, chair of the Board of County Commissioners, said the county could possibly receive $2 million, which would be equally split between public transportation funding and payments to schools, which would be disbursed by the county treasurer’s office.

“It would help a lot of our communities that have been cash-strapped,” Fund said.

While the extension is designed to provide some temporary relief, it would still sunset two years from now — a prospect that Herrera Beutler says has rendered her satisfied for now, but still pushing to bring a permanent solution that has no chance of sunsetting.

“I’d like everyone to know we’re not done on this,” Herrera Beutler said. “This is something these communities deserve.”

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to clarify that the reforms proposed did not make it into the final bill.