Sullivan Lauds Two-Year Extension of Secure Rural School Program

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) issued the following statement after the Senate unanimously passed legislation yesterday he cosponsored to reauthorize the U.S. Forest Service's Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program (SRS) through 2026. Sen. Sullivan is a strong proponent of the program, which many Alaska communities are forced to rely on due to declining timber receipts from surrounding federal lands.

"I have always been a strong supporter of Secure Rural Schools, which is a lifeline for many Alaskan communities surrounded by National Forests and federal lands-like Valdez, Cordova, and other communities in the Chugach, and the many communities in the Tongass in Southeast," said Sen. Sullivan. "Ensuring this program gets reauthorized has been a top priority of mine, especially with SRS having expired at the end of the last fiscal year and funds expected to run out within the next few months. I want to thank my Senate colleagues for unanimously reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools program, providing greater fiscal certainty for many local governments across our state, and honoring the federal government's commitment for another two years."

SRS was enacted in 2000 to financially assist communities surrounded by public, tax-exempt forestlands. The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management administer the funds. The totals are based on a formula including economic activity, timber harvest levels and other considerations that vary from county to county. SRS payments are critical to maintain education programs for many rural counties, especially in Alaska, that contain federal lands exempt from property taxes.

Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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