Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Heads to Final Vote Following Push from Neguse and Colleagues 

 

Washington, D.C. –– Yesterday, Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse, alongside Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), led a bipartisan coalition of more than 80 lawmakers in sending a letter to House Republican leadership requesting urgent reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. The bill, which already unanimously passed the Senate in June, would reauthorize the program through Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and provide lapsed payments for FYs 2024 and 2025. 

 

Following the letter from Neguse and colleagues, this morning, the House noticed fast-track consideration of the bill for next week. It is slated to be up under suspension of the rules. 

 

“The Secure Rural Schools program has been a lifeline for rural counties, supporting not just students and schools, but investments in local infrastructure and public safety. And for folks in my district, this means federal funding for wildfire prevention, search-and-rescue operations, trail and road maintenance, and other key services,” said Congressman Neguse. 

 

 

Authorization for the SRS program lapsed in September 2023, with the last full authorized payments going out to counties in the spring of 2024 and only partial payments from revenue-sharing delivered for 2025, resulting in decreases of up to 80 percent for some counties. These gaps in funding leave rural and mountain counties struggling to fund schools, road maintenance and emergency services. 

 

View the full text of the lawmakers’ letter to House Republican leadership HERE. 

 

 

Established in 2000, the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, which is overseen by the United States Forest Service (USFS), helps fund essential services in rural and mountain communities that are home to federal lands, which are tax-exempt. It provides financial support back to county governments where these National Forests are located. These funds are then distributed to help eligible counties, including many of those in Colorado’s Western Slope, maintain local roads, support schools, conduct wildfire mitigation, and more.

 

Congressman Neguse has been a champion for the SRS program since his election to Congress. In 2019, he introduced legislation to reauthorize SRS and was successful in securing a two-year extension to the program. In 2021, he ensured the continuation of SRS payments by securing another extension as part of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He introduced legislation in 2023 to reauthorize the program for an additional three years, and is continuing to partner with Rep. LaMalfa on those reauthorization efforts in the 119th Congress.