Labrador Plan to Empower Idaho's Rural Communities Approved by Natural Resources Committee
Press Release
The House Natural Resources Committee approved H.R. 1526, the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, today. This bill incorporates an earlier bill introduced by Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID), theSelf-Sufficient Community Lands Act, which replaces the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program with a long-term solution that empowers some counties to manage their own land, instead of being dependent upon federal payments and Washington bureaucrats. The Labrador plan, which forms Title IV of H.R. 1526, will create jobs, generate tax receipts for the counties, and improve forest health.
"The time has come to put our people and our land back to work," said Rep. Labrador, who -- as a member of the Natural Resources Committee -- voted for today's bill. "The expired SRS program is inadequate so long as it's tied to federal policies that prevent Idaho's rural communities from developing their own land in a way that would create more jobs and generate more tax revenue. That's why I'm so pleased the Committee approved today's bill. By empowering Idaho's rural communities to manage their own land, we will achieve greater economic growth, plus the tax revenue that's needed to improve schools, roads, and other local programs."
In Idaho and much of the West, rural communities once relied upon the timber industry for job creation and tax revenues. During the past few decades, environmental organizations have hindered our ability to develop timber from our public lands through litigation. In fact, timber harvests have declined by more than 80 percent over the past 30 years. SRS was created in 2000 as a temporary program to help counties make up for lost revenue and fund the services that counties could no longer afford after the decline in timber production.
Title IV of the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act would replace the SRS program with a new program focused on generating dependable economic activity for counties and local governments containing National Forest System land through a management-focused approach, and for other purposes.
Idaho would benefit greatly from today's legislation. Thirty-five of Idaho's 44 counties receive SRS payments. We rank third in the country in total SRS payments.
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