03/12/2018 Washington, In some parts of the american countryside, vast federal land ownership spurs tourism and supports ranching businesses, but its tax-exempt status makes it difficult for local governments to keep the lights on. RFD TV’s Sarah Mock has more from the nation’s capital.

Reduced funding and the expiration of a key federal program has some rural communities in dire straights.

“We have 14 counties now that can no longer support 24 hour police coverage, it’s a disgrace. Some of these countries are as much as 90% federally owned, and they are just reneging on their responsibilities at the cost of lives.”

Funding for the ‘secure rural schools program’ expired in 2015, with the last payments going out in 2016. At the same time funding for another program, known as the ‘payment in lieu of taxes program, or pilt, dropped off, leading some to argue the federal government isn’t living up to its commitments.

“A landowner pays their taxes so we can fund our priorities. The schools, roads, and public safety, the federal government has to keep their obligations as a landowner to the local communities.”

“You’ve seen these funds over the years really start to dwindle and you know these funds aren’t handouts or earmarks, they’re simply the government paying it’s fair share to communities who can’t generate their own tax revenue because, look at my district, I represent more trees than people, and our communities are made up of a lot of federal lands, and that has an economic impact.”

No additional funding for these programs made its way into the bipartisan spending bill that passed in february, but rural legislators hope to see support for the programs in a spending bill that has to pass by march 23rd to avoid another government shutdown.

“It would be particularly offensive to hold back these funds because if you do, you all know better than I, that that’s a policy to turn rural america into a sacrifice zone, and we’re here to tell you that’s not going to happen on our watch.”

Wyden says the issue stems from how the forest service funds its annual battle against wildfires – once the firefighting budget is exhausted, it’s forced to take money from other programs. regardless of the cause, Kilmer says the issue is fundamentally about the sustainability of rural life.

“This is about giving rural communities certainty so that the next generation has the same opportunity to have a community in the place where they grew up. I don’t want out main export to be young people. we want to make sure they can seek opportunities where they are and not someplace else.”

Commissioners and lawmakers from across the country joined federal legislators on capitol hill to advocate for the programs. They hope to see movement in the coming days. For RFDTV, I’m Sarah Mock in Washington.

Over the life of the original ‘save rural schools program,’ rural communities received about 7 billion dollars, while the ‘payments in lieu of taxes’ program spent around 5 and a half billion.

Commissioner Blair Brady Wahkiakum County Wa
Rep. Greg Gianforte [R] Montana
Sen. Ron Wyden, (D) Oregon
Rep. Derek Kilmer [D] Washington

Sarah Mock
Washington Bureau Chief, RFD-TV
@Sarah_K_Mock

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