The US Forest Service’s demands that rural timber counties pay back millions of dollars in federal subsidies under automatic budget cuts have outraged members of Congress from both parties and caused concern in those counties with struggling economies. Source: The Washington Post
Thirty-one House members sent a letter to the Obama administration protesting demands for refunds of US$17.9 million in revenue that pay for schools, roads, search and rescue operations in rural counties, as well as for conservation projects.
“For the administration to announce three months after the disbursement of these payments that they are subject to the sequester, and that states will receive a bill for repayment of funds already distributed to counties, appears to be an obvious attempt by President Obama’s Administration to make the sequester as painful as possible,” said the letter organized by Rep. Doc Hastings, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and signed by 30 others, including Democrats.
Forest Service Chief Thomas L. Tidwell sent letters to 41 states telling them they need to repay $15.6 million disbursed in January under the Secure Rural Schools Act, which since 2000 has sent billions of dollars to 700 rural counties to make up for reductions in federal logging revenue due to fish and wildlife protections.
The top recipients have been Oregon, California and Washington.
He also demanded the return of US$2.3 million in other payments. Tidwell said the money needed to be repaid because it was sent out in fiscal 2013 and is included under the 5.1% across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration.
Many rural counties in the West also will be hit hard by Interior Department cuts to the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, which reimburses counties for tax revenue they have lost by having federal lands within in their borders.
Members of Congress questioned the need to repay money disbursed by the Forest Service because the money had been appropriated in fiscal 2012.
Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson, president of an association of Oregon timber counties that receive the funds, is hoping that Gov. John Kitzhaber will offset the US$3.6 million that Oregon would have to repay by tapping funds already dedicated to conservation projects on federal lands.
That would spare struggling counties from having to come up money they have already spent.
