Counties Celebrate Passage of Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act
Upcoming Events
Related News
WASHINGTON – The National Association of Counties (NACo) celebrates the passage of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 356). This bipartisan legislation, which restores funding to more than 700 counties across 41 states, was approved yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives, and previously cleared the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on June 18.
“Passage of the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act is a major win for counties and a milestone in advancing county policy priorities,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase. “This bill provides critical relief to timber-dependent counties that rely on these funds to maintain essential services and transition toward long-term fiscal stability.”
The bill, led by U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Doug LaMalfa and Joe Neguse, provides back pay for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and reauthorizes SRS through FY 2026. First enacted in 2000, SRS aids rural counties and school districts affected by the decline in revenue from timber harvests on federal lands. Following a distribution of funds in April 2024, the program’s reauthorization lapsed. Without payments, over 700 timber-dependent counties receiving SRS have faced challenging budgetary shortfalls – an average 80 percent decrease in funding to those counties.
“The SRS program provides critical funding for county services like education, transportation and public safety, with payments especially vital for timber counties as they navigate economic transition and work toward long-term stability,” said Chase. “Counties thank bipartisan champions for SRS in both chambers of Congress for investing in the future of federally forested counties.”
Passage of the bill in the House under “Suspension of the Rules” took place after the bill’s co-sponsors sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House leadership urging swift passage of the measure. NACo and county leaders from across the U.S. were among those to advocate strongly for this action.
Learn more about SRS here, and learn more about the passage of reauthorization here.
Media Contact
Nicole Weissman
Related News
Congress passes Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 in victory for counties
In a major victory for counties, Congress passed the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 356) on December 9. The bill provides payments to counties for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and FY 2025 and reauthorizes the SRS program through the end of FY 2026, and delivers critical relief to timber-dependent counties that rely on these funds to maintain essential services and transition toward long-term fiscal stability.
House Natural Resources Committee advances Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act
On November 20, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776), which would make important changes to streamline federal permitting and strengthen county involvement in decision-making by amending the National Environmental Policy Act. Counties support commonsense permitting reforms, and NACo secured provisions in the SPEED Act that would guarantee counties a seat at the table during federal environmental reviews.
Congress advances resolutions to overturn three Bureau of Land Management resource management plans
On October 8 and 9, the U.S. Congress passed resolutions under Congressional Review Act authority expressing disapproval of three Bureau of Land Management resource management plans covering public lands in Montana, Alaska and North Dakota. The resolutions repeal recently finalized resource management plans and revert the areas to prior land use plans.