Press Releases

The U.S. House of Representatives voted favorably on S. 356 – the Secure Rural SchoolsReauthorization Act of 2025. These funds from the “Secure Rural Schools” program are essentially meant to supplement Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). This bill now heads to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Following passage of the bill, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), who voted for the bill, issued the following statement:

“Thanks to the ‘Secure Rural Schools’ program, Virginia’s Ninth District receives access to federal funds from the National Forest Service. This is a bipartisan, commonsense piece of legislation that directly delivers funds to rural communities with ties to national forest property.

“I am proud to support the reestablishment of the ‘Secure Rural Schools’ program.”

BACKGROUND

Starting in 2000, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Community Self Determination Act to help stabilize funds available to rural counties.

The SRS program helps rural counties that possess tracts of federally owned forest land that are tax-exempt. SRS projects reward localities as a result of various Forest Service activities on these lands, like grazing and timber, that produce revenue.

Funding for the SRS program lapsed in September of 2023. The last authorized SRS payments distributed to counties took place in early 2024.

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