Washington, D.C.  (February 28, 2022) – Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) released the following statement after the House voted to send her critical fix to the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Program to the President for his signature.  

“Due to an error in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, all counties are facing a situation where they will default to SRS payments, regardless of whether they have chosen timber receipts in the past, and default to an 80% allocation for Title I, the roads and schools program, for FY21 payments. This is a losing situation for all counties, and especially counties in Eastern Washington that choose the maximum allocation for Title I to support their schools and critical infrastructure.

“I am grateful that my colleagues in the Senate worked hard to pass the companion to my bill,  H.R. 6435, and we were able to send it to the President’s desk for a signature today. This bill will provide much needed certainty to timber communities in Eastern Washington.” 

Note: Cathy introduced legislation in the House last month that would preserve counties’ current SRS allocations for FY21 payments, and then re-open the allocation process for FY22. Earlier this month, Cathy urged her colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee to bring this legislation to the House floor immediately to protect critical resources for timber communities. 

The Senate passed the companion bill, S. 3706, February 17, 2022. The House took up S. 3706 this evening. 

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