Legislation & Advocacy: Federal Updates

Forest Reserve & Economic Stimulus Update

By Bob Douglas, NFCSC President

Here is hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas. As you know, we were not successful in our quest to get Secure Rural Schools and Communities Act (SRSCA) reauthorized last December. We came close, but politics is not horseshoes and close does not count. However, we are coming back more committed than ever, as we enter 2008 with no guarantee of SRSCA funding. And, the good news is that we have several opportunities for success this spring. Yesterday a new opportunity presented itself and we think it has very good potential as a means of moving us toward our goal of county and school stability for another year.

Economic Stimulus Package – An Excellent New Opportunity
Leadership in the House and Senate and the President launched active discussions regarding a short-term (one year) Economic Stimulus Package, and vowed to move it quickly through Congress. Our advisors tell us that this new vehicle is perhaps the quickest and best way to achieve a short-term extension of SRSCA. Yesterday a bipartisan letter signed by twelve western members of Congress was delivered to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging her to include a one year (2008) extension of SRSCA in the Economic Stimulus Package now under development. A copy of the letter is on the NFCSC website – www.forestco.net.

We are advised that similar conversations between Senate members and Senate leadership are also happening. Likewise, we are told that decisions regarding the Economic Stimulus Package will be made rather quickly. So we must also make our voices heard quickly!

Action Alert!
Please contact your Member of Congress and your Senators immediately by Fax, E-Mail, or telephone and ask them to:

Support including SRSCA in the upcoming Economic Stimulus Package.
Ask them to contact the leadership of the House or Senate Caucus and advocate strongly for an extension of SRSCA to be included in the final version of the Economic Stimulus Package.

Single Year or Multi-Year
We are being told that Congressional Leadership and the Administration are somewhat committed to holding those items placed in the Economic Stimulus Package to one year in duration. If that is the case, and they are willing to include us, we will support a one-year extension (2008) as part of the Economic Stimulus Package. But, if there is any chance for a multi-year solution to be included, we will push hard for that option to be included! A multi-year solution certainly protects rural economies more effectively!

Continuing to Push for a 4-6 Year Extension
So, let’s not signal to anyone that we do not intend to keep fighting intensely for a 4-6 year extension of SRSCA. You need to continue to ask Members of Congress and the Senate to identify an appropriate vehicle and move a multi-year reauthorization. And, this spring the Farm Bill, Tax Extender Bills, and a possible Alternative Energy Package all represent possible vehicles to achieve this goal. A one year extension, while wonderful, only buys us certainty until December 2008. We must remain committed to achieving a multi-year extension! Continual advocacy for such a solution is the only way it will be achieved.

Are We an Economic Stimulus?
The $530 million we receive for Roads and Schools annually under SRSCA is a powerful economic engine. When we consider the fact that every wage-earner dollar recycles through the local and regional economy between five and seven times. That means that our real economic effect is between $2.65 billion and $3.71 billion per year. Likewise, pulling the SRSCA revenues out of the economies of our most rural counties will have a chilling negative economic effect. So, is extension of SRSCA a legitimate tool for rural economic stimulation? You bet it is! Let’s insist on it!

Thank you for your assistance.