April 7, 2021 3:40 a.m.

Oregon’s Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with the four Democrats in the U.S. House, have announced that 31 Oregon counties will share in just over $39 million in Secure Rural Schools payments for schools, roads, law enforcement and other essential services.

A release said the payments are the last ones under the SRS program’s current authorization. Wyden, Merkley and Idaho’s Republican Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are making a bipartisan push to reauthorize the program through September of 2022. They are also working to pass the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act, which they claim would provide a long-term permanent solution to replace the need to reauthorize SRS every two years for rural counties in Oregon and nationwide.

Wyden said, “For the better part of two decades, SRS payments have maintained an economic lifeline for rural Oregonians counting on quality schools, dependable infrastructure and more in their communities”. He said the ongoing challenge of dealing with COVID-19 and its economic impacts makes these current payments, “…more important than ever now”.

Congressman Peter DeFazio said “It’s imperative that we reauthorize the SRS program to support the health, safety and well-being of our rural communities”.

Wyden co-wrote the original SRS program in 2000 with then Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. Since 2000, SRS has brought about $3.4 billion to Oregon counties.