U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, co-led legislation to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program through fiscal year 2026.
The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, Dec. 9, and headed to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. The SRS program applies to rural communities throughout the country, with many communities in Washington's Third Congressional District eligible for the funds.
Gluesenkamp Perez’s efforts to reinstate SRS began in February when she assisted in helping introduce the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act in the U.S. House.
“It’s a huge relief,” she said of the bill passing the house. “It’s frustrating that it took this long and this much effort, you know. But, I mean, it’s been a significant hit to our schools and our kids to be in limbo for this long.”
The SRS program was co-authored by Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden in 2000. The program assists communities that have suffered from the lack of harvestable timber from 1990s environmental protection acts, including those aimed at supporting the northern spotted owl.
According to Gluesenkamp Perez’s office, SRS has provided $7 billion in payments to over 700 counties and 4,400 school districts across 40 states since its enactment. For Skamania County, the funding is crucial as only 1.8% of land can generate revenue for public services, with SRS funding accounting for 5.1% of the county’s budget.
Cowlitz, Lewis and Skamania counties received significant amounts of SRS funds, according to fiscal year 2023 reports.
However, SRS lapsed, leading to educators and support staff being laid off in Skamania County. Wind River Middle School closed doors this past fall, according to Gluesenkamp Perez’s office. Infrastructure projects were cancelled or delayed in Lewis County, too.
“It’s going to be hard to get the staffing levels back up and have people come back,” Gluesenkamp Perez said of restaffing rural schools. “I think this irrevocably changed the course of a lot of people’s lives, and I think it’s encouraging that the payments will be retroactive for 2024 and 2025.”
On the topic of funds generated for rural communities and services through timber harvesting, Gluesenkamp Perez said that people need predictability. Gluesenkamp Perez recalled when she spoke to a local mill operator whose one big request was to stop changing the rules as often.
“We want to be able to catch our breath on what feels like a constantly changing regulatory landscape,” Gluesenkamp Perez said, adding that lawsuits against timber harvests can cause damage to community services. “These lawsuits often mean only the biggest players can wait, you know, seven years for a suit to be settled, and other people are having their trucks repossessed.”
Gluesenkamp Perez said that she often tries to help people understand the tradeoffs they’re making with challenging timber harvests and promoting regulatory changes. She added that there are a lot of discussions among lawmakers to ease regulations, or at least consistent changes.
“Look, we’re making a choice between paper and cardboard or plastic in many cases,” she said. “When you make it harder to have a renewable resource being used, consumers are going to shift to plastic. And I don’t think that’s what we want for our salmon or for our local economies, you know.”
In terms of regulations and environmental protections, Gluesenkamp Perez said she believes the scope of the tradeoffs may often go ignored.
“My concern is that people who are actually putting on work boots every day are the first ones to be kind of scapegoated,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “And we’re not talking honestly about the tradeoffs and what is going to build a strong, resilient country in the long run. We can’t just look for some techno-optimist, plastic-wrapped solution. We have to have people that are actually doing the work, and I think that’s the thing, that without people who have been here and been doing the work, you don’t get good federal policy.”
