Summary
On April 28, 2015, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments to states for fiscal year (FY) 2014 will total $285 million, following a two-year reauthorization of the program through the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (P.L. 114-10). SRS provides assistance to states and counties affected by declining revenues from timber sales. USDA already distributed $50 million in FY 2014 payments according to an earlier, less generous formula, as well as $6 million in Special Act payments. All told, total Forest Service payments for FY 2014 will be $291 million, of which states and counties are still owed $235 million.