Summary
On January 15, 2015, the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service announced payments to states for their share of revenues from federal forests in fiscal years (FY) 2013 and 2014. These payments are awarded to rural counties for building schools and maintaining infrastructure. The FY 2014 payments totaled $50 million, a decline of -81.8% from FY 2013 payments, caused by the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. This Issue Brief analyzes the FY 2014 payments and the potential effect of lost SRS payments on other federal revenue-sharing programs.