U.S. Senator Mike Crapo’s legislation to restore federal funding for rural counties in Idaho and other states has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives and now awaits the President’s signature. The Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization Act, S. 356, aims to provide critical financial support to counties that manage large areas of untaxed federal land.
“The SRS program is vital to maintaining schools, roads and emergency response services in rural, forested counties,” said Crapo. “We have a responsibility to these communities who house large swaths of untaxable federal land. The passage of this legislation will provide retroactive pay to counties that faced deep cuts since the program’s expiration at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and restore funding levels for FY 2026. I continue to press for a long-term solution to provide Idaho’s county governments with more certainty.”
The bill passed following a bipartisan effort led by Crapo, Senator Ron Wyden, Representative Doug LaMalfa, and Representative Joe Neguse. They sent a letter signed by 89 lawmakers urging House leadership to approve the measure before year-end due to its importance for rural communities. The Senate had already approved the bill unanimously in June 2025.
If enacted, the law would reauthorize payments through fiscal year 2026 and compensate counties for missed payments from fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Senators Wyden, Jim Risch, and Jeff Merkley are among its original co-sponsors.
Congress originally created the Secure Rural Schools program in 2000 under the SRS and Community Self-Determination Act. It provides compensation to counties containing federally owned forest lands that cannot be taxed locally; instead, these payments come from timber receipts or other activities within national forests.
In Idaho alone, $22.8 million was distributed across 34 counties during fiscal year 2023 to help fund schools, emergency services, and infrastructure needs. When authorization lapsed after fiscal year 2023, payments defaulted back to an older formula from a 1908 law—resulting in reductions as steep as eighty percent for some local governments.
