WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), announced her co-sponsorship of bipartisan legislation, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program through September 2022. The SRS program helps fund essential services in rural communities that are home to federal land. The program, which was originally introduced in 2000, expired in the fall of 2020.
“The Secure Rural Schools program is essential to the success of Nevada’s education systems and public lands,” said Senator Rosen. “This year, Nevadans living and working in rural communities have endured extreme weather, including snow and wildfires, as well as the challenges of COVID-19. The Secure Rural Schools program, which provides funding to support and maintain schools, roads, and emergency services, is more important than ever before. This bipartisan legislation would authorize a two-year extension of the program and help to ensure rural communities can support teachers and other essential workers, at a time when they are needed most.”
BACKGROUND: The U.S. Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program (SRS) expired in September of 2020 and the last payment under the current authorization is scheduled for April of 2021. The program provides funding to over 775 counties around the country.
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