Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 4.22.15

8 | APRIL 22, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM Montana Delegation
Just
Sayin’...
“There is a side of
it too that is good because clearly, it’s a problem on college campuses across the nation. And judging just by news coverage nationally, most campuses and towns are not to the point that we are and need to do some work. So it’s good to talk about it and to sort of keep it out there.”
Ginny Merriam, communications director for the city of Missoula, on Jon Krakauer’s soon-to-be- released book on the rapes at the University of Montana.
“People ask me, ‘Well what’s the three biggest problems in western North Dakota? I say methamphetamine, methamphetamine and methamphetamine.”
Bismarck-based defense attorney Matthew Arthurs on the increased drug use surrounding the Bakken oil formation.
“I’m happy for No. 1. I am happy to win and for a strong Boston.”
Men’s Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia.
Lauds Secure Rural Schools Funding
Two-year extension for SRS means rural communities like Lincoln County can delay budget cuts
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Officials in Washington, D.C. and Mon- tana are praising the passage of legisla- tion that extends the Secure Rural Schools funding program for another two years.
The program provides funds to rural communities where the federal government owns most of the land. The funds are used to maintain roads, bridges and schools.
Late last year, Congress failed to reau- thorize SRS payments and in January, the U.S. Forest Service announced it would provide $50 million in timber payments to 41 states and Puerto Rico, which would have been considerably lower than what was paid in previous years. Many local officials wor- ried about having to make deep budget cuts in the coming months.
“SRS supports priorities that directly impact our economy: public schools and roads,” said Sen. Jon Tester in a prepared statement. “While we work to get folks in our forested counties back to work in the woods, SRS helps keep county budgets from falling into the red and forcing cuts to services that affect our kids and grand- kids.”
On April 14, the U.S. Senate passed leg- islation that would require the federal gov- ernment to issue SRS payments beginning in June. The House of Representatives vot- ed on a similar measure last month. Sens. Steve Daines and Tester and Rep. Ryan Zinke all supported the legislation. In 2014, Montana counties received $21 million in SRS funds, part of more than $300 million doled out nationally.
Lincoln County is one of the biggest recipients of SRS funds and will receive about $2.7 million each of the next two years, according to Commissioner Greg
Downtown Libby. BEACON FILE PHOTO
Larson. Another commissioner, Mark Peck, said the reauthorization of SRS means the county will be able to avoid, or at least delay, some major budget cuts. A struggling economy has plagued Lincoln County and its coffers took an additional hit last year when it was discovered the county had overtaxed residents by about $2 million.
“This helps us stabilize things be-
“Reauthorizing this
program isn’t enough,” Daines said shortly after voting for SRS funding. “Our rural communities deserve long-term solutions that provide sustainable sources of revenue that are not dependent on the whims of Washington D.C. politics.”
Tester recently introduced legislation that would extend SRS funding for three
important
“SRS SUPPORTS PRIORITIES THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT OUR ECONOMY: PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND ROADS.”
Sen. Jon Tester
cause a lot of cuts have already been made,” Peck said. “But we’ve got to find a long-term solution because it’s hard to budget when you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
Montana’s delegation echoed Peck’s concern and said that the federal govern- ment needed to open up more Forest Ser- vice land to timber production.
years, but it has yet to move through Con- gress. The SRS bill that passed also extend- ed the Child Health Insurance Program, preventing a 21-percent cut in the reim- bursement rate paid to doctors who treat Medicare patients. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.
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