Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of New Mexico's Second Congressional District to celebrate a long-awaited victory for rural America, the imminent passage of the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act.

I preface my remarks by thanking Representatives LaMalfa and Neguse, who introduced this bill, and Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Craig. We would not be standing here today without their leadership and outpouring of strong, bipartisan support that we have seen for this bill both here in Congress and on the ground in our communities.

For decades, SRS has been more than an abstract Federal program. It has been a promise, a promise that when Federal lands limit local tax revenue, Congress will stand with rural communities and school districts so that they continue to provide the basic essential services that every American family deserves.

Rural communities across the country and in New Mexico know this story well. In Catron, Grant, Sierra, and Otero Counties in my district, national forests define our landscape, and they define who we are. They are the treasures that we value and protect. Yet, those beautiful lands also mean fewer taxable acres, fewer revenue streams for public schools, and fewer resources to maintain the roads that our families travel every day.

For more than 20 years, SRS helped close that gap. It ensured that public schools could keep teachers in the classroom, that buses could run safe routes on rural roads, and that county governments could plan long-term budgets with certainty.

It ensures that children growing up in frontier communities receive the same shot at a quality education as anyone in major cities in my district, like Albuquerque or Las Cruces. It ensures that when there was a medical emergency in the middle of the night, emergency medical services had the roads that they needed to save lives.

That stability vanished when SRS expired in 2024. Rural counties across the West, including mine, were forced to make impossible decisions.

In New Mexico alone, our communities lost more than $9 million in a single year. That $9 million loss meant school districts had to consider laying off teachers and reading specialists and cutting back to a 4-day school week in a place like Quemado because they could no longer afford to operate a 5-day school week.

County commissions were forced to take a hard look at their budgets, looking line by line at what vital services they could cut to ensure their communities could maintain their roads.

This past August, I met with a bipartisan group of county officials, educators, and Tribal leaders back home to discuss SRS and the need for reauthorization. Their message didn't

waver: Rural communities needed Congress to act. They needed certainty. They needed this lifeline to their communities restored.

Today, after months of fighting for reauthorization, we are delivering on a bipartisan basis. Today, we are sending a clear message to rural communities across New Mexico and across the country that they are not invisible, not expendable, and not expected to bear the weight of this lapse alone.

The Senate has already passed this reauthorization, and I urge my colleagues to help us finish the job and send the bill to the President's desk for his signature.

This is the kind of win that New Mexicans sent me to Washington, D.C., to deliver, and it is worth celebrating.

This legislation represents the best of what Congress can achieve when we put aside partisanship and focus on the people we serve. It reflects both Democrats' and Republicans' shared understanding that rural counties take on an enormous responsibility in managing and stewarding our national forests, and their kids should not be left behind because of it.

It is a recognition that public lands benefit our entire Nation, and the cost of maintaining essential services like schools and roads should not fall solely on the shoulders of rural families.

For New Mexico's Second Congressional District, this bill means stability. It means that school districts can retain teachers, hire staff, and keep programs in place that enrich our children's futures. It means that our sheriffs, firefighters, and first responders have reliable funding for the roads and infrastructure that they depend on when every second counts.

Passing SRS reauthorization also honors the frontier spirit that defines rural New Mexico. Communities like Silver City, Cloudcroft, Quemado, and many others throughout New Mexico continue to lead in forest conservation, outdoor recreation, wildfire resilience, and natural resource management. They deserve a Federal partner that matches their commitment, and today, they are getting that.

Mr. Speaker, both New Mexico and I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who worked tirelessly to bring this legislation to the finish line. I also thank the local leaders, our county commissioners, school superintendents, teachers, parents, and firefighters, just like these folks here in Fence Lake, who raised their voices and never let this issue slip from their attention.

As this bill is signed into law, I look forward to witnessing the relief that it will bring across New Mexico in time for Christmas. I look forward to seeing teachers stay in their classrooms, rural roads being repaired and maintained, and families in these rural counties finally receiving the stability that they have been promised but denied for too long.

Today is a good day for rural America. Today is a good day for New Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to vote in favor of the SRS Reauthorization Act, and I urge my colleagues to join me in its passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Salinas), my distinguished colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to highlight two particularly important projects in my district that sit in the Gila National Forest and are surrounded by the rural communities of Glenwood, New Mexico; Quemado; and Reserve. These are two incredibly important projects that have helped diversify rural economies and helped support the outdoor recreation economy: the Catwalk historic trail and the Cosmic Campground.

These two projects on Federal public lands have brought in very important economic revenue to these communities. They have brought in tours from all across the country to see the darkest skies in the country in what is an International Dark Skies Sanctuary and one of the most breathtaking trails that one can experience in our Nation's first wilderness.

Regardless, SRS is incredibly important to help ensure that our schools and our roads continue to function as we expand New Mexico's outdoor recreation economy.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank Chair Westerman for his support of the Fix Our Forests Act, introducing that bill, and I hope that it does make it to the Senate.

I think as we talk about the longevity of rural communities and sustainability of rural communities, we have to have good forest management and a diversified economy that includes the timber industry, cattle growing, and outdoor recreation. So much of that depends on the health of our public lands.

I am encouraged by the bipartisanship shown on this bill today. I hope we can have more conversations and we can pass SRS out of the House today so that we can ensure that these rural communities have a future that is not dependent on Federal funding but that has a diversified economy that uses our natural resources wisely.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I think we can all recognize what a special moment this is for our rural communities. These days, Democrats and Republicans don't often see eye to eye long enough to get a piece of legislation like this all the way to the President's desk. The fact that we will today shows just how important we all know it is to stand up for our rural communities.

For New Mexico, this is real money with real impact. Our rural communities have been missing more than $9 million that should have been supporting schools, roads, and essential services. I am proud to be bringing that money back to the families and communities that have waited for far too long.

I also want to take a moment to recognize some of the incredible New Mexican advocates who helped make today possible. This is not a full list, but it is a long one, so bear with me. Our Secure Rural Schools champions in New Mexico's Second District include: Kayli Ortiz, Amber Vaughn, Randall Earwood, Charlene Webb, William Hawkins, Kate Fletcher, Joy Esparsen, David Lackey, and Deborah Mahler. These are the folks who showed up, spoke out, organized their neighbors, and never let us forget what was at stake.

I thank every constituent who wrote, called, and shared their stories with our office. Their advocacy drove much of this effort. Their persistence is why we are passing this bill into law today.

Again, I thank my Republican colleagues for working on this piece of legislation with me and other members of the committee.

I am proud of my community. I am grateful for their trust. Once again, they proved something that we all know back home: Don't mess with rural New Mexicans.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 356) to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act of 2000.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased and honored to be able to stand here today in support of the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, which we are considering under suspension of the rules.

This important bill would reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program, also known as SRS, which is really a lifeline for many rural communities in my home of northern California, my neighboring States, and across the Nation.

In counties with large swaths of national forests, the SRS program makes essential payments to county governments that help ensure schools stay open, county roads stay maintained, and emergency services remain available.

Previously, counties received a portion of timber sale proceeds from projects on our national forests, as Federal lands are not subject to State or local property taxes. However, as timber sales have decreased over the years, something I am working with Chairman GT Thompson, Chairman Westerman, and the administration to reverse, Congress created the SRS program to make up for that shortfall in timber receipts.

This program expired in fiscal year 2023, and the last payments went out in 2024. For many counties and many schools, the lapse in the SRS program means an abrupt and devastating cut of roughly 80 percent of that portion of funding that they would normally receive, which is unacceptable.

It hurts local governments' ability to provide basic educational, public safety, and other services. Schools would close, and jobs would be eliminated due to this delay. In this case, it might even be just in time for Christmas.

In 2024 alone, my home State of California received $33.7 million through this program.

The Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 helps ensure the more than 700 rural counties that receive these SRS payments have the resources they need for schools, roads, and wildfire mitigation by reauthorizing this program. This bill not only ensures that SRS payments can go out in 2025 and 2026 but also makes retroactive payments for those missed in 2024 when the program expired.

Reauthorizing the SRS program means that schools, public works, and county services will not be forced to lay off dozens of employees who do the essential work for rural counties and schools--again, right before Christmas in some cases. Those who have already been let go due to the lapse in funding should be able to be brought back to continue the important work they do for their areas.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my great colleagues, Chairman GT Thompson of the Committee on Agriculture and Chairman Bruce Westerman of the Committee on Natural Resources, for their work on reauthorizing the SRS program.

I also thank my colleagues for making this a bipartisan bill, my co- lead on the issue, Colorado Representative Joe Neguse, for coming in with me on this for the House version of the bill, and Senators Crapo and Wyden for their work on that side.

I urge my colleagues to support this. Let's get this out and get the delay over with to help these local counties and schools.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Vasquez from New Mexico for driving this forward on his side of the aisle, both sides of the aisle. I appreciate being able to get this over the line here soon, as we both know too much about wildfires in our respective States, as well. This will go a long way toward helping that issue.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Bentz), my colleague from my north border.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from Oregon (Ms. Salinas). It took a while for all of us to get here, but I appreciate her help, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), who is the hardest working man on this issue. My colleague is the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Utah (Ms. Maloy), who is also from the Congressional Western Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson). I greatly appreciate my colleague's strong work in our Agriculture Committee and the Subcommittee on Forestry.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, I thank once again Mr. Vasquez for our ability to work on these issues. We should use this ability for a lot more success going forward on forestry, fire, and keeping these schools funded as we go.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank Mr. Neguse of Colorado for working with me on the House version of this bill to get where we got today. I thank Speaker Johnson and our leader, Mr. Scalise, as well, for helping get this shepherded for us today and get past some of our other issues that have taken a while to get through. Let's just not have this happen again in this fashion, as it has taken a while to get here. I am very grateful that we have come together and that everybody has seen the importance of this legislation.

Lastly, I really want to thank the folks in our districts for their patience and good cheer. In New Mexico and my part of northern California, as well, I am thankful for the patience people have shown with us trying to get through this process and for the good cheer, again, they have brought.

Our colleagues from Trinity County and Shasta County, some of them are in the audience here today. I am going to especially point out a couple of Modoc County supervisors who are always in my ear in a good way on this: Supervisor Coe and Supervisor Geri Byrne. I thank them for their consistency and persistence in helping get this over the line.

I am very happy we have gotten here today. With broad bipartisan support, let's do more of this.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, last year this body, the United States Senate, passed 41 bills from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. And 25 of those bills have been reintroduced. They all have bipartisan support. They all have been vetted in committee. They all are ready to move.

Today, I am asking that we pass four of them at the same time as a modest step forward for the kind of open, Member-driven process for which the Senate was built and has long existed.

The first, from Senator King of Maine, would expand access to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument--something that passed this body unanimously last year.

The second, from Senator Cornyn of Texas, would adjust the boundaries of Big Bend National Park--again, a commonsense proposal with bipartisan support.

The third, from Senator Gillibrand of New York, would establish a national historic park at Fort Ontario--the site of the only Holocaust refugee shelter in American history.

And fourth, from Senator Lankford of Oklahoma, would designate the Historic Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, as a national monument.

The Greenwood District in Tulsa was once a thriving community of Black-owned businesses, professionals, and families until the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 tragically burned it to the ground.

Hundreds were killed, and thousands were left homeless. Designating this site as a national monument is long overdue. And this month, May 31--in fact, just a few days from now--marks the anniversary of that tragic, tragic massacre.

With that, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Natural Resources be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: S. 282, the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument access from Senator King; S. 1051, the Historic Greenwood District--Black Wall Street--National Monument from Senator Lankford; S. 432, Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historic Park Establishment Act from Senator Gillibrand; and S. 1112, the Big Bend National Park Boundary Adjustment Act from Senator Cornyn; further, that the bills be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I appreciate the kind words from my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Oregon.

I know my time is short, but I need to respond to a couple of points. First, the bills to which my Democratic colleagues are referring have been cleared. They have been cleared through what is known as our hotline, cleared for passage on the Republican side--not one objection from one Republican.

It is the Democrats that are holding it up here. We are not the ones.

Secondly, I want to make very clear: This is a very unfortunate occurrence in the Senate. It is a bad habit that we have gotten into, and it is a habit that we must break.

The habit involves raising an objection. One of the things you did not hear from my friend and colleague from Oregon is a single objection, not on the merits, not on any legitimate procedural ground to any of the bills that I just mentioned--not a single one. No, these bills are drawing an objection today, not allowed to pass the Senate today--even though they passed in the past unanimously, and they don't have any substantive objection.

They are objecting to these not because they are unpopular but because they are popular. When they are popular, when the need for them is due and undisputed, when there is no legitimate argument against them, when the House delegation, the local population, the Senate delegation is all supportive of them, they use them and take them as hostages.

And they use them so that the way these things can happen is they will cuddle together a whole bunch of bills, and these bills all accomplish similar things. They have a lot of commonalities. They do similar things. They enjoy similar amounts of support. They have passed in the past. The local communities overwhelmingly support them. It makes sense to offer these up together. We opt to do them individually as often as we can.

But what they want to do is what has been done in the past, is you cuddle together a whole bunch of bills--sometimes a dozen or more, maybe dozens of them--and then time the introduction of that package to a moment just before a major holiday or long-scheduled recess, they bring them forward, and they say: Take them or leave them.

You must take all of them or have none of them. And what that does to public land States like mine, where 67 percent of the land is owned by the U.S. Government or beholden to everything, is it puts us in an impossible decision.

Usually, these deals are put together by two or three people in secret, and they bring it forward at the last possible minute when there is no time for debate, no time for amendments, no time to say, OK, this one doesn't belong, the others are fine.

Take it or leave it. It is extortion. We have got to end that process. There is not one legitimate reason why we shouldn't pass any one of these four bills. Let's get it done today. I find it tragic that this drew an objection.

Mr. President, I have got colleagues ready to speak, and I just need 10 seconds here.

I respect and appreciate my friend and colleague from Oregon. It is not to him, personally, about taking bills hostage. But this is a process that has happened in the past over and over and over again. This is how it is playing out.

As to these bills, I reiterate there is not one Republican Senator objecting to them. Bring them forward. Let's pass them now. If there are problems, I don't know what they are, why they would arise. They are on the Democrat side, not ours.

But that is not our problem. It shouldn't be an impediment for Senator Cornyn's bill or Senator Lankford's bill or Senator Gillibrand's bill or Senator King's bill that the Democrats can't get their act together, that, for some reason, they are not willing to support that legislation. This is unfortunate. We have got to fix it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the final passage of S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, which will now be sent to the President's desk.

This much-needed legislation was one of my priorities in coming to Congress. It will give our rural areas the support they need for their schools, and it brings much-needed certainty to rural communities and school districts that have depended on this program for generations.

The Secure Rural Schools program has been a lifeline for rural communities and school districts across America. Since 1908, the Federal law has required the U.S. Forest Service to share 25 percent of revenues from Federal forest lands with local government to support public education.

As timber revenues declined due to foolish Federal regulations and ill-sighted reduced timber harvests, Congress acted in 2000 to create the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, preserving vital funding for our most rural communities. When last reauthorized in 2023, this program delivered more than $281 million nationwide to help keep teachers, classrooms and students on schoolbuses.

I represent rural areas like the counties of Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, and Columbia, where school leaders tell me how essential these funds are to keep programs running. With this reauthorization, those communities finally have the stability they need to plan for the future.

This is not a partisan issue. It is a promise to rural America. By reauthorizing Secure Rural Schools and sending this bill to the President's desk, we are keeping faith with the communities that steward our national forests.

Honoring Ambassador Asif Chaudhry

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate one of the bright lights of eastern Washington. In my view, eastern Washington is truly the home of the American Dream. From the mountains of the Colville region to the rolling hills of the Palouse, our region embodies the values of opportunity, hard work, and perseverance that define America at its best.

This week's shining example of that spirit is my friend, Ambassador Asif Chaudhry. Born in Pakistan, U.S. Ambassador Asif Chaudhry earned his bachelor's degree there, followed by a master's degree from the American University of Beirut. We might say this is a unique and perhaps unusual path for an American Ambassador, but it represents what is possible with the American Dream.

After leaving the Middle East, like so many who have come to our Nation in search of a better future, he found his way to Pullman, Washington, and to Washington State University where he pursued his Ph.D.

From a small college town in eastern Washington, and then marrying into a local farm family, he decided to enter the U.S. Foreign Service after receiving his citizenship. He went on to serve our Nation with distinction in postings around the world including Cairo, Poland, and Russia. He later served as the United States Deputy Administrator to the Foreign Agricultural Service and rose to become the United States Ambassador to Moldova, dealing with complex issues in the former Soviet Union.

Throughout his career, he held key positions that advanced America's interests abroad with integrity and purpose in service of America's national security. When his diplomatic service abroad concluded, he returned home to Pullman, where he served as vice president of International Programs at Washington State University, preparing the next generation of global leaders and strengthening the bridge between our local communities and the world.

Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Chaudhry's life is a powerful testament to what the American Dream is all about. No matter where we begin, with hard work, dedication, love of the United States of America, and a commitment to the values of the United States of America, we can achieve extraordinary things.

His story reminds us the American Dream is not a relic of the past. It is alive and thriving in eastern Washington. We thank Ambassador Chaudhry for being a role model to all of us who believe America remains a land of limitless possibility.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, which will be considered under suspension of the rules this week. I urge its swift passage so it can be sent to the President's desk without delay.

For generations, the Secure Rural Schools program has been a lifeline for rural communities and school districts across America. Since 1908, Federal law has required the U.S. Forest Service to share 25 percent of revenues from Federal forest lands with local governments to support public education.

As timber revenues declined due to foolish Federal regulations and reduced harvests, Congress acted in 2000 to create the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, preserving vital funding for most rural counties. When last reauthorized in 2023, this program delivered more than $281 million nationwide to help keep teachers in classrooms and students on the bus.

I represent rural counties like Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, and Columbia Counties, where school leaders tell me how essential these funds are to keeping programs running.

This is not a partisan issue. It is a promise to rural America. Let's reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 and keep faith with the communities that steward our national forests.

Recognizing Environmental Stewardship in Our Forests

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the timber industry and the harvest of trees in our forests.

When I was growing up, my father was a forestry professor at Washington State University and my uncle was a smokejumper. I served in the U.S. Forest Service.

Years of fear and hesitation around commonsense tools like select timber harvest and controlled burns have left many of our forests dangerously overgrown and chronically undermanaged. We need to harvest more timber for the economic revenue it produces and for the reduced fire danger it creates.

Good environmental stewardship means empowering these professionals to be part of the solution and to help manage our Federal forest lands responsibly for today and generations to come.

Gray Wolf Population Reduction in Washington State

Mr. Speaker, with gray wolf populations reaching over 400 in Washington State and Oregon, I rise today to warn of the danger they continue to pose for hunters, farmers, and livestock.

Gray wolves can consume up to 7 pounds of meat a day. Their primary food sources include deer, elk, and cattle. In August 2025 alone, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that three calves were killed and two injured in just one 30-day period.

Folks in our region know why our grandparents worked so hard to control the gray wolf population. They understood that balance must be kept between wildlife preservation and the livelihoods of those who live and work the land.

With a significant number of these wolf packs now concentrated in northeastern Washington and with no signs of their growth slowing, Congress should take careful note of our ranchers' perspective. Their continued loss, emotional toll, and frustration caused by inconsistent State and Federal protections demand attention and action. A one-sided policy of unchecked expansion is not the answer.

Gray wolf populations have recovered. Now it is time to ask whether our current path reflects balance, fairness, and common sense for rural America. As everyone in rural America knows, particularly in Washington State, if there were wolves in Bainbridge Island or in the suburbs of Seattle, the wolf population in Washington State would be a little different.

Mr. Speaker, we need to bring common sense and balance back and reduce our wolf population in northeastern Washington.