Political Quotes

“I am pleased today to voice my strong support for S. 455, the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act. I am a cosponsor of this bill, and I believe that S. 455 is a bill which restores some fundamental fairness to local governments by increasing payments in lieu of taxes by the Federal Government. Most Idaho counties are directly affected by Federal lands within their boundaries. In the State of Idaho, the Federal Government owns 63.7 percent of all land. The total land ownership of the Federal Government in Idaho is greater than the total combined area of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Or in other words, the Federal Government owns a total land mass in Idaho equivalent to the total land mass of the State of Alabama. In just one county in Idaho, Butte County, of the total 1,431,322 acres in that county the Federal Government owns 85.2 percent of the land. According to the census, Butte County has a per capita income in 1989 dollars of $10,257. This is a county that had 6.9-percent unemployment in 1993; 10 percent of all families live below the poverty level. It has a population of just 3,100 people. The Federal Government owns 85 percent of the taxable property base of this county, yet payments in lieu of taxes [PILT] to Butte County make up only 7 percent of the county budget. Butte County finances road improvements and other critical services, which aid and benefit the Federal ownership.”