James M. Jeffords: “I rise in strong support of S. 455, a bill to increase the Federal Government's payments in lieu of taxes, [PILT]…”

“I rise in strong support of S. 455, a bill to increase the Federal Government's payments in lieu of taxes, [PILT] program. These are funds sent to local communities to offset property taxes which would otherwise be paid by private landowners. I think it is high time we acted to bring the PILT payments closer to economic realities, and that is why I've long been a supporter of this concept as well as a cosponsor of this particular bill. As one who has consistently supported land acquisitions by the U.S. Forest Service in Vermont, I say to my colleagues that we cannot assume that the general population will continue to support such expenditures if the Federal Government is not willing to pay its fair share for local impacts of Federal ownership. We must raise the PILT to a more meaningful level, and, moreover, tie the PILT to the Consumer Price Index in order to account for annual inflation. This bill does both.”