Darlene Hooley: “Well, this is a program that has worked well over the last 6 years. It has helped bridge that budget gap created due to…”

“Well, this is a program that has worked well over the last 6 years. It has helped bridge that budget gap created due to the lack of timber harvested from our forest. And, again, I want to remind people this is distributed to over 42 States; 4,400 rural school districts receive funding. If we want to support our rural communities, if we want to make sure that we have roads to drive on, if we believe law enforcement is important to every part of our State, then we have to figure out how to solve this problem. And I thank you and Representative DeFazio for all the work that you have done. But we have a full blown crisis on our hands. That is what this is. This is a crisis. And it will take support from our colleagues from both sides of the aisle to help our rural communities that are, frankly, in dire straits. This is not just a little problem. This is a great big huge problem for our rural communities. So I would urge my friends to join us in our effort to reauthorize this program and pass a 1-year extension to give us a chance to work through these difficult issues.”