Nick Rahall: “I rise in support of H.R. 3058, the Public Land Communities Transition Assistance Act. As the chairman of the Committee…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3058, the Public Land Communities Transition Assistance Act. As the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, I do want to express my deep appreciation to the gentleman from Oregon, Peter DeFazio, for his strongly tenacious efforts and determined determination on behalf of this legislation. He has more than adequately explained the bill. My purpose is to stress the urgency of this body acting on the legislation. This legislation, commonly referred to as the ``county payments bill,'' was enacted in 2000 to provide stability in revenue sharing payments made to the States and counties containing Federal forest lands. This funding has been extremely important, critically so in many cases, in assisting schools and communities in rural counties across the country, including my home State of West Virginia. Yet the Congress has failed to reauthorize the program. This Congress, with a Democratic majority, is attempting to pick up the pieces of a program that was looking at being eliminated square in the eye. Last year we managed to pass a 1-year extension of county payments, but that is due to expire at the end of this month. So I cannot stress enough the urgency of today's vote. Critical funding for schools and county services across the country will evaporate if we do not act today.”