Congressman Pete Stauber Applauds Passage of Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) supported S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, when it passed on the House Floor. The legislation, which is now headed to the President’s desk for signature, reauthorizes the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, ensuring critical funding reaches rural schools and communities across Minnesota’s Eighth District. Congressman Stauber issued the following statement regarding the passage of the bill:
"For over a century, the federal government has made a commitment to rural communities: to share the revenues generated from responsible natural resource development, like mining and timber harvesting, on National Forest System land," said Congressman Stauber. "Unfortunately, thanks to our broken permitting system and endless lawsuits brought by activists seeking to lock up our public lands, this responsible development has declined in recent decades, and subsequently, the payments to our rural counties. The Secure Rural Schools program helps bridge the gap, and this reauthorization is a massive win for Northern Minnesota, ensuring that many of our rural counties continue to receive the resources they need to maintain roads, support our schools, and fund essential services. I was proud to champion this legislation to give our rural communities the certainty and stability they deserve, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law."
Background on Secure Rural Schools (SRS):
The SRS program provides critical funding to rural schools and counties that house large areas of tax-exempt national forests and federal lands. Because these lands cannot be taxed locally, SRS delivers payments generated from leasing and resource management activities within the Forest Service back to the county governments where those forests are located.
Originally signed into law in 2000, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was created to stabilize payments to rural counties impacted by declining timber sales and federal revenue sharing that had existed since 1908. For years, rural communities in Minnesota’s Eighth District have utilized these funds to update and maintain school facilities, provide quality supplies for students, and invest in vital conservation and infrastructure projects.
The reauthorization will secure payments for counties across Minnesota, including Beltrami, Cass, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties, protecting them from budget shortfalls caused by the fluctuating nature of federal land revenues. In 2024, the SRS program provided nearly $7 million in payments to counties across Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District.
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