A measure to renew critical funding for rural counties and schools, including many in Oregon and far Northern California, has won bipartisan approval in Congress.
The Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act now heads to President Donald Trump.
OPB reporter April Ehrlich wrote about the importance of the federal money:
"For many rural counties with huge swaths of untaxable federal land in the Northwest, the bill will renew funding they’ve come to rely on to pay for sheriff’s departments and other essential needs. It also helps school budgets.
When Republicans omitted Secure Rural Schools funding from the federal spending bill they approved earlier this year, leaders of Klamath, Curry and other rural counties feared they could face local budget crises."
- April Ehrlich, land and environmental policies reporter, OPB
