"I am pleased that Oregon counties will receive an additional $9 million in O&C payments," DeFazio said. "$9 million isn’t a lot of money compared to what these counties received under the county payments program, but it will help maintain some sheriff’s patrols, jail beds, and other critical county services that are currently scheduled to be cut. It will help mitigate a small amount of the pain."

Under the O&C Act, counties in southern Oregon are entitled to 75% of the receipts generated from timber harvest on those lands. However, since the 1950s, the annual appropriations bills have reduced the county share by 25%. Yesterday, Chairman Dicks was successful in attaching a provision to the fiscal year 2009 Interior Appropriations Act to restore the county share to 75%. Given the pending expiration of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, commonly called the ‘county payments program,’ which has provided money to keep many Oregon counties afloat since 2000, Congressman DeFazio spearheaded efforts for a return to the statutory funding formula in the O&C Act. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this will bring in an additional $9 million for Oregon counties in Fiscal Year 2009.

"I will continue to work to extend the county payments program but this money represents some modest relief for counties preparing for devastating cuts," DeFazio continued."

Below is a summary of the additional funding counties in southwest Oregon will receive under the Dicks/DeFazio provision: