November 28, 2007 - PORTLAND, Ore. -
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “all but brushed off” yesterday the question of funding the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (county payments), according to today’s Oregonian. The full excerpt:
 
‘Pelosi all but brushed off the question on timber payments. Oregon's congressional delegation has been pushing to keep federal payments to counties that used to receive millions of dollars from logging on national forests.
 
‘That program expired, although Congress passed a one-year extension this year.
 
‘"Where we go from here is to see how to phase this system out" over the next few years, Pelosi said Tuesday.’
 
Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) released the following statement in response:
 
“In two weeks, the final checks will be sent to America’s rural counties, and after that the pink slips will be sent to county employees, law enforcement, and teachers. I am disappointed that the Speaker came to Oregon not with a solution for honoring the federal government’s commitment to forested communities, but with the notion that it is time for the program to end. This is just another example of this Congress’ dysfunctional nature, and it is time that the Congress, led by Speaker Pelosi, find a way to support rural America. Time has run out.”
 
Congressman Greg Walden represents the Oregon’s Second Congressional District, which is comprised of 20 counties in eastern, southern, and Central Oregon. He is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and a member of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.