On the House Floor
This week, the House was adjourned for the Memorial Day District Work Period. The House will reconvene on Tuesday, June 5, 2007.
Rural Schools Funded - For Now
Last Thursday, I voted to pass out of the House of Representatives $425 million in funding for schools and roads in rural counties across America. The provision was part of the emergency supplemental appropriations bill signed into law by President Bush on Friday. This one-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self Determination Act will direct approximately $23 million this year to communities in the Fourth Congressional District to keep teachers in the classroom and road maintenance on schedule. Making good on the federal government’s commitment to students in Northeastern California has been my single highest priority this year. Securing this funding is a huge relief for the school administrators struggling to make ends meet.
Beginning in 1908, 25 percent of all revenues generated from the multiple-use management of our national forests were shared with the local counties to support public schools and roads. This compensated rural counties for lost economic development opportunities and ensured that children in such areas could receive a quality education. However, the dramatic decline in timber sales on national forests during the late 1980s and 1990s created a fiscal crisis for rural communities. The enactment of the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self Determination Act in 2000 restored much-needed funding stability to rural communities until the law lapsed at the end of 2006. I am working diligently with other Members of Congress from the West to guarantee funding on a long-term basis. Massive teacher layoffs have already impacted our rural school districts due to the delay in passing this needed law. We can’t afford to go through this again. That is why I have co-sponsored legislation that would stabilize funding through 2011. Furthermore, I am currently formulating a proposal for a permanent funding fix.
A Look Inside the District
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure to hold town halls in the northern part of my district in the towns of Alturas in Modoc County and Loyalton in Sierra County. I also had an excellent visit with a fine group of 7th and 8th graders at the Janesville Middle School in Janesville. All three meetings proved to be very positive experiences.
Maintenance of healthy forests, cost-of-living increases, especially in regards to rising gas prices, and concern over the recent Senate passage of what equates to an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants were top concerns at the town halls. In Alturas, I called for a show of hands on how many individuals supported the recent Senate bill, not one single hand went up. When I asked how many opposed it, the entire room raised their hands. This was telling.
In all, it was a very pleasant and informative trip. The town halls were the eleventh and twelfth since I began a concentrated effort to re-connect with my district. The trip also effectively concluded my goal to hold a town hall in every county of my vast district, which contains nine counties and spans from Orangevale to the Oregon border.
Quote of the Week
“For seven generations, we have carried our fallen to these fields. Here rest some 360,000 Americans who died fighting to preserve the Union and end slavery. Here rest some 500,000 Americans who perished in two world wars to conquer tyrannies and build free nations from their ruins. Here rest some 90,000 Americans who gave their lives to confront Communist aggression… Now this hallowed ground receives a new generation of heroes – men and women who gave their lives in places such as Kabul and Kandahar, Baghdad and Ramadi. Like those who came before them, they did not want war – but they answered the call when it came. They believed in something larger than themselves. They fought for our country, and our country unites to mourn them as one.” – President George W. Bush speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, May 28, 2007.
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