In a huge win for counties, the U.S. Senate passed and President Obama signed into law H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, more commonly referred to as the “Doc Fix”. The California Congressional Delegation Roll Call Vote can be accessed here. Although the primary purpose of the Doc Fix bill is to restructure Medicare reimbursements, the measure also includes provisions that provide a two-year extension to the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act (SRS) and an extension of the current payment rate scheme for ambulance services in rural areas when transporting Medicare recipients. SRS provides critical funding to local governments and school districts to mitigate the reduction of timber harvesting production authorized on federal forest lands. The SRS extension is estimated to provide California counties and school districts approximately $27.3 million in 2014 and $25.9 million in 2015.
In light of the two-year reauthorization of the SRS program, RCRC will now shift our federal advocacy efforts to focus on long-term reauthorization of the Federal Payment In-Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. Prior to the 113th Congress adjourning last December, Congress authorized $450 million in short-term funding to counties under the Federal PILT program for 2015. RCRC will advocate for Congress to enact a multi-year reauthorization of Federal PILT before the end of the federal government’s fiscal year on September 30th. RCRC will also be advocating for long-term forestry reform. It is expected that later in the year the House of Representatives will consider a comprehensive forestry reform measure that could act as a replacement for SRS.
Earlier this year, RCRC initiated a multi-pronged advocacy and media strategy, which included passage of local county resolutions urging Congress to pass long-term extensions of both the SRS and Federal PILT programs. To date, 27 rural counties have adopted SRS Resolutions and 28 rural counties have adopted federal PILT Resolutions. RCRC’s press release on the two-year reauthorization can be accessed here.