BOISE, Idaho – Today US Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), US Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) And a bipartisan group of their colleagues pushed US Senators Patrick Leahy (D -Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Funds Committee; and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Funds Committee, to fully fund the Tax Payments Program (PILT) for fiscal (FY.) 2022. PILT makes payments to districts with non-taxable federal states within their borders in order to compensate for the lost property tax income.
"Without full funding for the PILT program, counties across the country will not be able to provide essential services such as law enforcement, education, search and rescue, road maintenance and public health to their residents and millions of visitors to our public land," wrote the senators . "We look forward to working with you in the future to develop a financially responsible, long-term solution to fully fund PILT and remove the uncertainty that counties face every year. With counties across the country working tightly to manage the budget cuts exacerbated by the pandemic, full funding and a long-term solution is essential for PILT to reassure the federal government that it continues its longstanding commitment to counties with public land . "
The PILT funding is critical for communities in Idaho and across the country that use the funds for essential services such as infrastructure maintenance and law enforcement. Across the country, PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties in 49 states. The counties have been using these payments to fund law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency response, and other vital county services for more than 40 years.
Other signatories of the letter are US Senators Joe Manchin (DW. Virginia), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Steve Daines (R-Mont. ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Kevin Cramer (RN.D.), Maggie Hassan (DN.H.), Mike Rounds (RS.D.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz. ), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mazie Hirono (D -Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luján (DN.M.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) And Martin Heinrich (DN .M.).
The text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear Chair Leahy and Vice Chair Shelby:
As congressmen who represent counties with public states within their borders, we ask you in writing to campaign to ensure that the Pay Instead of Tax (PILT) program is fully funded in fiscal year (FY) 2022.
PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties in 49 states to offset lost property tax revenues due to the existence of tax-exempt states within their jurisdictions. It supports the many critical services that counties provide on federal public land. Without the full funding of the PILT program, counties across the country will not be able to provide essential services such as law enforcement, education, search and rescue, road maintenance and public health to their residents and millions of visitors to our public land.
In the future, we look forward to working with you to develop a financially responsible, long-term solution to fully fund PILT and remove the uncertainty that counties face every year. With counties across the country working tightly to manage the budget cuts exacerbated by the pandemic, full funding and a long-term solution is essential for PILT to reassure the federal government that it continues its longstanding commitment to counties with public land .
We look forward to working with you and other convention leaders to resolve this pressing issue for our communities by fully funding PILT in FY2022 and ensuring long-term, predictable funding for this important program.
With best regards,
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