WASHINGTON — The $1.1 trillion deal struck by congressional negotiators Tuesday does not include funding for timber payments to rural counties under the Secure Rural Schools program, marking the first time Congress has not authorized the payments since the program’s inception.

Last year, Oregon received a total of $107 million in payments under the program, which Congress enacted in 2000 to compensate heavily forested counties whose local economies were devastated by federal limitations placed on logging on public land.

The large omnibus funding bill published Tuesday would largely fund the government through Sept. 30 of next year, thereby avoiding a government shutdown. One exception is the Department of Homeland Security, which would be given a few months of funding so that Republicans can try to limit the implementation of President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on immigration.

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation promised to work to reinstate Secure Rural Schools funding when the 114th Congress convenes next year.

“Rural Oregonians deserve better than to have politics put on hold this essential lifeline for funding roads, firefighters and schools,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a prepared statement. “I will not stop fighting for Oregon’s rural counties. I’ll be back at it when Congress returns in January.”

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, indicated that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other House GOP leaders had promised to consider extending the program during the first quarter of 2015, and that a federal forest policy reform bill would also be a priority.

“I have worked hard with (fellow Oregon) Reps. Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader on a bipartisan bill to reform federal forest policy,” Walden said in a prepared statement. “The House has twice passed the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, a bipartisan plan to grow jobs in the woods, improve forest health, and provide funding for important local services like schools and roads. It’s unfortunate that Senate Democratic leaders failed to act on this bill or any meaningful reforms to forest policy that would have opened up discussions for a compromise.”

Martina McLennan, a spokeswoman for Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said the Secure Rural Schools program is an essential lifeline for much of rural Oregon.

“Senator Merkley is stunned that Republican leaders in Congress might think it is a good idea to eliminate this program, particularly at a time when so many communities are already struggling,” she said. “Senator Merkley has let leaders from both sides know that letting SRS expire would be devastating and wrong, and he will continue to fight for this critical funding.”

Last year, Deschutes County received $1.8 million, roughly the same amount as it did in 2012, according to U.S. Forest Service figures. Crook County received $1.67 million, down from $1.74 million in 2012, and Jefferson County’s intake dropped from $570,000 to $521,000.

The payments, designed to decrease over time, were meant to help portions of local budgets normally supported by the tax base, including spending on schools and roads, until the region could develop an economy that is not timber-based.

Each time it extends the payments, Congress struggles to find a revenue source. Last year’s funding came from the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act, which aims to gradually move the U.S. out of the helium business and sell its helium reserves.

Walden praised the inclusion of funding for Payments in Lieu of Taxes, commonly referred to as PILT. These payments compensate counties for the lost tax revenues from the undevelopable federal land within their borders.

Last year, the government made $436 million in PILT payments, up from $399 million in fiscal year 2013.

Central Oregon’s 2014 PILT payments totaled $1,971,540 for Deschutes County, $653,487 for Crook County and $331,861 for Jefferson County.

Together with $70 million allocated to PILT in the military funding bill currently pending in the Senate, funding for PILT will total $442 million, a slight increase from 2014 totals.

— Reporter: 202-662-7456, aclevenger@bendbulletin.com