Climate Bill Signed Into Law & Retroactive Sequestration Cuts

Climate Bill Signed Into Law & Retroactive Sequestration Cuts

Climate Bill Signed Into Law & Retroactive Sequestration Cuts

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Governor Inslee’s Substitute Senate Bill 5802, which passed the House by a vote of 62-31, will be signed into law today. Under the bill a five member climate legislative work group will contract an objective independent consultant to evaluate both the state’s ongoing efforts to cut carbon emissions and similar endeavors elsewhere, then report back to the governor and legislative leaders. The bill’s supporters say that it will lead to recommendations that will help Washington reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

A bipartisan group of thirty Members of Congress have sent a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Budget Director Jeffrey Zients questioning the Obama Administration’s decision to retroactively subject Secure Rural Schools payments that were made to counties in January to the fiscal year 2013 sequester. Those payments were based on fiscal year 2012 revenues and would amount to $17.9 million in SRS and 25% fund payments already disbursed. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, one of those who signed the letter, talks about what this means for rural areas if the letter fails to bring about the desired effect.

HASTINGS: The Secure Rural Schools was designed to provide a bridge to other economic development in areas that relied on the forest industry - that hasn’t happened. These payments in many respects are the only major source of revenue for these counties that haven’t recovered because of no more timber harvest. It’s going to be painful.

Hastings also stated that they will be introducing legislation this month calling for more timber harvest on federal land, but while that would hopefully be a long term solution to the Secure Rural Schools issue, it will not help in the immediate if the SRS payments are subjected to retroactive sequestration cuts.

 

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network. 

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