Shaheen, Hassan Call for Full Funding for the PILT Program

PILT Provides Counties and Local Governments with Critical Funding for Essential Services 

(Washington, DC)  – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in urging Senate Appropriations Committee leadership to fully fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for fiscal year (FY) 2022. PILT provides payments to counties with non-taxable federal land within their borders to offset lost property tax revenue. 

“Without full funding for the PILT program, counties across the nation will be unable 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 lands,” wrote the Senators. “Moving forward, we look forward to working with you to enact a fiscally responsible, long-term solution to fully fund PILT and eliminate the uncertainty that counties face each year. As cash strapped counties across the country work to address budget cuts exacerbated by the pandemic, full-funding and a long-term solution for PILT is essential to provide certainty that the federal government will continue to uphold its long-standing commitment to public lands counties.”

PILT funding is critical for communities in New Hampshire and across the country that use these funds for essential services like infrastructure maintenance and law enforcement. Across the country, PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties across 49 states. As communities continue to rebuild in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, these funds are needed now more than ever.

In addition to Shaheen, Hassan, Bennet and Crapo, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), James Risch (R-ID), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), James Inhofe (R-OK), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

The text of the letter is available HERE.