Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that 22 New Mexico counties will share more than $11 million this year to fund schools, roads, National Forest restoration projects, search and rescue, and other eligible county programs.

The funding comes through the Department of Agriculture's Secure Rural Schools Program, which provides assistance to rural counties that rely economically on national forest lands.

"This federal funding has been essential in supporting New Mexico communities, particularly during the past few years of our country's economic downturn," Bingaman said.

Bingaman led the congressional effort to reauthorize the program in 2008, including a change to the distribution of program funds that dramatically increased the benefits of the program to New Mexico counties.  Bingaman is once again leading the effort to extend the life of the Secure Rural Schools program.  Bingaman's proposal would also fully-fund the payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for an additional five years.  PILT compensates counties for federal land that cannot be a source of property taxes.

Counties received the following payments through the Secure Rural Schools initiative:

• Bernalillo: $60,274.21
• Catron: $3,442,578.53
• Chaves: $48,584.25
• Cibola: $469,940.75
• Colfax: $69,596.39
• Eddy: $96,886.04
• Grant: $975,325.92
• Hidalgo: $99,441.11
• Lincoln: $456,137.25
• Los Alamos: $9,430.99
• McKinley: $355,714.33
• Mora: $178,541.91
• Otero: $785,969.12
• Rio Arriba: $1,910,888.28
• Sandoval: $343,023.09
• San Miguel: $375,762.62
• Santa Fe : $150,620.00
• Sierra: $461,578.25
• Socorro: $795,694.60
• Taos: $529,980.63
• Torrance: $187,468.04
• Valencia: $20,154.76
• NM Total: $11,823,591.07