Dear Director Matthews Burwell:

In March 2013, the Forest Service ("Service") began demanding states return $17.9 million they had received - and in many cases already spent - under the Secure Rural Schools Program ("SRS"). Congress has authorized this money to help pay for schools and services in areas where environmental lawsuits and federal government mismanagement have reduced proceeds from timber harvests on federal lands in rural communities. 

Under this program, payments are required to be made as soon as practicable after the end of the fiscal year. In July 2012, Congress approved the most recent SRS payments, which were distributed to the states in January 2013. However, two months after the payments were made, the Administration concluded that a percentage must be resulted in order to account for budget shortfalls from sequestration and that failure to do so would result in penalties.

Read the entire letter HERE.