(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA) applauded the announcement made by Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar
that counties would receive federal payments by June 29. The Department of
Interior makes payments to local counties due to loss of potential tax revenues
on federal lands, known as Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). This announcement
comes one week after Senator Murray joined 35 members of Congress from both
parties to send a letter to Secretary Salazar urging him to stop delaying
federal payments that counties depend on to pay workers and continue
operations. The letter
was in response to the Department’s announcement that they would be making
payments later than anticipated.
“I’m
very glad that Secretary Salazar was able to speed up payments to Washington
state counties,”
said Senator Murray. “County governments are facing tight budgets and
depend on these payments to pay their workers and continue daily operations.”
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