Words vs. dollars

The Interior Department this week announced nearly half a billion dollars in subsidies for local government services on federally owned land, the largest share of which went to California. The department noted that the $465 million distribution is “the largest amount ever allocated in the program’s 40-year history” and “continues to underscore the Trump administration’s commitment to rural communities.” “These investments,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke went on, “are one of the ways the federal government is fulfilling its role of being a good land manager and good neighbor to local communities.”

Oddly enough given that fanfare, President Trump is at the same time suggesting a steep reduction in the very same funding, known as payments in lieu of taxes, or PILT. His proposed budget for the coming fiscal year would reduce what Zinke called “important” and “critical support” by $68 million, a nearly 15 percent cut.

Meant to reimburse local officials for law enforcement and other services on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service and other federal agencies, the payments are most significant to Western states and counties. More than 10 percent of this year’s funding is going to California, particularly counties in its far north, southeast and the Sierra Nevada. A substantial decrease in PILT funding would be most painful in the largely rural counties that tend to support Trump.

Given Congress’ power over fiscal matters, the president’s proposed budget is largely a political statement. The trouble is that it directly contradicts the statements of his interior secretary.