Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said during a recent virtual town hall that he and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo continue to push a proposal to provide consistency and certainty to counties receiving Rural Schools Secure Act payments. Wyden says that counties with federal forest lands that receive the payments need a more predictable funding process for the payments, and he and Crapo are pushing for an endowment-type fund to do it. Wyden says an independent board would invest the allocated funds to bring larger yields. Wyden says the Northwest is well positioned on the Senate Finance Committee to get that, with himself and Crapo both in high-ranking positions.