Oregon Public Broadcasting

All seven members of Oregon's congressional delegation are urging the Obama Administration to abandon its plans to delay sending federal funds to rural counties.

The seven made their plea along with 28 other members of congress in a letter to Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. David Nogueras has more.

Each year the Federal Government makes payments to local governments to make up for lost property taxes on nontaxable Federal lands.

In the past, the payments were made by June 30th, just in time for the start of most counties' fiscal years.

Last Friday, the Department of the Interior announced it would delay this year's payments because of late reporting by some counties as well as the complexity of the calculations.

John Elliott is a commissioner in Klamath Country.

John Elliott: "Things happen.  So you deal with it, manage it and move on.  But it would be nice if our Federal partners realized that their decisions and actions do have ripple effects."