Despite lobbying efforts of the effected, mainly rural counties,, the House of Representatives has not yet taken action on the extension and until it does, the stability of the funding remains uncertain. The act is currently being reviewed by the House Natural Resources Committee and is expected to come up for a full house vote by the end of the year. Although the extension has already been approved by the Senate, it must also be approved by the House for the funding to begin. Rural county representatives last year successfully lobbied for a one-year extension of the funding, but that expires in December. More than 200 representatives from rural counties across the nation lobbied at Capitol Hill this week.

In California, 38 out 58 counties in the state have been depending on these dollars and will experience adverse consequences if the bill is not renewed.  The 2000 law was passed after the forest timber harvests and payment associated with them declined. Before then, counties received 25 percent of all U.S. Forest Service timber receipts taken from harvests within their boundaries. Because the federal government does not pay taxes on the forest land it owns in rural regions the act is suppose to give back to the counties funds for "owning land in their backyards."