WASHINGTON — The Bush administration’s point man on forest policy declined Tuesday to endorse extension of a law that has pumped billions of dollars into rural counties hurt by logging cutbacks on federal land.

The so-called county payments law is working as intended, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey told a Senate committee. It was meant to help offset sharp declines in timber sales since the late 1980s, due in part to changes in federal forest policy that restricted logging to protect endangered species such as the northern spotted owl.

But "it’s a very difficult budget environment right now," Rey said, pointedly not asking the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to reauthorize the law for another seven years. It is set to expire next year.

A bill before the committee would authorize up to $350 million a year in direct aid to nearly 700 counties in 40 states, or $2.5 billion over seven years.

Western lawmakers who hope to renew the law say they need the administration’s support — and a commitment to full funding — to ensure the law succeeds.

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"This bill is essentially the lifeblood for thousands of rural counties across the country that are hurting," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

The county payments law, adopted in 2000, has pumped nearly $2 billion into Oregon and other timber-dependent states for schools, roads and other purposes. A total of 615 counties in 39 states have received money under the law, although Oregon has received by far the biggest share.

Oregon received a total of $273 million last year, far surpassing the $67 million given to No. 2 California. Washington state was next with $45 million, followed by Idaho with nearly $24 million and Montana with $14 million.

Jackson County receives the third highest amount of timber money of the 32 counties in Oregon that are eligible, $24 million in 2004. Douglas and Lane counties each receive in excess of $50 million annually.

Wyden, who co-sponsored the original bill, called the law "nothing less than a revolution in resource-dependent communities." His Oregon colleague, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, called renewal of the law critical to the state’s economic health. "The fact is, without this safety net being extended, Oregon will be an economic dust bowl, and we can’t let that happen," Smith said.

On the Net:Bills are H.R. 517 and S. 267: http://thomas.loc.gov/