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Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Plans to Sell Millions of Acres of Federal Land Dropped
A Republican plan to sell millions of acres of federal land has been withdrawn from President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act after it drew significant opposition from both sides of the political aisle. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, preemptively pulled his provision from the tax and spending bill on Saturday. This means that efforts to mandate federal land sales for development and housing have been dropped from the bill. The move followed days of backlash from the public and lawmakers as well as warnings of rule violations from the Senate parliamentarian. Newsweek has contacted Lee for comment via email outside regular working hours. The U.S. government manages about 28 percent of the nation's land, much of which is concentrated in Western states. Those in support of the sale of federal land, including Trump, framed the provision as a means to generate revenue and ease the housing shortage. However, conservation organizations, Republican lawmakers and residents argued that the plan risked environmental harm without solving affordability concerns. The rift showed the struggle within the GOP over balancing property rights, local control and land stewardship. Lee's proposal would have allowed the sale of 2 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) over the next five years. The goal, Lee previously said on social media, was to promote affordable housing development and give land back to American families. However, critics of the proposal raised concerns that the land could be sold to the highest bidder or to foreign governments rather than be given to local and rural communities. After the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the provision violated regulations governing reconciliation bills, Lee revised the legislation so that fewer acres of BLM-managed land would be sold and no USFS-managed land would be sold. Despite making these changes and others, he withdrew the proposal entirely over the weekend. Lee said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday: "Over the past several weeks, I've spent a lot of time listening to members of the community, local leaders, and stakeholders across the country. While there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation—and in some cases, outright lies—about my bill, many people brought forward sincere concerns." In a previous comment, he said he wanted the land to be sold to the American people, "not foreign governments, not the Chinese Communist Party, and not massive corporations looking to pad their portfolios." He added in his statement on Saturday that the reason he withdrew the proposal from the bill was because of the "constraints of the budget reconciliation process," which meant that he was "unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families—not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests." The proposal faced criticism from environmental groups and public land advocates, who warned it could open up as many as 250 million acres for eventual sale that would harm wildlife and recreation access. A number of Republican senators also spoke out against the legislation, including Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana and Jim Risch of Idaho. Senator Mike Lee of Utah said in a statement posted on X: "I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land—land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation. Under Democratic presidents, massive swaths of the West are being locked away from the people who live there, with no meaningful recourse. That has real consequences for Utahns—from raising taxes for schools and funding local search-and-rescue operations, to being able to build homes and sustain rural communities." Senator Steve Daines of Montana wrote on X: "I always have and always will be against the sale of public lands. @TimSheehyMT & I worked together to block this provision from being included in the Senate reconciliation bill and I will always fight for our MT outdoor way of life." Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana wrote on X: "The entire Montana delegation has been united on this since Day One: public lands belong in public hands." Senator Jim Risch of Idaho wrote on X: "Senator Lee has withdrawn the sale of public lands provision. The people of Idaho have been clear—we do NOT support the sale of our public lands to the highest bidder. I am proud to help lead the effort to remove this provision from the One Big Beautiful Bill." Senate Republicans continue working to send Trump's legislative agenda to his desk ahead of the July 4 deadline. While the land sale proposal is off the table for now, Lee has indicated that he intends to advocate for changes in federal land management in future legislation. Related Articles Plan To Sell 250 Million Acres of Public Land Suffers Major SetbackFlorida Adding New Criminal Penalty for Dangerous Speeding From July 1Does the US Fund the Taliban? What We Know as House Passes BillMissouri Proposes Property Tax Changes: What To Know 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
25-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Plan To Sell 250 Million Acres of Public Land Suffers Major Setback
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The proposal to sell millions of acres of federal land has been voted out of the GOP's tax and spending bill on the basis it could go against the chamber's rules. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Mike Lee had pushed for the sale of more than 2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land over the next five years as a way of generating federal income to help cover sweeping tax cuts. However, the plan was met with opposition by some in the Senate during their deliberations of President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." Newsweek has contacted Lee outside regular hours via email for comment. Chairman Mike Lee during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in the Dirksen building on June 18, 2025, in Washington. Chairman Mike Lee during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in the Dirksen building on June 18, 2025, in Washington. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Why It Matters The U.S. government controls about 28 percent of all the land in the country. Selling federal land to provide more affordable housing for Americans is something Trump has advocating for, but conservation advocacy groups have criticized such plans, arguing that little of the federal land for sale is suitable for housing. There is also concern among conversation groups about what the sale of federal land means for wildlife and its habitat in those areas—a concern that could become more pressing now that the Trump administration has said it will rescind a 2001 rule that prevented logging on national forest lands. What To Know Despite the proposal being struck off the bill, which would have seen millions of acres of land sold across 11 Western states, Lee has made it clear he will not yet accept defeat, that he was "just getting started." In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday night, he wrote: "Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up. We need to change that." Lee said that going forward, he would significantly reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill to include only land that is within 5 miles of population centers. He said he would establish "freedom zones to ensure these lands benefit American families." He also wrote that farmers, ranchers and recreational users come first and promised to protect them. "Yes, the Byrd Rule limits what can go in the reconciliation bill, but I'm doing everything I can to support President Trump and move this forward," he said. While Lee has been planning his next moves to push his proposal forward, conservation groups have been celebrating the Senate's decision. "This is a victory for the American public, who were loud and clear: Public lands belong in public hands, for current and future generations alike,'' said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society. "Our public lands are not for sale." Meanwhile, Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, said the ruling was "an important victory in the fight to protect America's public lands from short-sighted proposals that would have undermined decades of bipartisan work to protect, steward and expand access to the places we all share." What People Are Saying Patrick Parenteau, a professor of law and senior fellow for climate policy at Vermont Law and Graduate School, told Newsweek: "The Senate Parliamentarian ruled the proposal out of order, but the Senate has not yet voted on the Reconciliation bill. Senator Lee said he intends to revise the proposal to exclude Forest Service lands and narrow the scope for BLM lands and give local communities more say. That might not be enough to satisfy the parliamentarian. "The repeal of the Roadless Rule would open 58 million acres of Forest Service land to logging, mining and oil and gas development. These are remote areas that would be very expensive to develop. Repealing the rule requires compliance with several federal laws and will be challenged in court. These roadless areas have a lot of bipartisan political support among outdoor recreationists and local communities. I predict a ferocious fight to preserve them." Senator Mike Lee, on X on Tuesday: "I'm still listening. I'm working closely with the Trump administration to ensure that any federal land sales serve the American people—not foreign governments, not the Chinese Communist Party, and not massive corporations looking to pad their portfolios. This land must go to American families. Period." Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee: "Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of [budget] reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires." Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat: [My constituents] "don't want these lands to be luxury resorts or golf courses." What Happens Next The Senate will continue to deliberate over the bill and proposals until the self-imposed deadline of July 4. This story contains reporting from the Associated Press.
Business Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Millions of acres of public land sales slated for US tax Bill
[WASHINGTON] The sale of millions of acres of federal land would provide billions of dollars to help pay for President Donald Trump's massive package of tax cuts and spending in the Senate's version of the Bill released on Wednesday (Jun 11) night. As much as around 1.2 million hectares of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service would be mandated for sale in the legislation. The measure, requiring each agency to sell a small percentage of the hundreds of millions of acres of land they manage in eligible states that include Alaska as well as western states, could raise as much as US$10 billion over 10 years, according to a fact sheet. The plan is part of a broader effort to generate as much as US$29 billion through a combination of expanded oil, gas, coal and geothermal lease sales, and new timber sales made public in the legislation unveiled by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Similar energy requirements, included new energy lease sales in the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, were included in the House version of the bill, which passed by a one-vote margin last month. The sale of public lands to help pay for the legislation has been a political lightning rod. A plan to sell about 500,000 acres of federal land in Utah and Nevada was stripped by the House version of the Bill amid opposition from Republicans such as Montana Representative Ryan Zinke. The concept of public land sales has also enraged environmental and conservation groups, who say the proposal threatens wildlife as well as access to lands for outdoor recreation, hunters and fisherman. 'It's a travesty that Senate Republicans are putting more than 3 million acres of our beloved public lands on the chopping block to sell at fire-sale prices to build mega mansions for the ultra-rich,' said Patrick Donnelly, a director at the Center for Biological Diversity. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Republicans have said the sales are needed to provide cheap land to help address a housing crisis, and to help western states, where the government owns large swaths of federal land, to restore the areas to economic production and associated tax revenue. 'This proposal allows a fraction of 1 per cent of federal land to be used to build houses,' the Senate energy committee said in the fact sheet. 'In doing so, it will create thousands of jobs, allow millions of Americans to realise the American dream, and reduce the deficit and fund our public lands.' The Senate bill aligns with a Trump administration plan to identify areas of 'underutilised' land suitable for development. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday the agency had identified some 250,000 acres near cities where development could lower the cost of housing. But New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich, the panel's top Democrat, said the idea was deeply unpopular in the West with 'animosity that runs the entire political spectrum.' 'These are places that belong to all of us,' Heinrich said in an interview Thursday. 'Once this stuff gets sold off to developers, we'll never get it back. It will be behind a no trespassing sign.' BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Proposal Would Sell Off Millions of Acres of U.S. Public Lands
A new proposal being pushed by Republicans calls for the sale of millions of acres of public land after deeming them "eligible for disposal." Specifically, the Republican majority on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is proposing that the U.S. government sell up to 3 million acres of public land. Why? The committee deduces that, by selling these millions of acres, revenue directed to the U.S. Treasury would help to hit revenue goals in the federal budget. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the committee, on Wednesday released the 69-page draft bill, which lists Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land in most Western states as "eligible for disposal." Those states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. And, as first reported by Outdoor Life, Montana is conspicuously absent from the list of states possibly affected if the bill passes. The outlet reports that Montana's Congressional delegation has been vocal in their opposition to land sales or transfers. The bill's language calls for the "disposal not less than .50 percent and not more than 0.75 percent of National Forest System land, and shall dispose of all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to those tracts selected for disposal." The bill claims that selling off the public lands "would address local housing needs (including housing supply and affordability) or any associated community needs."Federally protected lands, such as national parks and national monuments, are safe from the sale. But as Outdoor Life reports, a sale of this magnitude would be "by far the biggest proposed federal land sale in modern U.S. history." The outlet also reports that Republican leadership stripped the land-sale provision from the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" before kicking it up to the Senate, where Republicans have a wider majority versus a slim majority in the House. The bill, even if passed, would face a significant uphill battle, given that the bill's language also calls for the Secretary of the Interior to "consult with the Governor of the State in which the nominated tract is located regarding the suitability of the area for residential development; each applicable unit of local government; and each applicable Indian Tribe." In an effort to calm the waters among avid hunters and fishermen who have long opposed the sale of public lands, Lee shared video assuring the conservation community that they will not be affected. 'To our hunters, anglers, and sportsmen, you will not lose access to the lands you love," he said in the video. "Washington has proven it can't manage this land. This bill puts it in better hands.' New Proposal Would Sell Off Millions of Acres of U.S. Public Lands first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2025
E&E News
12-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
New megabill text revives land sales, axes IRA funding
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's portion of Republicans' party-line bill proposes to sell off certain public lands and repeal billions of dollars for energy programs in Democrats' 2022 climate law. The committee's proposal, unveiled Wednesday evening, contains many of the provisions in the House-passed H.R. 1, the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act' — including ones that would target the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office or charge a one-time fee to speed up permitting for some natural gas projects. But there are some significant differences. Most notable is a new section favored by Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) to revive the sale of public lands, reigniting a firestorm of opposition from advocates. The provision goes further than an abandoned proposal in the House, encompassing Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands across 11 Western states. Advertisement ENR's text comes as the Senate is racing to tweak and quickly vote on tax, energy and national security legislation after the House approved its version last month. Republicans are working through the reconciliation process, which will allow them to skirt the Senate filibuster and pass the budget-focused bill with simple majorities.
