Federal lands sell-off mandate removed from reconciliation bill
Aug. 4
A controversial mandate to sell off millions of acres of federal lands was removed from the reconciliation budget bill, though its supporters are pushing to keep it alive.
Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, proposed inserting the land sale into Republicans’ massive budget package. He did remove it, but vowed to bring it back. The measure would have required the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S.
Forest Service to sell 2-3 million acres of public land over the next five years, according to analysis by researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The land would have been restricted for housing and housing-related infrastructure, but the measure did not specify that the housing would need to be affordable. While the federal government would have had to consult with state and local governments, it included no official process of public participation.
Sandy Bahr, Director at the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter joined “Arizona Horizon” to explain more on the mandate itself and why it should remain on the budget bill.
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