Latest news with #SenateEnergyandNaturalResourcesCommittee
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.
Washington Post
12-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Senate GOP plan would sell millions of acres of Western public land
Senate Republicans have proposed selling off up to 3.3 million acres of federally owned land in 11 Western states, according to a draft legislative text offered as part of their spending and tax cut bill, prompting an outcry from conservationists and Democratic lawmakers. According to a budget blueprint released Wednesday evening by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the federal government would be required to sell off between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service over the next five years. The proposal stipulates that the sold land will have to be used to develop housing or 'community development needs,' which it said could be defined by the secretaries of the Interior or Agriculture departments. The 11 states that would be affected by the proposal are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement Wednesday that the draft legislative text would turn 'federal liabilities into taxpayer value, while making housing more affordable for hardworking American families.' Current law allows BLM to sell off land in some instances, such as in a specific ring around Las Vegas, at a discount if it's developed for affordable housing. But the push to scale up these land sales has spurred pushback from not just Democratic lawmakers and environmentalists but also some House Republicans, who managed to block a similar provision from being included last month in the House's tax and spending bill. Democrats and several conservation groups sharply criticized the Senate blueprint, warning that it could deprive future generations of public access to public land and suggesting much of the land sold might not be used for affordable housing. Sen. Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), the panel's top Democrat, accused Republicans of 'taking up a sledgehammer' in a 'fire sale' of public lands, in a statement Wednesday. 'We all lose access to public lands forever, jeopardizing our local economies and who we are as a nation.' In a statement, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership said it opposed the proposed forced sale, arguing that the budget reconciliation bill was not the right process for public-land sales of this scale. 'The Senate proposal sets an arbitrary acreage target and calls for the disposal of up to six times more land than was proposed in early versions of the House budget reconciliation bill,' said Joel Pedersen, the group's president and CEO. 'If passed, sportsmen and women would lose access to large tracts of public land.' If enacted into law, the draft text would require the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to sell between 0.5 and 0.75 percent of the 438 million acres of land that they own collectively. It does not include the sale of land with existing grazing rights, along with federally protected lands such as national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges. The committee projected that the land sales would generate between $5 billion and $10 billion of income between fiscal years 2025 and 2034, citing an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mike Lee reinstates language to sell Utah public land in Trump tax bill
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reinstated language to make public land in Utah eligible for sale, adding the proposal back to President Donald Trump's massive tax package after it was removed by GOP leaders in the House last month. The proposal would pave the way to sell off a small percentage of Utah's public lands, as well as other Western states, to be used for affordable housing and increase revenue for conservation projects. The public land sale proposal is tucked into a larger section of energy-related provisions headed by Lee as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which released its portion of Trump's reconciliation bill on Wednesday. 'This is President Trump's agenda: cut the Green New Scam, reduce the deficit, and unleash American energy,' Lee said in a statement. 'We're cutting billions in unused Biden-era climate slush funds, opening up energy and resource development, turning federal liabilities into taxpayer value, while making housing more affordable for hardworking American families. This is how we make government smaller, freer, and work for Americans.' The move comes after the House stripped language to sell more than 211,000 acres across Utah and Nevada, an amendment led by Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, who said she drafted the provision upon request from local officials. However, the language was ultimately removed from the House version amid pushback from some Republicans as well as concerns it did not adhere to strict reconciliation rules. Under the reconciliation process, all provisions in the massive package must adhere to what is known as the 'Byrd rule,' which prohibits policies that are unrelated to budget changes or that outweigh budgetary effects. To comply with the Byrd rule, Lee made substantive changes to Maloy's amendment that would refrain from using specific maps to target land in the western states. The updated language also excludes specific acreage, instead instructing the interior secretary to sell off between just 0.5% to 0.75% of federal lands in specific states. The states listed include Utah as well as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. However, the bill carves out specific guardrails for what land can be sold, excluding at least 15 categories of protected land from the list. That means national parks, monuments, and land dedicated to wilderness reserves would not be included. Instead, GOP aides stressed it would only sell 'unused or underused federal lands adjacent to cities or metropolitan areas.' To adhere to Byrd Rule requirements that policies must contribute to deficit reduction, the provision would stipulate that the money made from land sales goes toward conservation efforts, maintenance projects, infrastructure improvements for roads and utilities, and school funding. Maloy worked with Lee to draft the updated version of the land sales to be included in the final package, arguing it was crucial to affordable housing projects in the two western states. The proposal was also backed by Trump, who campaigned on the issue throughout the 2024 election. About 63% of Utah's land is owned by the federal government, the most of any state in the country aside from Nevada. But the initial proposal was met with pushback from some Republicans who have historically opposed public land sales, such as Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., the co-chairman of the newly created Public Lands Caucus. Lee's office worked closely with Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy to assuage concerns from the state delegation about public land sales. The reconciliation language exempts Montana from any sales, but much of the framework was inspired by the Montana senators' suggestions to ease concerns about lack of a public process. The provision would require the interior secretary to consult with state and local governments as well as any Indian tribes before facilitating any sort of sale, according to the bill. That way, aides noted, it created a 'public participant process.' Democrats have also expressed opposition to the proposal, including Sen. Catherine Masto Cortez, D-Nevada, who contended much of the land being sold couldn't be converted into housing anyway. 'Their reconciliation package included federal land sales…that weren't even near areas where you could actually do affordable housing,' Masto said to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during a Senate hearing on Wednesday. The land is 'in the middle of the desert. There's no infrastructure. I don't know any builder who is going to build housing in the middle of the desert, it makes no sense.' The proposal is also likely to face pushback from some public lands organizations. More than 100 groups penned a letter to Lee and other Senate leadership earlier this week urging them not to include language that would greenlight any land sales. However, GOP aides argued the land sales would help with housing affordability crises in Western states, especially for those who live close to national parks where housing prices are expensive. The public land sales proposal is tucked into a larger section of energy-related provisions, which also includes provisions paving the way for increased lease sales in Alaska, permitting reform, repealing Biden-era clean energy policies, and more. The full section must now be approved by the Senate parliamentarian, who will determine whether the contents adhere to the Byrd Rule and can be included in the final reconciliation package.
