In a tight vote on April 4, the U.S. Senate signaled it was open to potentially selling public lands to trim the federal budget, a move criticized by conservation organizations.
51 senators—including Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis—rejected a short amendment aimed at blocking the sale of public lands to alleviate the federal deficit, as proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives’ spending bill.
Lee called the amendment “false hype” and “disgraceful,” and equated opposition to land sales with opposition to development in general.
The potential sale of public lands gained traction earlier this year within the House Ways and Means Committee in support of President Donald Trump’s budget objectives. A rule package adopted by the committee aimed to facilitate the disposal of lands managed by various agencies without assigning a monetary value to the lands, simplifying the process of land sell-offs.
In response to these developments, elected officials from multiple states have raised concerns about the implications of selling public lands, emphasizing the need to preserve these lands from commercial exploitation and environmental degradation.
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