As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Utah Senator Mike Lee released legislative text on June 11th to be considered as part of the Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill. “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,” shared Senator Lee with the release. “This is how we make government smaller, freer, and work for Americans.” One part of their proposal has to do with the mandatory disposal of BLM land and National Forest land to help with housing needs. What exactly is being proposed? The BLM and Forest Service would be required to identify 0.5% to 0.75% of their lands for housing and community needs in order to increase the supply of housing and decrease housing costs for Americans. Current policy prevents any housing being built on the 640 million acres of land owned by the federal government which is nearly a third of the country. This proposal excludes the sale of any National Parks, National Monuments, National Recreation Areas, Wilderness Areas, and nearly every other protected land. The BLM land being considered would be among the 1.2 million acres of land that is within 1 mile of a population center and the 800,000 acres within 1 to 5 miles of a population center. The Forest Service land being considered would be among the 1 million acres owned within 1 mile of a population center. The land could only be purchased for housing or community development needs and leaves a minimum of 99.25% of BLM and Forest Service land untouched. Evans Family Media will highlight other aspects of the Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill proposal in additional news stories.
