Senate Committee Chair Lee Revives Public Land Sale Proposal in Budget Bill

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) has reintroduced a modified proposal to sell public lands as part of the Republican budget reconciliation package scheduled for a vote. The revised version, released late Friday, reduces the scope of the original plan by excluding Forest Service land and halving the Bureau of Land Management acres designated for sale. Senator Lee's document states the amended proposal focuses on providing land for housing development in western communities.

The provision has generated opposition across the political spectrum. Democratic senators including Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) have voiced concerns about the proposal. Several Republican House members, including Representatives Ryan Zinke (R-Montana), David Valadao (R-California), Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), Dan Newhouse (R-Washington), and Cliff Bentz (R-Oregon), issued a statement indicating they would vote against the full budget bill if it contains the public lands sale provision.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has already blocked multiple provisions in the Republican budget reconciliation package, including several under the jurisdiction of Lee's committee. The current version of the legislation also includes new fees for renewable energy projects on public lands while reducing royalty rates for fossil fuel production, according to policy analysts reviewing the bill.

The budget reconciliation package, which critics have termed the "big, ugly bill," faces a narrow path forward in Congress. Republican House members warned in their statement that Lee's provision represents a "grave mistake, unforced error, and poison pill that will cause the bill to fail should it come to the House floor." The Senate vote could occur as early as Saturday, according to legislative schedules.