US EditionPlan to Sell Public Land Knocked Out of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
UNITED STATES, JUN 29 – Senator Mike Lee withdrew a provision mandating the sale of up to 1.2 million acres of federal lands amid bipartisan opposition and concerns over lack of safeguards for buyers.
- On June 29, 2025, Senator Mike Lee of Utah removed his proposal to sell up to 1.2 million acres of public land from the Senate’s tax and spending legislation.
- The move followed widespread opposition from lawmakers, public backlash, and warnings from the Senate parliamentarian that the provision violated budget rules.
- Lee sought to encourage affordable housing by mandating that federal public lands close to populated areas be sold, but he was unable to include protections to ensure these sales were limited to American households.
- Several Republican senators from Montana, such as Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, emphasized the importance of keeping public lands publicly owned, while Senator Mike Lee described the decision to remove the land sale provision as a major victory for public lands.
- The plan’s removal preserves current public land status but signals ongoing debates about federal land management and housing solutions in future legislation.
37 Articles
37 Articles
ABC FOX Montana
Public land sales stripped from ‘Big, Beautiful’ bill
Montana’s Republican senators over the weekend praised the removal of a provision to sell public lands from a federal budget reconciliation bill. In a joint statement, U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy called the move “a victory for our…
Conservation groups celebrate defeat of proposed public land selloff
Conservation groups were quick to celebrate a Utah senator’s decision to drop a controversial public land selloff from the Senate budget reconciliation bill – the so-called “big, beautiful bill.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Saturday, June 28, said he was withdrawing his bid to include language that would have directed the Bureau of Land Management to sell off up to 1.2 million acres of federal land for housing, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporte…
A public lands sell-off is struck from the GOP policy bill
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said late Saturday that he had dropped his contentious plan to sell millions of acres of public lands from the sweeping domestic policy package that the Senate will soon begin debating.
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