GOP plan to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands is found to violate Senate rules
WASHINGTON (AP) — A plan to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands has been ruled out of Republicans’ big tax and spending cut bill after the Senate parliamentarian determined the proposal by Senate Energy Chairman Mike Lee would violate the chamber’s rules.
Lee, a Utah Republican, has proposed selling millions of acres (8.300 square kilometers) of public lands in the West to states or other entities for use as housing or infrastructure. The plan would revive a longtime ambition of Western conservatives to cede lands to local control after a similar proposal failed in the House earlier this year.
Lee’s plan has revealed sharp disagreement among Republicans who support wholesale transfers of federal property to spur development and generate revenue, and other lawmakers — including GOP senators in Montana and Idaho — who are staunchly opposed.
The proposal comes as the Trump administration said Monday it will move to rescind a 2001 rule that blocked logging on national forest lands. The so-called roadless rule has angered Republicans, especially in the West where forests sprawl across vast, mountainous terrain and the logging industry has waned.
https://apnews.com/article/public-land-sales-senate-mike-lee-bf4c3a046a107efc7d4ffe005fdb9d2d
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