House Republicans are stirring up a longstanding debate over federal public lands.
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee voted in favor of inserting an amendment into the Republican tax and spending plan that would allow the sale of public lands in Nevada and Utah. The federal government owns the majority of the land in both states. The provision’s proponents argue that the sales would raise money for the president’s tax cuts.
But lawmakers from both parties are concerned.
“You could sell the whole West, and it’s not going to cover even close to the $36 trillion debt,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican congressman from Montana who served as interior secretary during President Trump’s first term.
Zinke formed the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus with New Mexico Democrat Gabe Vasquez after the measure was added to the reconciliation bill.
“Look, this is not a blue issue or red issue,” said Zinke. “This is a red, white and blue issue.”
“Even though these public lands are in Nevada, they belong to all of us as Americans and I think we cherish our public lands,” he continued. “Because once it’s developed, it’s gone.”
House Republicans failed to push the spending bill through a key committee on Friday.
4 Questions for Rep. Ryan Zinke
Washington has been selling federal land for many decades. What is this issue about for you?
“The fundamental idea that you’re going to sell public land and somehow that’s going to pay off or $36 trillion debt is folly. We don’t have a land problem. I would say we have a management problem. And, you know, I understand the anger out there if you live in Montana or a lot of Utah where you’re limited on access. But I give the analogy: If you don’t like the management of a hotel, you don’t sell the hotel, you get new management.”
The argument is that there’s not enough affordable housing across the country, but especially in the western United States because communities are growing so quickly and this would allow cities to build more homes. Do you disagree with that argument?
“Let’s look at housing. You know, 40% of the cost of housing is permitting and infrastructure. That’s water or sewer. Then you have building materials. Then, of course, you have to have some profit. But land is a very small portion of it. Look, if there’s a municipality that needs an expansion of their sewer system or a runway or affordable housing, we have done that in the past. We’ve done land exchanges, where it’s in the best interest of public access and wildlife management.”
You’re talking about small parcels of land. Let me dial into a specific example. The mayor of Fernley, Nevada, near Reno, said that getting 12,000 acres of land on the outskirts of town would be very good for his community. The town wants to become a tech hub. It’s expected to double in size in the next decade. What happens to cities like Fernley if this plan to sell public land doesn’t happen?
“There are places that it would make sense, but there’s a process to it. As a former secretary, there’s a process of public comment. You should do archaeology. It should be priced. And in many cases, you should do the sovereign nation consultation. Remember, a lot of this land belonged to one of the tribes. So when you look at the transfer, again, to have it in a bill without public comment, I think is misguided.”
Speaker Mike Johnson cannot afford to lose support for this budget bill. Republicans right now are split on how to raise money for these tax cuts. Is this issue big enough to sink your support for the budget?
“I’ve said definitively that it’s a red line with me and there’s a couple of red lines I think that all of us have. One is as a former Navy SEAL officer, and I will not vote against the Constitution of the United States. All my life, I’ve defended it both in service and in the House. So I don’t vote against the Constitution. And I will not vote for large-scale divesting of public lands when I know how important they are.”
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
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James Perkins Mastromarino produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Perkins Mastromarino also adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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