House Republicans Pass Federal Land Sale Amendment for Housing

Washington, D.C. — House Republicans approved a controversial amendment Tuesday that authorizes the sale of federal lands in Nevada and Utah, aimed at addressing housing needs in those states.

The House Natural Resources Committee passed the amendment late in the evening after initially excluding land sales from a budget reconciliation bill. The proposed sales involve thousands of acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service land, particularly in and around Las Vegas, Reno, and St. George, Utah.

Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) spoke passionately about the challenges local governments face due to the predominance of federal lands. “Many of the difficulties we face at a local level are of course related to the fact that the county is surrounded by federal land,” she said. Her district targets about 10,000 acres for potential development, which Maloy noted is less than a third of a percent of all federal land in Utah.

Critics of the amendment, including Democrats and environmentalists, argue it reflects a broader effort by some lawmakers to transfer public land into private or state hands. Tracy Stone-Manning, president of the Wilderness Society and former BLM director under President Biden, stated, “Congress is considering selling off our public lands to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy.”

Further fuel for concern comes from a leaked Department of the Interior plan suggesting increased local government authority over land management and potential land releases for housing. Environmentalists fear this signals a shift toward privatizing federal land.

In contrast, Casey Hammond, former acting BLM director during the Trump administration, insists these transfers are minor and have local endorsement. “If we’re effectively managing federal lands, there’s no reason to turn them over to states to be managed better,” he said.

The amendment will undergo a vote by the full House before final approval.