Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee is racing to rewrite public land sale legislation for the Republican megabill after the parliamentarian disqualified an earlier plan to mandate the sale of millions of acres.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s ruling Monday that Lee’s proposal did not meet budget reconciliation requirements came as the Utah Republican was already promising changes to address opposition from conservation-minded conservatives.
Asked whether land sales will make the final package, Lee said Tuesday that “it’s possible.” He noted that he’s “submitted some new text which may or may not change the calculation.”
Republicans are looking to use the budget reconciliation process to pass their tax, energy and border spending megabill by simple majority. The parliamentarian gets to decide what provisions have enough of a budgetary nexus.
If MacDonough axes Lee’s new text, it could very well scuttle the land sales altogether — especially as President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned his “friends in the Senate” to “lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK.”
If the Senate doesn’t pass the megabill in the coming days, it would make it nearly impossible for the House to act and Trump to sign it by Independence Day.
Language released last week would have made land elegible for sale in 11 Western states. Montana, whose Republican lawmakers oppose public land sales in reconciliation, was not on the list. Environmental groups estimated the amount of lands sold could have topped three million acres.
But Lee on Monday night said he would remove all Forest Service land from consideration. The new proposal would also significantly reduce the amount of Bureau of Land Management land eligible for sale by only considering plots within 5 miles of population centers.
“Nobody knows the issue better than Mike,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “If there is a way to do it, he’ll figure it out, so I’d say there’s still a chance.”
But some land sale opponents suggested Monday the parliamentarian’s ruling may have ended the public land sale push.
“I don’t support the sale of public lands,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.). “I’m glad to see the parliamentarian strike it.”
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy, also of Montana, took a victory lap Tuesday. “Sen. Daines, myself and our House colleagues from Montana all fought against it and it looks like for now we got it [out],” Sheehy said. “[The parliamentarian is] doing her job and she’s pushing the bill through the process.”
In the House, where Republicans don’t have room to lose votes, Montana Republican Ryan Zinke has reiterated he will not support a budget reconciliation plan with land sales. Colorado Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd has also spoken out against such a move.
The top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, said he will continue to attack Lee’s plans before the parliamentarian.
“The fight isn’t over — they will try to include it in another way,” Merkley said on social media. “HELL NO to selling off public lands!”
