Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s proposal has united the left and right – against him.
Last week, the Lee-led Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released a draft proposal, intended for inclusion in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” that would mandate the sale of between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service in the American West.
Lee has framed the proposal as a means to increase affordable housing, and emphasized that it excludes national parks, national monuments, and designated wilderness areas from being sold.
Critics have expressed skepticism that the bill would do much to mitigate the housing crisis, contending that it would only result in the public being barred from land they now enjoy.
The land will get sold by the thousand acre parcel to oil, mineral, and lumber interests to be ruined. “Affordable housing” my ass.
But think of the CEO who could use a vacation house in Jackson Hole.
If this was about affordable housing you could easily utilize limited parcels of land adjacent to towns and build a few high density apartments with priority housing for federal workers, since these land management agencies typically already do have employee housing. Allow HUD to manage it for non-employees.
Done, no need to sell anything and they’ll likely make money.
This could be done using very little acreage and have a huge impact on affordability in rural communities. Even adding 100 new apartments could be a big help and have such a small footprint.
There are solutions, but these people just want more fossil fuels
Who’s to say there won’t be crappy houses built on whatever’s left after those companies are done destroying it?