Republicans want to sell federal land for affordable housing

Millions of acres of federal land could soon be put up for sale under a proposal from Senate

Republicans. According to their data, there's a nationwide shortage of 4.5 million homes

and 7.1 million affordable homes. A newly added provision to President Trump's so-called Big

Beautiful Tax and Budget package would require the government to sell a minimum 2.2 million acres

and a maximum 3.2 million acres owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service in 11 western states

The federal government owns about 640 million acres of land in America

or 28 percent of the 2.27 billion acre total. Senator Mike Lee pointed out that some states have a substantially higher percentage of federal land ownership

like Utah, where 70 percent is owned by D.C. That's not sustainable. It's not fair. It's not serving the Americans who actually live here

President Trump supports the land sale and has previously pledged to open it up for quote large housing construction Republicans contend that this proposal would not only help relieve the housing crisis and help cities grow they estimate it

would generate $5 to $10 billion in revenue for the government over the next decade. The bill

would create a process for states and local governments to nominate areas they think would

help meet their housing and community needs. National parks, wilderness, and recreation areas

are off limits. These provisions were originally included in the House version of the budget

package, but Montana Republican Ryan Zinke had them removed with the support of at least two

other members. Zinke said, once the land is sold, we will never get it back. Public access

sportsmanship, grazing, tourism, our entire Montanan way of life is connected to our public

lands. The House will need to re-approve the budget package after the Senate makes changes

those who oppose this single provision would be willing to vote against the entire package

if it's included. I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Hour News. For more reporting, download the SAN app