Congressional Budget

Some in Congress have suggested that selling off public lands could offset federal spending to balance the budget. Others have suggested that selling these lands could be the answer to the affordable housing crisis. But selling public lands won’t solve either problem and will only result in significant harm to the wildlife, people, water resources, and communities that rely on them. Public lands are the fuel for rural communities. If public lands are sold off, local economies will suffer.

Under current laws and regulations, we already have ways to properly assess which lands can be sold off for things like affordable housing. And selling assets is not budgeting. No conservative household balances the checkbook by selling off the barn and the pasture. Public lands are economically productive, through grazing fees, hunting licenses, timber harvests, tourism revenue, and oil and gas revenue.