In their first day back on the job, the House of Representatives voted for a rule change that would make it easier to give away national public lands.
The American people overwhelmingly oppose selling off our National Parks, Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and other special places. Unfortunately, this vote makes it clear that the armed extremists that took over the Malheur refuge one year ago have friends in the House Republican leadership.
This obscure rule change means that the Congressional Budget Office cannot calculate a budget “cost” to selling off public lands. Hikers, hunters, anglers, and other defenders of public lands may not fill campaign coffers like the oil or timber industry, but they vote. If Congress continues to advocate for selling off America’s best idea, they’ll find out that giving away our natural legacy will have a steep political price.
This vote stands in stark contrasts to President-elect Trump’s stated commitment to block any effort to privatize public lands, or transfer them out of the ownership of the American people. If Trump intends to keep that promise, he should demand that House Republicans repeal this provision.
A roll call of the vote can be found here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2017/roll006.xml
