Washington, D.C. — Some politicians are exploiting the nation’s housing affordability problems as a pretense to sell off public lands. A new report from the Center for American Progress shows how this extreme agenda is putting America’s treasured lands and waters at risk without meaningfully addressing housing needs.
As questions swirl about a newly launched initiative from the Trump administration, the report explains how extreme proposals gaining traction in Congress to sell off large swaths of public lands represent a clear and dangerous attack on America’s great outdoors.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)—a close Trump ally and a longtime proponent of selling off most of America’s public lands—is pushing a measure that would make more than 200 million acres of remote public lands available for potential sale at below market rates. The result would be a system where treasured public lands could be privatized and developed into second or third homes for the wealthy, pricey short-term rentals, or other housing developments with almost no guardrails.
Meanwhile, Republican congressional leadership is reportedly eyeing the sell-off of public lands as an option to pay for expensive tax breaks for the wealthy as part of a massive budget bill currently being worked out.
“While making vacant lands available for housing sounds appealing and while some targeted land transfers can make sense, the public lands sell-off legislation being shopped in Congress is little more than a Trojan horse for a fringe, anti-public land agenda,” said Drew McConville, senior fellow for Conservation Policy at CAP and co-author of the report.
Addressing today’s housing affordability crisis demands a serious and comprehensive approach that includes expanded housing assistance for immediate relief and affordable housing production through a multipronged suite of development tools. The last thing America needs are false solutions or opportunistic political maneuvers.
Read the report: “Will the U.S. Housing Crisis Be Exploited for a Massive Public Lands Sell-Off?” by Drew McConville and Doug Turner
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].