On the recordMarch 26, 2015
Senator Sullivan and I have come together to move forward on this amendment. It provides a spending- neutral reserve fund for the sale, transfer or exchange of Federal lands to State and local governments. I want to make sure that folks understand. This is not selling any land by itself. Only subsequent legislation can do that. It would require us to come back, just as we do now, with exchanges, conveyances, and sales, to move the legislation through. What we have done is we have made sure that all lands that are included within national parks, national preserves, and national monuments are excluded so there can be no effort to purchase or exchange there. Our amendment will allow us to craft balanced, bipartisan legislation to empower States, improve conservation systems, and promote economic growth. That is exactly what we did last year, when we moved through the NDAA with support from 80 Senators for that package. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
