Sean Patrick Maloney: “among other harmful provisions, the underlying bill, H.R. 3603, will give away many public lands for private development…”

“among other harmful provisions, the underlying bill, H.R. 3603, will give away many public lands for private development to local governments completely for free. A bill this controversial should not be considered under suspension of the rules. The bill, H.R. 3603, includes unusual language that allows the giving away of publicly owned land, owned by the taxpayers, to localities, to counties, and local governments for them then to possibly develop it for private development. It will also give away, I am told, by the Sierra Club, 5,000 acres. My good friend on the other side of the aisle, Mike Simpson, said that it is only 3,600 acres. I asked the Democratic staff what is the correct number? They say they do not know because they just got the maps of this controversial bill today at 12:30. And I think that illustrates, if we do not even know how many acres of publicly owned land we are giving away, this needs a further investigation. In any event, it will give away thousands of acres of national forest and Bureau of Land Management managed lands, including lands within the congressionally protected Sawtooth National Recreation Area, to be opened to large-scale home development and motorized recreational parks. American taxpayers have invested nearly $65 million over 30 years to protect the Sawtooth National Recreational Area, and it is among the most beautiful sites truly in our country. And now this bill will be giving away roughly 3,600 or 5,000 acres.…”