On the recordJuly 30, 2011
In this time of money crisis, we talk about the fact that we need revenue. Congress seems to be addicted to taxation as a form of revenue. But there's another way to raise revenue. Did you know, Mr. Speaker, that 27 percent of the land owned in the United States is owned by Uncle Sam? Fifty-two percent of it in the West is owned by Uncle Sam. How much is that? That's the size of all of Western Europe. So maybe we ought to think about Uncle Sam selling some of that land to Americans, not the National Parks, not the wetlands, these sensitive areas, but that land owned by the Bureau of Land Management that is not in use now. And then we sell that land, some of it, and then it will be revenue-producing because the people who buy it will pay taxes. Local taxes go to schools and help those schools. Something to think about. In this time of raising revenue, maybe Uncle Sam could do without 27 percent of all of the land in America. Let Americans own part of America, not just the Federal Government. And that's just the way it is. ____________________
