Could it be? Politicians actually growing a spine and taking a stand for what they and the public of the United States believe in?
President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed the house of representatives by one vote late last night, showing just how hard of a fight it was to get enough Republicans onboard to send it over to the Senate, where there will undoubtedly be additional fights, but hey, that’s tomorrow’s problem.
Although Republicans control the house with an 8 seat majority, this bill only passed by one vote, though it could have not passed at all if it wasn’t for the incredible work of Ryan Zinke from Montana, who lead a coalition of Republican senators in opposition to the bill unless there demand was granted.
Part of this bill was a small, but mighty, provision that would have required the sale of over 500,000 acres of public land in Utah and Nevada, which could have become the first domino in the unraveling of one of America’s greatest achievements: the preservation of enormous swatches of land for flora and fauna to run free, giving citizens immense access to participate in hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and all sorts of outdoor adventure activities.
It was a bit strange in this case because Zinke and the group of five additional western Republican senators were fighting against their own party; Republicans Mark Amodei (Nevada) and Celeste Maloy (Utah) were responsible for this provision being entered into the bill. The fear was this would introduce the precedent of selling federal lands and stripping citizens of access to those lands without any public process or understanding of the amount of land in question or what it was permissible for it to be turned into.
I will unabashedly say I am completely and total against the sale of public lands for one simple reason: It reduces, not increases, personal freedoms.
Sounds counterintuitive, right? Wouldn’t the government owning land make you less free? In this case, not in the slightest.
Anyone who’s ever tried to find a fishing spot in a new area will immediately realize what I’m talking about. What is the absolute easiest way to find an area where you can fully participate in outdoor activities? Obviously, it’s government owned land. Whether National, State, or Country Parks, the ability to fish legally is made infinitely easier by going to a state owned body of water rather than trying to get permission to go on someone’s (or some company’s) private land. Hunting is the same thing. Sure, you can argue that the “best” hunting and fishing opportunities are on private land but we’re not talking about quality, we’re talking about quantity. The goal is to provide the most opportunities to the most people so they can participate in American culture, and in the outdoors space, that is unquestionable by maintaining and adequately funding public lands.
In a press release, Zinke alluded to the great Teddy Roosevelt:
“This was my San Juan Hill. I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands. Once the land is sold, we will never get it back. God isn’t creating more land. Public access, sportsmanship, grazing, tourism… our entire Montanan way of life is connected to our public lands.”
Amen to that, brother.
This doesn’t mean we’re completely out of the woods yet, though.
The Senate will have the ability to make changes before voting on its passage. While it’s unlikely anyone will try to add this provision back in given it’s been stated they want this completely passed by Memorial Day, there are worries that Mike Lee, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will press the issue as he is very vocal about his want to sell of public lands.
Time will tell but I’m very happy with how this one went. It was a big hurdle to get this out of the House approved bill, now all eyes are on the Senate.
