Rep. Cliff Bentz is Oregon’s sole Republican member of Congress. Malheur Enterprise photo

Rep. Cliff Bentz, the lone Republican in Oregon’s congressional delegation, said Wednesday, June 25, that he opposes a provision in a budget bill that would require the federal government to sell up to 3.3 million acres of public land in the West, potentially including BLM and Forest Service parcels in Oregon.

Bentz, who represents Oregon’s Second Congressional District, which includes most of the state east of the Cascades, said in a statement that he does “support and encourage sale or exchange of parcels of federal land when there is a clear economic or social demand for such disposition, and when that disposition follows appropriate procedure and is generally supported by those affected.”

But the congressman from Ontario said he opposes the provision in the budget bill, calling it “a mandated disposition of millions of acres of federal land, the amount of which was arbitrarily established, the primary goal not being to respond to demand, but instead being the removal of land from federal ownership.”

The proposal from Senate Energy Chairman Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, is no longer under consideration by the Senate after the Senate parliamentarian determined the provision violated Senate rules.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden told the audience at a town hall in Baker City on June 20 that he believes Lee’s provision violated the so-called Byrd Rule in the Senate, which limits provisions in reconciliation bills to budgetary matters.

In his statement Wednesday, Bentz agreed that Lee’s provision was not appropriate for the reconciliation bill.

“A policy to permanently dispose of massive amounts of land currently owned and managed for multiple use by the federal government should not be included in a reconciliation package where debate, by design, is truncated or completely avoided,” Bentz said. “A decision to irreversibly divest the nation of federally owned land is an important policy issue that must be carefully discussed with and designed by those of us representing states impacted by this policy.”

Bentz said federal officials need to consider the potential effects on a host of groups before considering selling public lands.

“Of particular concern in making any decision to sell public land is the sale’s impact on those who have rights in the land or currently have some type of use of the land,” Bentz said. “Indian Tribes, neighbors, grazing permittees, those utilizing public access across the land, hunters, watershed function, holders of easements, and environmental impact are some of the issues that must be taken into account in making a decision to alter ownership. These realities make the process used in selecting parcels of federal land offered for sale extremely important.”

Bentz acknowledged that some people believe the federal government is not properly managing public land.

“But sale of this land to someone else is no way to assure its proper management,” Bentz said. “The best way to protect this land is to identify and correct the reasons these agencies are failing in their mission.”
Bentz also criticized environmental groups that file lawsuits challenging timber sales and other work on federal land, saying those suits, aided by “compliant federal judges, makes a mockery of agencies’ attempts to craft management plans.”

“If our nation is to be a landowner — and it is — it must take care of that land,” Bentz said. “This means that the laws that are being perverted to line the pockets of environmental organizations at the expense of the taxpayer and our forests and rangelands, must be changed so that such perversion is stopped.”

The provision in the Senate bill would have required the Interior Secretary (who oversees BLM land) and Agriculture Secretary (responsible for national forests) to sell public land. Parcels in Oregon and 10 other western states would be eligible.

Proponents say the purpose is to make land available for housing. The provision would have exempted some federal lands from consideration for sale, including wilderness areas, national recreation areas, national parks and monuments, and national wildlife refuges.

Wyden and Oregon’s other U.S. senator, Jeff Merkley, both criticized the provision and said they would try to block it.
Lee, in a post on X Monday night, June 23, said he would keep pursuing the plan to sell some public lands.

“Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up. We need to change that,’’ he wrote, adding that a revised plan would remove all U.S. Forest Service land from possible sale. Sales of sites controlled by the BLM would be significantly reduced, Lee said, so that only land within 5 miles of population centers could be sold.

Matthew Daly of The Associated Press contributed to this story.