In 2025, Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, proposed selling off 3 million acres of public land from 11 Western states. The move sparked widespread backlash from Democratic colleagues, outdoor enthusiasts, and conservation groups.
The effort ultimately failed, but the memory of that almost sale lingered in the mind of Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. And now he’s taking action to prevent any similar plans in the future, with a new bill that would make public land sell-offs harder to pass.
What the Bill Does
On April 30, Bennet, a Democrat, introduced the Public Lands Integrity Act to the Senate. The law focuses on changes to the budget reconciliation process. These kinds of bills, which fund the government, only need a simple 51-vote majority to pass the Senate, as opposed to the usual 60-vote threshold that other legislation requires.
Bennet is proposing to put public land sales under the Byrd Rule. To prevent senators from adding unrelated material to budget reconciliation bills, this rule mandates that certain “extraneous” subjects receive 3/5th of the Senate’s approval. If Bennet’s law passes, any time someone wants to add a sale of federal public land to a budget reconciliation bill, it would have to get 60 votes. Since the Senate only currently has 53 Republicans, that would be a much higher bar to clear.
Essentially, Bennet wants to make it so that “the future of federal public lands are debated through regular legislative order, rather than rushed through expedited budget procedures,” a press release announcing the bill explained.
The Rationale
Bennet, a major critic of Sen. Lee’s past sell-off efforts, emphasized the importance of public lands. “Public lands make Colorado, Colorado. They’re the foundation of our economy, and they represent treasured parts of our communities, our geography and our history,” he said. “Congress must never use fast-tracked Senate procedure to sell Americans’ public lands to fund short-term partisan spending. Not now, not ever.”
The bill has the support of Senators from several other Western states, including Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). “Republicans have proved they will stop at nothing to sell off our country’s public lands to the highest bidder,” Wyden said. “This bill would help keep public lands in public hands by closing arcane loopholes that allow Republicans to carry out their fantasies of selling our beloved forests and lands off to billionaires.”
Multiple advocacy groups have come out in support of the bill, including Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, and Conservation Alliance. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe also endorsed the measure.
Since Democrats are in the minority in the Senate, the Public Lands Integrity Act likely faces an uphill battle to become law.
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