Poe Amendments Included In Fy2016 Interior And Environment Appropriations Bill

Today I issued the following statement on the passage of my amendments to H.R. 2822, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2016.

1. Transfers $1 million from the Forest Service’s Land Acquisition account to their National Forest System Account for the identification of unused land for potential sale.
2. Transfers $1 million from the Bureau of Land Management’s Land Acquisition Account to their Service, Charges, Deposits and Forfeitures Account for the identification of unused land for potential sale.

The Federal Government owns 27% of the total land in the United States. This is bigger than the countries of France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium put together. Instead of letting this land sit idly in the hands of Washington, why not sell it? The sales of just a small portion of this unused land could net billions of dollars. Opening up this unused land will generate revenue, create new jobs and stimulate growth. It’s time to put American land back in the hands of Americans.