Resolution Opposes Federal Land Sales Money Grab
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Dina Titus
February 15, 2005 (775) 684-6504
Resolution Opposes Federal Land Sales Money Grab
CARSON CITYSenate Minority Leader Dina Titus (D-Las Vegas) today introduced a
resolution urging President Bush to withdraw his proposal to use money derived from sales of land in Nevada to lower the federal deficit. The resolution further urges Congress to reject the proposal if the President refuses to withdraw the idea.
The resolution was declared an emergency measure and unanimously approved by the Senate.
The resolution points out that since the passage of the Southern Nevada Public LandManagement Act in 1998, profits from federal land sales have been used to fund education in Nevada (5%); fund water and airport infrastructure projects (10%); and to fund an account to acquire other environmentally sensitive land in Nevada, develop a multispecies habitat plan, develop parks and trails and provide for other conservation initiatives (85%). An amendment to the Act in 2003 allocated $300 million to be used to preserve the Lake Tahoe Basin, the first installment of which was received in 2004.
"The 1998 legislation allowing us to use land sales money for Nevada projects was passed to offset the lost revenue resulting from the high percentage of federally owned property in our state," Titus said. "No other state, with the exception of Alaska, comes even close to having 87% of its land owned by the federal government. Asking Nevada to give up this critically needed funding to lower the federal deficit is blatantly unfair and wrong."
Titus pointed out that legislators from both parties signed on to the resolution, with Senator Dean Rhoads (R-Tuscarora) as the primary Senate cosponsor.
The resolution states that " The loss of such a substantial source of revenue for this State would have a direct and devastating impact on the State, negatively impacting dozens of ongoing and future projects "
"We would urge Senator Ensign and Congressmen Gibbons and Porter, in particular, to urge the President to reconsider this ill-conceived proposal that robs our state of badly needed funding to solve a national problem. If they are unsuccessful, we would then urge Congress, led by our Nevada delegation, to reject this land sales money grab," Titus concluded.
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/titus/docs/land02102005.pdf