Conservatives oppose legislation that would massively increase funding for federal and state land acquisition. We recognize that the bill, S. 3422, enjoys overwhelming support from Democrats in the House and Senate, significant support from Republicans, and has been endorsed by President Trump, and therefore enactment may be inevitable. We urge Senators to approve amendments that would improve several of the bill’s more objectionable provisions.
The bill, now scheduled for the Senate floor in June, includes two titles. The first would address the multi-billion dollar maintenance backlog in National Parks and other federal lands by spending $9.5 billion of federal offshore energy revenues over five years on deferred maintenance projects. The second title would turn the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) into a true trust fund not subject to congressional appropriation and mandate that $900 million from offshore oil and gas revenues be spent annually in perpetuity on land acquisition by the federal land agencies and on land acquisition and development of recreational facilities by state and local government.
Since enactment of the LWCF in 1965, Congress has appropriated $19 billion (unadjusted for inflation). The four federal land agencies have spent $11.4 billion to acquire over 5 million acres of private land, and state and local governments have acquired over 2.6 million acres. S. 3422 would roughly triple spending on land acquisition over average historic appropriation levels.
The fact is that the federal government already owns far too much land–approximately 640 million acres or 28% of total U. S. acreage. The federal government owns more than half the land in the eleven western states and Alaska. More than 90% of the land in a number of counties is federally owned and more than 75% in many more counties.
The vast extent of the federal estate has severe negative environmental and economic consequences. As evidenced by the need for a $9.5 billion program to begin catching up with deferred maintenance, the federal government owns much more land than it can adequately manage and protect. To mention only one economic impact, federal lands are exempt from property taxes and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program provides local governments with only a tiny fraction of lost property taxes.
S. 3422 would fund increasing the size of the federal estate annually in perpetuity, which can only exacerbate these negative consequences. It will take private land out of productive use and off the tax rolls in rural areas that can least afford it. And taxpayers will be forced to pay for maintaining these lands in perpetuity.
Moving annual appropriations at whatever level for land acquisition into a permanent trust fund is a bad idea. It is an abdication of Congress’s constitutional responsibility to make appropriations; it creates an entitlement for special interests that will be difficult to end; and it weakens Congress’s ability to reduce federal spending in the future when conditions may warrant lower spending.
If the Senate insists on passing S. 3422 despite these serious objections, then we urge Senators to approve several improving amendments. First, we suggest that the LWCF title should sunset in five years. This would make it consistent with the maintenance backlog title and makes sense because it would give Congress a chance to review the results of increased federal land acquisition before re-authorizing it.
Second, we suggest that all future land acquisition by the federal government should be contingent upon approval by the relevant state and local governments. More federal lands should not be foisted on unwilling local citizens who must live with the consequences. Instead, acquisitions should be confined to places where the people living there approve.
Third, we suggest that the use of eminent domain should be prohibited for all land acquisitions. Condemnation and the threat of condemnation (which has been used frequently over the decades to turn unwilling sellers into willing sellers) are likely to become much more common when government agencies have much more money to spend on acquisition.
Conservatives oppose continuing government land acquisition. If it must be done, then it should be done within stricter limits than currently provided in S. 3422.
| The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) | Alfred S. Regnery Chairman, Conservative Action Project President, Republic Book Publishers |
| Myron Ebell Director, Center for Energy and Environment Competitive Enterprise Institute | The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell President The Leadership Institute |
| The Honorable Colin A. Hanna President Let Freedom Ring, Inc. | L. Brent Bozell, III Founder and President Media Research Center |
| The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman Constitutional Congress, Inc. | The Honorable Jim DeMint Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013) |
| Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project President, Conservative Partnership Institute | Rachel Bovard Senior Director of Policy Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) |
| Jenny Beth Martin Chairman Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund | Christopher Malagisi Executive Director of Outreach Hillsdale College |
| Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq. Chairman, CNP Action, Inc. President and CEO, First Liberty Institute | William L. Walton President Council for National Policy |
| Noah Wall Vice President of Advocacy FreedomWorks | The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Chief Domestic Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988) |
| The Honorable David McIntosh President Club for Growth | Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council |
| The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985) U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989) | Scott T. Parkinson VP for Government Affairs Club for Growth |
| David N. Bossie President Citizens United | Ambassador Henry F. Cooper President Reagan’s Defense and Space Negotiator Former SDI Director |
| Michael Horowitz CEO 21st Century Initiatives | Richard Manning President Americans for Limited Government |
| Kevin Freeman Founder NSIC Institute | Craig Shirley Reagan Biographer and Presidential Historian |
| Rod D. Martin Founder & CEO The Martin Organization, Inc. | Sherri R. Martin Executive Vice President The Martin Organization, Inc. |
| Haley E. Martin President The Martin Foundation | Christina Murphy Lusk Campaign for the American Future |
| Guillermo J. Aragon Chief Financial Officer Martin Imaging, Inc. | Shawn A. Mitchell Former National Chaplain National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) |
| Norman Singleton President Campaign for Liberty | Lewis K. Uhler Founder & CEO National Tax Limitation Committee |
| Eunie Smith President Eagle Forum | Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr. President STAND Foundation, Inc. |
| Mark Fitzgibbons President of Corporate Affairs American Target Advertising | Susan A. Carleson Chairman/CEO Carleson Center for Welfare Reform |
| Thomas Pyle President American Energy Alliance | Mario Navarro da Costa Director, Washington Bureau Tradition, Family, Property |
| Lee Beaman CEO Beaman Automotive Group | Randy M. Long Founder Long Business Advisor, LLC |
| William Shaker Chief Executive Officer Washington Marketing Group | Allen Hebert Chairman American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston |
| Dr. John C. Eastman Salvatori Professor, Chapman University Fowler School of Law Senior Fellow, The Claremont Institute; Chapman University | Seton Motley President Less Government |
| Saulius “Saul” Anuzis President 60 Plus Association | James L. Martin Founder/Chairman 60 Plus Association |
| Richard D Hayes Partner Hayes Berry White & Vanzant LLP | Ron Robinson President Young America’s Foundation |
| Michelle Easton President Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women | The Honorable Mike Hill Representative Florida State House |
| C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. | The Honorable Peter Thomas Chairman The Conservative Caucus |
| Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund | Dr. Richard Rounsavelle Trustee Media Research Center |
| Jay Mount President MDS Communications | Robert Keith Fischer Meeting Coordinator Conservatives of Faith |
| Kielle C. Horton President The Lindsey Foundation | The Honorable Terrence Scanlon Chair and President Capital Research Center (1994-2016) |
| Andresen Blom President Hawaiian Values | Sheryl Kaufman Wyoming Property Owner Private Citizen |
| Kay R. Daly President Coalition for a Fair Judiciary | Tom DeWeese President American Policy Center |
| Jake Hoffman President & CEO Rally Forge | Charlie Copeland President Intercollegiate Studies Institute |
| Joan Holt Lindsey President Lindsey Communications | Ed Martin President Phyllis Schlafly Eagles |
| Elaine Donnelly President Center for Military Readiness | Dr. Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. Founder and CEO CorsiNation.com |
| Donna Hearne CEO Constitutional Coalition | Sandy Rios Director of Governmental Affairs American Family Association |
All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.
