The senate parliamentarian decides what can go in the One Big Beautiful Bill and what can’t.  She’s vetoing hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer savings, including nearly $1 trillion in deregulation savings, and now $100 billion in land sales.

The federal government owns 47% of all the land area of 10 states (Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Montana). Cities such as Las Vegas have seen home prices triple since 2012 in part because of all the nearby federal land that surrounds it.

President Trump supports the idea and Utah Senator Mike Lee inserted a provision authorizing it in the Big Beautiful Bill. He points that sale of a minuscule 03. Percent (some 800 square miles) of Bureau of Land Management land would be enough to build 3 million to 4 million single-family detached and townhomes. Income from sales would also reduce the national debt.

This map shows the federal land controlled by Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service that could be sold.  Click on the map below to zoom in.

But on Monday, the Senate parliamentarian ruled the provision was an “extraneous” measure and couldn’t be included as part of the reconciliation process.

Senator Lee isn’t giving up. He will revise his plan so parts of it will be able to win approval with a simple Senate majority. The amount of land available for sale would also be scaled back.

But the idea of federal land sales faces a big obstacle from some Republicans who believe the Feds have a divine right to hold vacant land that has no scenic value.  Rep. Ryan Zinke and Senator Steve Daines, both from Montana, are opposed to federal land sales.

Such parochial behavior is flat out wrong. Selling off federal land is a no brainer. The greatest beneficiaries would be homebuyers. Building more housing is the only way to ensure homeownership remains affordable for the next generation of Americans.