Overview

• The Senate parliamentarian ruled on June 23 that Lee’s initial measure violated the Byrd Rule, forcing its removal from the GOP’s budget reconciliation bill.
• Lee’s updated provision strips out Forest Service land and restricts sales to Bureau of Land Management parcels within five miles of population centers.
• Passage now requires a 60-vote supermajority, raising doubts about its viability even among some Republican senators.
• Opponents from both parties, together with hunters, recreation groups and conservationists, warn the plan could erode public access and lacks guarantees for affordable housing.
• Environmental advocates celebrated the procedural victory but caution that ongoing legislative efforts could resurrect the proposal in future bills.