Overview

• Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled June 23 that Lee’s initial proposal violated the Byrd Rule and stripped it from the budget reconciliation bill
• On June 24, Lee announced he would remove all Forest Service land from the measure and confine sales to BLM parcels within five miles of population centers
• Lee plans to introduce “freedom zones” intended to prioritize American families, farmers, ranchers and recreational users
• Key Republican opponents including Steve Daines and Jim Risch, along with Democrats and conservation groups like The Wilderness Society, say they will block any version that requires a 60-vote threshold
• Critics contend the revised plan still lacks enforceable safeguards to ensure sold lands serve affordable housing needs rather than private or luxury development