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18h ago

Senate Weighs Mike Lee Amendment Targeting National Park Safeguards

Mounting opposition is increasing the chance the spending package slips to January.

People demonstrate during a protest against federal employee layoffs at Yosemite National Park, Calif., on March 1, 2025.
FILE: Zion National Park.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, participates in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
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Overview

  • The proposal would strike Interior-Environment bill language requiring national park units to remain federal land and be staffed by federal employees.
  • National park groups warn the change could open a path to selling park lands, while Lee’s office says it creates no sale authority and notes Interior cannot sell parks.
  • Analysts emphasize that disposing of National Park lands would still require an act of Congress, unlike certain Bureau of Land Management disposals.
  • The amendment also removes a USDA conservation cost-sharing waiver and a 45-day congressional notice requirement for actions affecting at least 10% of an agency’s workforce.
  • After GOP leaders granted conservatives amendment votes and Sen. Lisa Murkowski negotiated with Lee to advance the package, Democrats signaled opposition and warned the floor fight could push final action into January.