Congresswoman Lee Statement on Stopping the Amodei Land Grab Proposal

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) released the following statement on the Amodei land grab proposal being removed from the House Republican budget reconciliation bill: 

“My amendment to protect Nevada’s water has been included by Republican leadership in their budget reconciliation bill, and after our pressure campaign, the Amodei land grab proposal has been removed.  

“This is a huge win for Nevada’s and the Southwest’s water security.  

“I’m happy that my Republican colleagues, led by Rep. Zinke, acknowledged that it would wrongfully change the way federal lands are managed. They stood their ground, and we were able to stop the unprecedented Amodei proposal.” 

Lee worked with House Republicans to have Amodei’s proposal removed in a Republican leadership manager’s amendment.  

Parcels of land marked for sale in Amodei’s proposal lined up with the public land that Utah has been targeting for its Lake Powell Pipeline. If this land were sold and the pipeline were built, it could divert 28 billion gallons of water each year from Lake Powell and the Colorado River to communities in southern Utah, away from Nevada and the other Basin states. 

For decades, federal law has ensured that proceeds from land sales in southern Nevada stay in Nevada. Amodei’s proposal would have sent these proceeds to the federal government to subsidize Republicans’ reckless spending and billionaire tax cuts.  

Amodei doesn’t represent any part of Clark County, and his proposal was not supported by the county government or any member of Nevada’s federal delegation elected by the voters of Clark County.  

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