[VIDEO] Rep. Lee Testifies Before Rules Committee in Support of her Amendment to Stop Amodei’s Utah Land Grab That Jeopardizes Nevada’s Water Security

DOWNLOAD VIDEO OF TESTIMONY AND QUESTIONING HERE

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) testified before the Rules Committee in support of her amendment to stop House Republicans from moving forward with Congressman Mark Amodei’s (NV-02) Trojan horse Utah land grab that jeopardizes Nevada’s and the Southwest's water security. Amodei’s proposal is currently included in the House Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill but could be removed by House Republican leadership. 

Lee has been working with House Republicans to have Amodei’s proposal removed in an expected “manager’s amendment” from Republican leadership.
Parcels of land marked for sale in Amodei’s proposal line up with the public land that Utah has been targeting for its Lake Powell Pipeline. If this land is sold and the pipeline is 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. Six of the seven Colorado River Basin states — that is, all the Basin states but Utah — have previously highlighted ‘outstanding legal and operational concerns raised by the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline project.’ 

TRANSCRIPT OF REP. LEE’S REMARKS:  

“I’m here to ask for support to my amendment to this big, bad, billionaire bill or whatever it’s called. It’s not about the nearly 100,000 Nevadans who will be left without healthcare. It’s not about the thousands of homebound seniors who will no longer receive Meals on Wheels. It’s not about the trillions that will be added to our national deficit. 

It’s about water, something so precious and important to my home district in southern Nevada. 

My amendment aims to stop Congressman Mark Amodei and the House Republicans from moving forward with a Trojan horse Utah land grab that jeopardizes Nevada’s water security and could very well derail sensitive and complicated negotiations about the future of the Colorado River. 

I’m here because two weeks ago, literally in the middle of the night — seems to be a recurring theme for how Republicans legislate — Rep. Amodei advanced legislation in the Natural Resources Committee to sell off thousands of acres of federal land in Nevada and Utah. The proceeds from those sales would go to Washington to pay for billionaire tax breaks in the budget bill.  

Mr. Amodei claims that this sell-off is necessary to lower the cost of housing. I’ve always supported releasing more federal land for housing in Nevada. In fact, I’ve introduced and passed bipartisan legislation to do exactly that.    

My first problem is that Rep. Amodei’s proposal isn’t really about housing. The Amodei proposal doesn’t require that the land sold in Nevada be used for housing. In fact, there is very little information on how exactly this land would be used.  

Which leads me to my second issue with the proposal. For decades, the law has ensured that proceeds from federal land sales in southern Nevada stay in Nevada.    

Rep. Amodei’s proposal would instead send these proceeds to the federal government, and Nevada would lose billions in revenue as a result. This would mean less money to build more schools, water infrastructure, and so much more.  

In fact, federal land sales in southern Nevada have generated about half a billion dollars to date to invest directly in southern Nevada water priorities.  

Under Rep. Amodei’s own projection, this move could divert nearly $10 billion from Nevada. Think about it, who would then pay for things like water and parks and schools? Nevada homeowners. So, the Amodei move actually increases housing costs for Nevadans, not decreases them. 

And let me remind you that Rep. Amodei doesn’t represent any part of Clark County, and his proposal is not supported by the county government or any member of Nevada’s federal delegation elected by the voters of Clark County.   

I would never introduce a bill to sell off land in another congressperson’s district without consulting with them.  

Congresswoman Titus just proposed an amendment to stop the land sales in southern Nevada, which I support. 

I finally want to talk about the third issue with this proposal and the purpose of my amendment, which relates to Nevada’s and the southwest’s water security.   

Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton and I have been alerted by water officials in Nevada and Arizona that the public land that Amodei wants to sell off in Utah could be used for a controversial water pipeline. The parcels of land marked for sale in his proposal coincidentally line up with the land in Utah that has been targeted for the so-called Lake Powell Pipeline.  

This proposed pipeline has greatly concerned water managers in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. These are six of the seven states that depend on the Colorado River — every one except Utah.   

If this land is sold and the pipeline is built, this could divert 28 billion gallons of water each year from Lake Powell and the Colorado River to communities in southern Utah — away from Nevada, Arizona, and other Basin states.  

Look, Amodei did not consult local authorities in southern Nevada, and it shows, because he clearly doesn’t understand the relationship between water and development and housing costs.  

I support the Titus amendment, and I’m asking you to advance my amendment to repeal the Amodei land sale in Utah so we can stop this Trojan horse to steal Nevada’s water. Thank you.” 

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