LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Montana Republican’s threat to vote against the “One Big Beautiful Bill” ultimately spelled the demise of a Nevada congressman’s attempt to sell off public lands in Clark County, Northern Nevada and Utah.
U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) infuriated conservation advocates and Nevada Democrats with his amendment, tacked onto the multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package in a late-night session last week. But the amendment died as Republicans determined they couldn’t risk bringing the bill to a vote without Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke’s vote. The bill passed early Thursday by a 215-214 vote.
It wouldn’t have been that close, but two Republicans missed the vote. According to a report by The Hill, New York Republican Andrew Garbarino “fell asleep in the back, no kidding,” and Arizona Republican David Schweikert arrived after the vote had closed. Another Republican voted “present.”
“I’m happy that my Republican colleagues, led by Rep. Zinke, acknowledged that it would wrongfully change the way federal lands are managed,” U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) said in a statement Wednesday night. “They stood their ground, and we were able to stop the unprecedented Amodei proposal.”
Lee’s office said land marked for sale in Amodei’s proposal lined up with the public land that Utah has been targeting for its Lake Powell Pipeline, which would send water to St. George and other Utah communities.
“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,” according to a news release.
“This is a huge win for Nevada’s and the Southwest’s water security,” Lee said.
For decades, federal law has ensured that proceeds from land sales in Southern Nevada stay in Nevada, reinvested in projects for parks and recreation, and also partially allocated to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. That all happens through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA).
Amodei’s amendment would have sent these proceeds to the federal government to subsidize tax cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus also fought against Amodei’s proposal, offering her own amendment to reverse that plan.
In an interview Wednesday night with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Amodei expressed frustration. “You might have played checkers for a week, but the chess game starts now,” Amodei said. That report indicated more than 65,000 acres in Clark County would have been sold.
Zinke was appointed Secretary of the Interior at the start of President Donald Trump’s first term, but left less than two years later amid ethics investigations.
Sierra Club leaders declared a win.
“This is proof that when people fight for the things and places they love, they win,” Olivia Tanager, director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, said in a statement.
“Nevadans stood up, raised hell, and made it crystal clear: our public lands are not for sale. Let this be the dawn of a new day in Nevada and across the country, and let us all say once and for all: no land sales at the expense of communities today, not tomorrow, not ever,” Tanager said.
Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, said, “We hope that Zinke’s move sends a strong message to lawmakers of all stripes: We can never break the public trust and the Colorado River for billionaire tax breaks.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
