I have read all 69 pages of the Lee Amendment that would not pass the Senate by itself but is inserted into a must-pass continuous resolution budget bill or the government will shut down.

• Routt County is currently pursuing affordable housing on U.S. Forest Service(USFS) administrative lands through the Flexible Housing Partnerships Act.
• There is no language in the proposal that restricts the use of these public lands to only affordable housing.
• It directs the Secretary of Interior to sell or transfer 2.1 million to 3.2 million acres across 11 states of USFS and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in a five years.
• The proposal can dispose of 595,000 acres out of 755,000 acres of USFS land and 33,000 acres of BLM land in Routt County.
• The disposal of these lands must begin thirty days after the Act is passed which cuts public comments out, eliminates the opportunity for Congress to review and disapprove the sales.
• It does not guarantee the “right of first refusal” to the BLM, the USFS or to a State or local government.
• The phrase “as determined by the Secretary” throughout the document for decision-making leaves out Congress, BLM, USFS and local government from input.
• It opens up oil, gas, mining and logging on 595,000 acres of USFS land in Routt County.
• The community of Routt County has been very clear with federal agencies that we do not believe that the extractive resource industry is the highest and best use of public lands.