Senator van Nevada accuses Republicans of ‘Land Grab’
In a statement from her office this week, Cortez called Masto Amodei by saying that “one of the biggest sale of Nevada Public Lands in History in their reconciliation law demolished.”
‘Insane plan’
The senator promised to fight the proposal strongly.
‘In the middle of the night, [Rep. Amodei] Pushed House Republicans to continue with an insane plan that lowers the financing of water retention and public schools in Nevada, “she said.” This is a landgripe to finance the tax assessment of the billionaire of the Republicans, and I will fight with everything I have. “
Amodei, for his part, said Amodei during the Markup session that the population of Nevada is too dependent on Congress To make decisions about the Federal Land of the State when the Skifter promotion is needed to tackle housing shortages there.
But Cortez Masto argues that Amodei has made the move “without consulting one of the Nevada delegation” and “the inclusion of language in the upcoming billionaire tax reduction of the Republicans that would sell up to 200,000 hectares of public country in Clark County.”
She added that the bill ignores the consultation provisions of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA), and that the amendment ‘removes money from nature conservation, nature fire prevention and public schools in Nevada, as well as the South Nevada Water Authority. “
The move will serve to “shorten billions of dollars in future income from almost every province in Nevada, and the state as a whole,” she said.
Previous federal actions for land use
Cortez Masto has been a key figure in the current debate about the more use of the Federal Land of the State.
In 2023 she helped a memorandum of understanding between the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the US Department of the Interior. The agreement tried to set up a framework for a scheme to sell federal grounds to the state with a rate of $ 100 per hectare, far below market value.
The country would be used for “the construction of critically necessary affordable housing projects in South Nevada,” said an announcement by HUD at the time.
But that effort took place during the Biden administration. With Democrats now locked up in majorities in the legislative branch and a republican that also White houseCongress leaders have chosen to continue on important parts of their agenda, despite the opposition from the other side of the aisle.
A person who is familiar with the work of Cortez Masto told this issue Housing that she tried to bring several stakeholders in Clark County, Nevada, to the table in an attempt to give the state ownership instead of the American department of the treasury. The process that was established in 2023 can take years to complete, but the memorandum remains valid.
State level movements
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) has also weighed this song several times.
In 2024, he insisted on the then President Biden to lower federal expenses and take action against affordable housing problems. In a letter sent to Biden last spring, Lombardo asked the president to “make more federal grounds available for housing, so that Nevada can increase his inventory and tackle shortages to ultimately reduce costs.”
In February 2025, Lombardo also submitted a letter to the legislative leaders of the State and insisted on the approval of a resolution that would insist on more control over the federal country of the state to build houses.
But the democratic majority raises Asersions about the sincerity of the letter and told housing duration that earlier veto actions of the governor undermined the intention of the letter.
“If Gov. Lombardo is serious about tackling the affordability of homes and not just writing letters, he must collaborate with legislative Democrats and Republicans to offer immediate action to families in Nevada,” said Sandra Jauregui, the majority leader of the Democratic Assembly, in February.
