Congresswoman Dina Titus announced today that she has successfully removed language from the Republican budget bill that would have sold off at least 65,000 acres of land in Southern Nevada. Rep. Titus has been leading the effort to remove the provision since Rep. Mark Amodei introduced an amendment in the early morning hours of May 7^th to sell off public lands and direct the proceeds to the federal government to pay for tax breaks for the rich.

“This is the right decision,” Congresswoman Titus said. “The Republican budget bill already forces states to deal with billions of dollars in federal cuts to Medicaid, as well as to education, food, and housing assistance programs. The Amodei amendment would have created an additional burden on taxpayers who would have ultimately had to front the costs of infrastructure improvements needed for developments in distant areas. It would have further strained our limited water resources. On top of that, this provision would have broken precedent by sending money back to Washington D.C. rather than keeping it in Southern Nevada to invest in conservation, preserving critical ecosystems, wildfire prevention efforts, and public schools.”

Just after midnight on Monday morning, Rep. Titus was ready to defend Southern Nevadans by introducing her amendment to nullify the proposed land sales in Clark County. The language was removed in the manager’s amendment, however, after the Congresswoman worked successfully with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure the provision was struck.