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Tancredo Wants Federal Land Sold To Fund Relief
AP) DENVER U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo on Wednesday called for the
sale of federal land to fund Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
"The federal government may be cash-poor but it is land rich.
There is demand for farm and ranch land, and the federal
government should have long ago transferred its massive
holdings to the private sector, where it can be put to use,"
the Colorado Republican said in a statement.
He introduced a bill in Congress requiring the Interior
Department to sell 15 percent of the federal land it controls,
including national parks and Indian land. The Agriculture
Department also would be required to sell a portion of the
land it controls.
"Environmental radicals put up regulatory roadblocks to use of
our national land, often miring any sensible land use proposal
in endless litigation. My bill would give environmentalists an
excellent opportunity to put their money where their mouth is
and buy up federal land for conservation," Tancredo said.
A vast majority of federal lands -- including more than 75
percent of the national forest acres, more than 90 percent of
the national park acres, and more than 99 percent of the
Bureau of Land Management acres -- are located in the 12
western states including Alaska.
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