Legislation introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) would slow the federal government’s land acquisition rate and would require agencies to prioritize current land holdings in reports to Congress.
Graves introduced the No More Land Act in response to a $12 billion maintenance backlog on federal land holdings, which account for more than a quarter of all the land in the United States, according to a press release.
“Over the years, we’ve seen these agencies buying up more and more private property,” Graves said. “A lot of times it’s for environmental projects, like those we’ve seen along the Missouri River for so many years.”
The No More Land Act would prohibit the federal government from acquiring any more land under the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). In an effort to eliminate the land maintenance backlog within 25 years, the LWCF would shift the government’s focus to maintaining land rather than obtaining it.
“We have a federal government that has grown too big and is trying to do too much,” Graves said. “This is just the latest example. My bill goes a long way in setting new priorities for these federal agencies and stopping the blatant power grab we have seen from them for too long now.”
Under the measure, agencies would be required to prioritize land holdings and report on program successes within four years of the bill becoming law. Agencies would also be required to reduce the maintenance backlog by 20 percent every five years.