For Sen. Heinrich, the right amount of federal land holdings is “more”

Last week, I traveled around New Mexico talking to members of the public and county commissioners on the issue of transferring some federal lands back to state control. But there are some, especially in Washington, who oppose ANY effort to reduce the ever-expanding federal estate. Count New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich among them.

Heinrich has co-sponsored a resolution that would add procedural restrictions to any legislative effort to sell off federal lands to reduce the deficit. Ironically, it was Heinrich and his fellow Democrats in the Senate who voted just last year to REMOVE procedural obstacles to executive branch and judicial nominees.

The Rio Grande Foundation’s efforts are not designed specifically to address the federal deficit, but you can bet that ANY effort to reduce the federal estate will be subject to such procedural restrictions. One wonders why Heinrich would oppose fellow Democrat Ray Powell’s effort to restore some BLM lands to state control in an effort to fund a new pre-k program.

It would seem that Heinrich is simply pandering with this effort, but clearly he sees any effort to reduce federal land holdings as a very bad thing politically while expanding federal control as with the recent Organ Mountains Wilderness designation to be a good thing.

HT: Myron Ebell