Dem Lawmaker Questions Deb Haaland About Efforts To Support Affordable Housing

7 months ago

At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) questioned Sec. Deb Haaland about affordable housing.

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00:00This is a gentlelady from Nevada, Ms. Lee, for five minutes.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for being here, Secretary Haaland.

00:08I wanted to also thank you on behalf of Native American tribes in Nevada for your leadership

00:16in designating Iquama as the nation's latest national monument.

00:26Not only that, the Department of Interior has also been actively uplifting Nevadans

00:30in other ways since that time, including finalizing an agreement with the Department of Housing

00:37and Urban Development to make eligible public lands available for $100 an acre, far below

00:45fair market value for the sole purpose of constructing critically needed affordable

00:51housing projects in Southern Nevada.

00:54Can you update us on Interior's efforts to support affordable housing for Nevadans, including

01:00through this agreement?

01:02Congresswoman, thank you so much for the question and for recognizing that this is truly an

01:09issue across the country.

01:11We want to get great folks working on our public lands, and we can only do that if they

01:15have a place to live.

01:17The BLM is currently working on two additional conveyances for affordable housing under this

01:21MOU.

01:23One of the proposals is from Clark County, and we're working to complete that conveyance

01:27by early next year.

01:29The other proposal is from the city of Henderson, which is at an earlier stage.

01:34So we're seeing great progress and potential under this MOU, and we'll continue working

01:38with HUD and the state and local communities on this critical issue, and be happy to keep

01:43you updated on it as we move forward.

01:45Great.

01:46Thank you.

01:47I'm also happy to report that a facility in my district with 195 units of affordable

01:55housing specifically for seniors is on its way, so thank you for that.

02:00Also, I appreciate Interior's testimony in support of my bipartisan ACE Act, which is

02:08another tool that will give the department additional flexibility to get land deals done

02:13more quickly for housing, conservation, and other critical infrastructure.

02:21Secretary Haaland, I want to switch to staffing.

02:24The BLM administers 50 million acres of land in my state alone, yet we know that after

02:31the Trump administration announced the plans to relocate BLM headquarters to Colorado,

02:38more than 87% of BLM's Washington-based employees left the agency, and upon her confirmation,

02:47BLM Director Tracy Stone Manning emphasized that her top priority was rebuilding the agency

02:54and fixing staff shortages.

02:57Last year in this committee, you acknowledged this issue and the impacts it has on Western

03:03communities like my own.

03:06The examples in my home of Clark County, for instance, have indicated that it can still

03:10take up to two years for BLM to approve some leases that would enable it to advance locally

03:18funded parks and trail projects.

03:20I just want to ask, where are we on the staff shortage, and is BLM closer to where they

03:27should be, which means is it robust enough to translate to fewer delays on the ground?

03:36Thank you, Congresswoman, and we will take that concern back to the office with us when

03:39we depart this afternoon.

03:42I want you to know that under Tracy's leadership, the BLM has initiated a number of hiring surges

03:48and recruitment efforts to fill those vacancies, and we feel like we're continuing to make

03:53progress to build back the BLM workforce, including significant hiring increases at

03:58the headquarters and across the Bureau, because a lot of the folks don't actually work here

04:03in D.C.

04:05I just will tell you that we remain committed to ensuring that we can fill these positions

04:10because we know the work is critical.

04:12Yeah, and we'd appreciate if you let us know how Congress can best support you in that

04:18effort as well.

04:21I have a little more time.

04:23Can you tell us what it would do to BLM's ability to continue to advance smart energy

04:29development, outdoor recreation, conservation, the full spectrum of uses for BLM lands if

04:35Congress were to cut the Bureau's funding by 50% as a jaw-dropping 144 of my Republican

04:44colleagues voted to do in fiscal year 24?

04:47Congresswoman, of course, everything in our budget we feel is justified.

04:54As I have said many, many times, our public lands belong to all Americans.

04:59I'm proud of the work we've been able to do to lift up our public lands so that the outdoor

05:05recreation industry can grow.

05:08It can only grow if they have places to go that people want to go.

05:12So all of the work we're doing on ecosystem restoration, the Endangered Species Act, all

05:20of these things, they help preserve and conserve our public lands in a way that benefits the

05:27American people and I believe will increase opportunities for small businesses and our

05:34economy around the country.

05:37Thank you.

05:38I yield.

05:39Ladies, time has expired.

05:40The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota, the chair of the Subcommittee on

05:45Energy and Minerals.

05:46Mr. Stauber, you're recognized for five minutes.

Dem Lawmaker Questions Deb Haaland About Efforts To Support Affordable Housing

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