FYI: Risch & Crapo come out against sale of public land

could it be that the phone calls worked!

It is good news that both US Senators from Idaho have come out against selling public lands, and let’s celebrate that and hope that the bill fails the vote in the full Senate.

And I think that massive public pressure is responsible. So thanks for those phone calls!

[If you are interested, keep reading as to why I’ve come to the conclusion that our phone calls worked - please fact check and correct me if you think I’m wrong]

The article in the Idaho Statesman states: “The Republican senators had not previously spoken out on the controversial provision, proposed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would fold the land-sale into the “ ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ "

But Risch is ON the committee (Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) that released the budget reconciliation text (subtitle 3, p 30) on June 14 that contains the mandate to sell off public land.

The article further quotes Risch: “After reviewing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources reconciliation language, I do not support the proposed provision to sell public lands.”

Did Risch not know what was in his committee’s document? Or did public sentiment make him back down?

Furthermore, in April 2025, both Risch and Crapo voted against a Senate amendment that would have barred using land‑sale revenues to reduce the national deficit (48–51)