Budget reconciliation is a special congressional fast-track process that allows certain legislation to pass the Senate with just 51 votes instead of the usual 60. In recent years, provisions to sell or transfer federal public lands have been slipped into reconciliation bills, allowing such changes to move through with limited debate. The Public Lands Integrity Act would change the Senate's Byrd Rule — the mechanism used to strip unrelated items out of reconciliation bills — by declaring any provision that sells, disposes of, or transfers federal lands as 'extraneous' and therefore ineligible for the reconciliation process. If enacted, future attempts to sell or transfer public lands would need to go through the normal legislative process and clear the standard 60-vote Senate threshold.
Environmental Concerns
- Federal land disposal protection — Provisions to sell, transfer, or dispose of public lands blocked from Senate reconciliation fast-track
Congressional Summary
Public Lands Integrity ActThis bill generally prohibits provisions that result in the sale, disposal, or transfer of federal lands from being included in reconciliation legislation by requiring the provisions to be considered extraneous under the Senate's Byrd Rule. The Senate's Byrd Rule (named after it's principal author, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia) prohibits the inclusion of matter in reconciliation legislation that is extraneous to a congressional committee's reconciliation directives in the associated congressional budget resolution. Reconciliation is an expedited method by which Congress may adopt changes in spending and revenue laws to achieve the budgetary goals reflected in a congressional budget resolution. Reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.For additional information, see CRS Report R48640, The Senate’s Byrd Rule: Frequently Asked Questions.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2026-06-04
- Date Added
- 2026-06-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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