Hageman Joins Amicus Brief Challenging Federal Land Ownership

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Harriet Hageman joined with Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Representatives John Curtis, (UT-03), Celeste Maloy (UT-02), Blake Moore (UT-01) and Burgess Owens (UT-04) in filing an amicus brief advocating that the Supreme Court hear the complaint in Utah v U.S., the case challenging the federal government’s ownership of unappropriated land in Utah.

Representative Hageman stated, “The federal burden in the West infringes on our sovereignty and undermines our equality with the States, all in direct violation of the Constitution. This ownership serves no purpose other than to inflict bad management policies which lock up lands from productive use. Although this brief only relates to Utah, it is an argument that could have far reaching benefits for all western states, including Wyoming, where 48% of all surface lands are owned by the feds.”

What our brief argues:

• The Constitution and subsequent federal law places disputes between the States and the federal government in the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and it has no discretion to refuse such a case 
• Even if the Court had such discretion, this is an extraordinarily important Constitutional question regarding state sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, and equality between the States requiring the Courts review
• The Court should compel the U.S. to return to Utah control over its land.
• The federal government’s possession of large swaths of unappropriated land in Utah in perpetuity and disconnected from enumerated powers denies Utah basic sovereign authorities such as taxation, exercising of eminent domain, or even regulation.
• The federal government’s indefinite retention of lands in western states denies them equal statehood and representation. Not only does this give western states an uneven level of sovereignty, but it also hurts Congressional representation as delegations must focus on federal land management issues in a matter other state delegations do not have to.

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Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director