July 1, 2025 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Statement on Senate Passage of H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act – 7.1.25
Contacts:
Travis Hammill, DC Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (202) 266-0472; travis@suwa.org
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Washington, DC – Today, after multiple days of debate over constantly-changing bill text, Senate Republicans passed the reconciliation package known as One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1). The vote was 51-50 with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie, meaning the legislation was approved by the Senate and will be sent back to the House of Representatives.
In the weeks leading up to today’s vote, Senator and Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Mike Lee (R-UT) attempted to include language that would have mandated the sell-off of millions of acres of federal lands across 11 states in the West, including Utah; his final version focused on over a million acres of Bureau of Land Management land. Thanks to the bipartisan backlash and fierce opposition from SUWA’s members, partners, and Americans across the country, Sen. Lee was forced to pull his unpopular proposal mere hours before debate began.
“The removal of Sen. Lee’s universally unpopular sell-off plans is a win for all Americans, ensuring that public lands remain public,” said Travis Hammill, SUWA DC Director. “While we celebrate this accomplishment, the legislation guts tax credits for clean energy, attacks the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), creates new handouts to extractive industries, and includes many other terrible provisions. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, our members, and our partners will continue to fight for our public lands and against any efforts to sell them off to the highest bidder.”
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
