WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis alongside Representative Harriet Hageman (all R-WY) introduced the Protect America’s Lands Act which seeks to amend the Securities Exchange Act to prohibit a national securities exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from listing Natural Asset Companies (NACs). NACs create a financial vehicle for radical environmental activists to raise capital to seize public and private lands in Wyoming and restrict energy production, grazing, mining, recreation and additional economic development.
“Economies in Wyoming and across the West thrive from mining, grazing, energy production and timber logging. The New York Stock Exchange tried to sell-out America’s public lands to the highest bidder. We cannot allow this liberal playbook to be used again,” said Barrasso. “Ongoing efforts to bring NACs to the market would hurt responsible land and resource management activities. Our legislation makes sure greedy exchanges and radical, climate elitists are not able to take our public lands hostage and disrupt our way of life in Wyoming.”
“Wyoming’s economy depends on access to federal land as our landscapes generate income for multiple industries and draw thousands of people to the Cowboy State each year,” said Lummis. “Allowing NACs to be listed on stock exchanges would create a backdoor way for activist liberal investors to implement the Green New Deal by locking up millions of acres of land. The people of Wyoming will always be the best stewards of our land, not activists and certainly not foreign nationals.”
“NACs would change U.S. land access, management, use, and ownership as we know it,” said Hageman. “As if that weren’t bad enough, as proposed, there are no limits placed on who can buy these lands—China, Russia, Iran, and other bad actors would be free to participate and shut down U.S. energy, mineral and food production.”
Background:
The Protect America’s Lands Act amends the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit the listing and trading of NACs on a national securities exchange.
On October 4, 2023, the SEC published the NYSE’s notice of a proposed rule change that would allow the exchange to list NACs, enabling them to raise the capital to buy land and potentially gain control over national parks, federal land and even private land.
On January 18, 2024, the NYSE withdrew its proposal following pressure from the Wyoming delegation and other lawmakers.
Click here to read the full bill.
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