Jacobs calls for selling off public lands, mineral rights

DAVENPORT - Republican Senate hopeful Mark Jacobs on Tuesday released a plan for dealing with the nation's debt and deficits and called on Congress to commit to a balanced budget within 10 years.

Jacobs proposed raising money by selling mineral rights and public lands in the western United States, as well as auctioning off bandwidth.

Jacobs is in a five-way GOP primary battle, with voters going to the polls next week.

A former energy executive, he has touted his business experience during the campaign. And his eight-page plan said that it will take 'hard work and tough decisions” to narrow the country's annual deficit and its long-term debt, which now exceeds $17 trillion.

The government's projected annual budget deficit this fiscal year is nearly $500 billion. Over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office says, the deficit will fluctuate between $469 billion and $1 trillion under current policies.

In his plan, Jacobs proposed a balanced budget amendment and cutting administrative budgets at federal agencies by 10 percent, ideas he has mentioned before. The latter idea would save $20 billion per year, the plan says.

'Congress should commit to a plan that would achieve a balanced budget in 10 years and ensure that our federal budget remains in balanced after that,” the plan says.

In calling for raising money by selling off public lands and resources, Jacobs notes that in some states, the federal government owns most of the land. Some of that could be sold to private owners, he said.

He also says the value of natural resources under federal land could exceed $100 trillion, citing an estimate by the private Institute for Energy Research.

Auctioning bandwidth, he says, could raise $40 billion.

Jacobs also renewed calls for a bipartisan commission to deal with the long-term viability of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which make up most of the federal government's budget.