WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have added a provision to their sweeping tax cut package that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, prompting outrage from Democrats and environmental groups who called the plan a betrayal that could lead to increased drilling, mining and logging in the West.

Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee adopted the land sales proposal last week. The initial draft had not included it amid bipartisan opposition.

The land sale provision put forward by Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah would sell thousands of acres of public lands in the two states, and calls for some of the parcels to be considered for affordable housing projects.

“The sales from these small parcels of land will generate significant federal revenue, and have broad local support. It’s a tailored, parochial budgetary measure,” said House Natural Resources Committee spokesperson John Seibels.

Colorado Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd voted against the provision and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., called it “deeply irresponsible.”

“Public lands shouldn’t have a price tag on them. But (President) Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are working like mad to hand over our public lands to billionaires and corporate polluters to drill, mine and log with the bare minimum oversight or accountability,’’ said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. The lands potentially for sale “belong to all Americans. They shouldn’t be given away to pad corporate bottom lines,’’ Manuel said.

Seibels said the land sales provision resulted from a “community-driven effort” by the impacted counties.

The Nevada parcels are in Lyon County, Washoe County, Pershing County and Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. The Utah parcels are in the southwestern portion of the state, including around the city of St. George and near Zion National Park.

The sales provision advanced as the Natural Resources committee voted 26-17 to allow increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging while clearing the path for more development by speeding up government approvals. Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing former Democratic President Joe Biden’s attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.

Oil and gas royalty rates would drop from 16.7 percent on public lands and 18.75 percent offshore to a uniform 12.5 percent under the committee-passed bill, which still faces a vote in the full House and Senate once it is incorporated into the final legislative package. Royalties for coal would drop from 12.5 percent to 7 percent.

The measure calls for four oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next decade. It also seeks to boost the ailing coal industry with a mandate to make available for leasing 6,250 square miles of public lands, an area greater in size than Connecticut.

Republican supporters say the lost revenue would be offset by increased development. It’s uncertain if companies would have an appetite for leases given the industry’s precipitous decline in recent years as utilities switched to cleaner burning fuels and renewable energy.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner in March proposed using “underutilized” federal land for affordable housing. Turner said some 7 million homes are needed. Officials under Biden also sought to use public lands for affordable housing, although on a smaller scale.