WHEREAS, there remains in full force and effect an 1872 federal law (30 USC 22) that requires the federal government to sell, at ridiculously low prices, land that contains valuable mineral deposits; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of such legislation when enacted in the last century was to provide an incentive to persons to, among other things, develop the mining resources of the western United States; and

WHEREAS, under said law the federal department of the interior recently sold 110 acres of land in Idaho containing an estimated $1 billion in minerals for $275; and

WHEREAS, the aforesaid purpose of the federal law has long been fulfilled, and the law is nothing more than a giveaway of federal property, often in ecologically sensitive areas.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the federal law entitled "Lands open to purchase by citizens", at 30 United States Code 22, be repealed or amended so that any purchaser of lands having minerals shall pay fair market value, and there be appropriate consideration and protection of ecological and environmental issues.

And be it further

RESOLVED, that the secretary of state be and hereby is authorized and directed to send a certified copy of this resolution to the speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and to each of the members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation.