The Senate will stop this. Will you give the Senate to the Republicans this fall?
The House passed a bill on March 26 that would gut the Antiquities Act, a law used by presidents from both parties to protect special places for more than a century.
The latest salvo against public lands, H.R. 1459, would add bureaucratic hurdles and arbitrary limits to the process of designating national monuments, a presidential tradition upheld since the Antiquities Act was first signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and used on a bipartisan basis by 16 presidents since then. …
If it became law, the bill would…
- Prevent presidents from declaring more than one monument in a state during each term without an express act of Congress;
- Add bureaucratic hurdles by requiring additional government studies for most monument designations;
- Waste taxpayer dollars–an additional $2 million over the next four years–on those studies, some of which would have to be submitted for Congressional review;
- Make monument designations of under 5,000 acres temporary and subject to review by Congress within three years.
Many of America’s most cherished public places, from Statue of Liberty to Giant Sequoia National Monument, were first protected under the Antiquities Act. More than 30 national parks, including Grand Canyon National Park and Pinnacles National Park were originally protected as monuments under the Antiquities Act.
How did your Representative vote? The scoundrel Republican Steve Pearce voted against preserving and for exploitation. Democrats Grisham and Lujan voted for preservation.
Final Vote Results for Roll Call 147
BILL TITLE: To ensure that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of national monuments, and for other purposes