Dale Bumpers: “in 1866, Congress passed a mining law called Revised Statute 2477. Here is what it said: The right-of-way for the…”

“in 1866, Congress passed a mining law called Revised Statute 2477. Here is what it said: The right-of-way for the construction of public highways across public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted. That was the law until 1976 when we repealed it. And we repealed it because there are literally thousands and thousands of potential rights-of-way, which the States could claim for purposes of building a highway across Federal lands. In 1988, Donald Hodel, who was the Secretary of the Interior at the time, established a policy. Listen to this: Under that policy, a right-of-way could be established by mowing high vegetation, by moving a few rocks, by filling in low spots. The State of Alaska has passed a law making every section-line in the State a right-of-way, over 900,000 miles. Here is the kicker, Mr. President. These rights-of-way would cross national parks, wilderness areas, national monuments, and other protected areas. These highways cross all of those areas that we have since taken out of the public domain and made national parks and other reserved areas. If we don't pass this amendment, every State--but particularly Alaska, Utah, and Idaho--will have the right to build roads on every one of those claimed rights-of-way, according to the language of the Stevens amendment. This issue is not an emergency.…”