John Hansen: “A thought occurred to me as my colleague from the Third Congressional District of Utah got up to speak about something.…”

“A thought occurred to me as my colleague from the Third Congressional District of Utah got up to speak about something. He talked about President William Jefferson Clinton going to the south rim of the Grand Canyon on September 18, 1996, and in a few short words he declared that 1.7 million acres of Utah would be a monument. He said he did the same thing that Teddy Roosevelt did using the antiquities laws when Teddy Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon. History tells us a different story. Teddy Roosevelt planned this out for years. He talked to the Governors, legislators, interested people. Teddy Roosevelt went all over the Grand Canyon. He hunted in the Grand Canyon. He hiked in the Grand Canyon. He floated the Colorado River. He knew it inside and out. He was a historian and a man who understood it. Then he made the Grand Canyon, and bless his heart for doing it, into a beautiful area. William Jefferson Clinton, if he was asked to put his hand on this new monument, would probably miss it by 500 miles. He did not even know it was there. So the question comes up, why did he do it? I guess a lot of environmental folks said, gee, this will be a wonderful thing for you to do, Mr. President. We will all think it is a great thing if you make this monument and set it aside. Who benefits from this?”