Maurice Hinchey: “However, we also have occasional differences, and we certainly have a difference on this particular piece of…”

“However, we also have occasional differences, and we certainly have a difference on this particular piece of legislation. This bill would restrict the President's ability to declare national monuments. This is a provision that has been in the law now for some 90 years. We have had a large number of monuments that have been declared. I think 13 Presidents have used it, and 102 monuments have been declared over that period of time. This bill is not really about all of that; this bill before us today focuses its attention on simply one national monument declared by President Clinton last year, the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. That act by President Clinton was, I believe, one of the most important domestic acts of his administration. It set aside an area of southern Utah which is vastly important to the future of our country, and it is not the first time that this area has been considered for special consideration by a President.”