Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, my amendment prohibits funds from being used to provide for additional funding for national monument designations under the Antiquities Act. The Antiquities Act, passed in 1906, authorizes the President to singlehandedly designate any Federal public lands as national monuments. Its creation was motivated by the looting of Indian artifacts and archaeological sites dating back to the late 1800s. While focusing on fixing a real issue of its day, the law was carefully crafted to protect private citizens from government overreach. The Antiquities Act designations should be done under, and I quote directly from the legislation, ``the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.'' Clearly, it was meant to be limited in scope. Just like everything else, this administration and previous Democrat administrations make it impossible for us to have nice things. Think about this. In the 8 years that Joe Biden was Vice President under the Obama administration, the Antiquities Act was weaponized for 550 million acres of land. That is roughly a quarter of the land by acreage in the United States. That is a problem that goes beyond the scope and intent of this act. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”