Celeste Maloy: “It has had a negative impact on energy production--as soon as I get in front of a microphone, I have a tickle in my…”

“It has had a negative impact on energy production--as soon as I get in front of a microphone, I have a tickle in my throat--by restricting the areas that are open for use, withdrawing them from mineral exploration, oil and gas exploration, and energy production. The original intent of the Presidential proclamation authority in the Antiquities Act was for the President to be able to move quickly and declare a national monument in an area with antiquities, or an area of scientific interest, to hold it until Congress could make a decision. Since 1976, when the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, FLPMA, passed, it has been the policy of the Federal Government that we don't dispose of land anymore, so that threat has been removed. The need for a President to move quickly no longer exists, and the act is just being used to create land policy that couldn't get through Congress. The process matters when it comes to land management. We need to take back the authority we gave Presidents because they are not using it in the way Congress intended it to be used. It is being abused, and we need to end that abuse by exercising our legislative powers. Mr. LaMALFA. I agree. It seems that it has really flipped into this one direction on the invoking of a new monument or wilderness area, what have you. I know your State of Utah has been hit pretty hard by several.…”