Political Quotes

“we are about to vote shortly on the Lee amendment. I rise to speak in opposition to that amendment and to remind my colleagues that this is a vote that we took around the same time last year. The Antiquities Act is one of our Nation's most successful conservation laws. It was signed into law in 1906 and used by President Theodore Roosevelt to designate Devils Tower in Wyoming as its first national monument. In the 110 years since its enactment, the Antiquities Act has been used by 16 different Presidents--8 Republicans, 8 Democrats--to designate more than 140 national monuments, including the San Juan Islands and the Hanford Reach in the State of Washington. Nearly half of our national parks, including national icons, such as the Grand Canyon and Olympic National Park, were designated as national monuments under the Antiquities Act. However, the amendment of the Senator from Utah would effectively end the President's ability to use the Antiquities Act to protect these threatened lands. His amendment requires that the national monument designation will expire after 3 years unless Congress enacts a law specifically approving the designation, and the State in which the monument would be located would also have to approve the designation. So this amendment requires State and Federal approval over a Federal land designation, which is unprecedented, giving away Federal land management responsibilities to States and a veto over these conservation efforts.…”