[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 1, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H8278-H8279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1127, NATIONAL MONUMENT FAIRNESS 
                                  ACT

  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 256 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 256

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule 
     XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the State of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 1127) to amend the Antiquities Act to require 
     an Act of Congress and the concurrence of the Governor and 
     State legislature for the establishment by the President of 
     national monuments in excess of 5,000 acres. The first 
     reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. General debate 
     shall be confined to the bill and the amendments made in 
     order by this resolution and shall not exceed one hour 
     equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Resources. After general 
     debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 
     five-minute rule. It shall be in order to consider as an 
     original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-
     minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
     recommended by the Committee on Resources now printed in the 
     bill. The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute 
     shall be considered as read. No amendment to the committee 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order 
     except those printed in the report of the Committee on Rules 
     accompanying this resolution. Each amendment may be offered 
     only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only 
     by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as 
     read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report 
     equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
     opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be 
     subject to a demand for division of the question in the House 
     or in the Committee of the Whole. The Chairman of the 
     Committee of the Whole may: (1) postpone until a time during 
     further consideration in the Committee of the Whole a request 
     for a recorded vote on any amendment;

[[Page H8279]]

     and (2) reduce to five minutes the minimum time for 
     electronic voting on any postponed question that follows 
     another electronic vote without intervening business, 
     provided that the minimum time for electronic voting on the 
     first in any series of questions shall be fifteen minutes. At 
     the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the 
     Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with 
     such amendments as may have been adopted. Any Member may 
     demand a separate vote in the House on any amendment adopted 
     in the Committee of the Whole to the bill or to the committee 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute. The previous 
     question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and 
     amendments thereto to final passage without intervening 
     motion except one motion to recommit with or without 
     instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The gentleman from New York 
[Mr. Solomon] is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Speaker, in trying to live up to the majority 
leader's request that we be out of here by noon time, we are going to 
try to expedite.


                         Parliamentary Inquiry

  Mr. CONDIT. Madam Speaker, is it appropriate for me to propound a 
parliamentary inquiry at this time?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from New York yield for a 
parliamentary inquiry?
  Mr. SOLOMON. Not at this time, Madam Speaker. I want to get through 
this so we can live up to our obligation.
  Mr. CONDIT. Madam Speaker, I offer a motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California cannot take 
the gentleman from his feet by a motion while he is engaged in debate.
  The gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] is recognized.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 
Hall], pending which I would yield myself such time as I might consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purposes of debate only.
  Madam Speaker, this bill before us is a simple resolution.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Speaker, the proposed rule that I am offering is a 
modified, closed rule providing for 1 hour of general debate divided 
equally between the chairman and ranking minority member on the 
Committee on Resources which will probably be taken up on the floor 
Monday or Tuesday, and not today.
  Additionally, this resolution makes in order the Committee on 
Resources' amendment in the nature of a substitute as an original bill 
for purposes of amendment which shall be considered as read. 
Furthermore, this resolution provides for the consideration of the 
amendment printed in the Committee on Rules' report which shall be 
considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only 
by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, 
shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided 
and controlled by the proponent and opponent of the amendment. The 
amendments shall not be subject to amendment, nor are they subject to a 
demand for a division of the question in the House or in the Committee 
of the Whole.
  At the appropriate time, I intend to offer an amendment to the rule 
that would allow for the consideration of an amendment to be offered by 
the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen], the bill manager. This amendment 
is a germane amendment that reflects the concerns of both the gentleman 
from Utah [Mr. Hansen] and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Boehlert].
  If my colleagues will recall, the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Boehlert] had given us an amendment in the Committee on Rules that was 
not germane. He has done his due diligence and made the amendment in 
order, so we are living up to our commitment to make all of the filed 
amendments that were germane in order, and that is what my amendment 
will be about.
  Mr. Speaker, the rule allows for the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole to postpone during consideration of the bill and to reduce votes 
to 5 minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a 15-minute 
vote.
  Finally, H.R. 256 provides for one motion to recommit, with or 
without instructions.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, on September 18, 1996, the President of the United 
States, claiming authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act, proclaimed 
the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah. According to a 
U.S. News and World Report article, ``the White House went to great 
lengths to keep secret its plan to create by executive fiat a massive 
1.7 million acre national monument in southern Utah.''
  Madam Speaker, dusting off the 91-year-old Antiquities Act to 
circumvent public hearings and a likely congressional battle, the 
stealth-like initiative was designed to boost the President's 
popularity with environmentalists during his campaign last year. In 
fact, Madam Speaker, the administration did not even inform, did not 
even consult with any of Utah's elected representatives of any 
political party. However, members of the administration did take the 
time to notify Governor Miller of Nevada, Governor Romer of Colorado, 
and Senators Reid and Bryan of Nevada.
  Why would the administration go to great lengths to hide its plans 
from the public and the Utah delegation? Perhaps the answer lies in a 
memorandum sent by Katie McGinty, the chair of the President's Council 
on Environmental Quality. She wrote, ``Any public release of 
information would probably foreclose the President's option to 
proceed.'' That is in writing, and we have a copy of it.
  Additionally, Interior Department Solicitor John Leshy wrote to an 
outside consultant, ``I can't emphasize confidentiality too much. If 
word leaks out, it probably won't happen.'' Talk about stealth and 
hiding things from the American people, Madam Speaker.
  When President Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act, which was 
designed to respond to a national movement back in 1906 to stop the 
vandalism and looting that was occurring on landmarks of prehistoric, 
historic, and scientific interest and value, the act made a great deal 
of sense back in those days. During the early 1900's there were few 
mechanisms for setting aside or protecting large portions of land. 
However, during the next several decades, concern for conservation 
became more widespread, and Congress responded by passing very powerful 
laws which serve the cause of conservation more fully.
  Let me just give an example. Since 1906, the Congress has created the 
National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National 
Wilderness Preservation Act, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The 
principal effect of laws such as these has been to make it much easier 
to preserve large portions of land. Therefore, what made sense in 1906 
is not necessarily applicable today.
  Madam Speaker, most people believe the issues should be debated in 
the public forum, and this bill amends the Antiquities Act of 1906 to 
prevent the President from unilaterally creating large national 
monuments. By requiring an act of Congress and the comments of the 
Governor from any particular State in which the proposed monument is 
located, we can be certain that a fair and open process is certain to 
continue.
  This legislation is a commonsense proposal. I would urge my 
colleagues to support the rule and the underlying legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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