[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 16, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TURNING OUR PUBLIC LANDS INTO A MUSEUM?

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. The Clinton 
administration is planning to ban the public use on over 5 million 
acres of public land in six States. ``Why?'', my colleagues ask? Well, 
it seems to appease the liberal extremists, the environmentalists and 
specific special environmental interests before the 2000 presidential 
elections.
  Why would this administration deny all Americans, young and old, the 
right to recreate on their public lands? Why would they want to stop 
recreation, hunting, fishing, horseback riding and biking? Is there a 
goal to turn our public lands into a museum?
  The President wants to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to 
stop and prohibit every type of recreational use except walking and, 
get this, meditating, on these 5 million acres. The Clinton 
administration claims to know what is best for our public lands, but 
it's plain to see that they know nothing about management, about 
multiple use, about the right of my constituents to use their public 
lands for recreational purposes. The administration should be ashamed 
for using our Nation's environmental laws as political tools and, not 
to mention, a means to preserve the assets across this country.

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