[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 3438. A bill to prohibit the use of funds for the establishment of 
National Marine Monuments unless certain requirements are met; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I introduce this bill today to prevent 
misuse of the Antiquities. Act of 1906 to create very large marine 
monuments. The Antiquities Act was intended to protect landmarks, not 
create the largest protected areas in the United States unilaterally 
without congressional assent.
  The Bush administration acted covertly to convey protected status to 
139,000 square miles of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In so doing, 
the administration short-circuited the extensive Marine Sanctuaries 
process that was already underway and notified the delegation only 
after the press conference. Now they have turned their attention to the 
Gulf of Mexico.
  We learned that the President, with mixed support from his top 
advisors, is considering using his authorities under the Antiquities 
Act to unilaterally and permanently declare ``marine monuments'' in 
various locations of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Some of these 
areas are in my backyard--in the Gulf of Mexico--but other areas of the 
Atlantic and Pacific are also under consideration.
  I certainly understand the need to conserve and appropriately manage 
our most sensitive and vulnerable marine areas, which can serve as 
nurseries for fish stocks and provide critical habitat for other 
important species. That is why I support the processes Congress 
established in the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. But any 
declarations of new or additional protected status to marine areas 
should continue to follow the scientific and public processes outlined 
in the Sanctuaries Act. This is a good process that allows all affected 
parties--from the environmental community to recreational fishermen to 
the oil and gas industries--to have a say.
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