[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2598-S2599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Antiquities Act

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to commemorate an important day for 
Utah and the western way of life. Just yesterday, the President signed 
an Executive order calling for review of monument designations across 
the United States, with a specific focus on two national monuments that 
have caused significant damage in my home State of Utah: Bears Ears and 
the Grand Staircase-Escalante.
  Yesterday's Executive action is the culmination of countless hours of 
hard work and close coordination with the White House. When I first 
spoke with President Trump in the Oval Office during his first week on 
the job, I asked for his help in addressing the Bears Ears debacle. 
From day one, our President has been committed to helping us fix this 
disaster and ensuring that our smallest counties get a fair shake.
  Throughout my Senate service, I have fought to give voice to the 
needs of our rural communities in the debate over public lands. Too 
often, past Presidents have ignored the concerns of Utah's families in 
declaring massive monuments that threaten the western way of life. Too 
often, Presidents have abused the authority under the Antiquities Act 
to satisfy the demands of an extreme environmental agenda but no more.
  Following yesterday's Executive order, I look forward to working with 
the Trump administration to address past abuses and restore the 
original meaning of the Antiquities Act. The Executive order directs 
Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke to review dozens of national 
monuments. This is a welcomed opportunity to set a new precedent for 
the responsible use of the Antiquities Act--a precedent that will take 
into account the needs of locals and foster greater trust between the 
States and the Federal Government as we work toward a shared goal of 
preserving our cultural antiquities.
  For decades, I have sought to rein in Executive abuse under the 
Antiquities Act. That is why I traveled to Bears Ears just last week to 
hear firsthand from the local residents and Tribal members who have 
been hurt most by this monument designation. That is why, in the 
opening days of his Presidency, I met personally with President Trump 
in the Oval Office to discuss the public lands issue at length. I made 
clear to the President that Utahns have had enough of monument 
designations that come down unilaterally with zero support from locals, 
State officials, or Congress. Many of my own constituents have had 
their lives upended by this abuse of Executive power.

  For too long, Utahns--many of whom depend on public lands for their 
very livelihood--have been at the mercy of out-of-touch bureaucrats who 
have little knowledge or personal connection to the land. President 
Obama only made their situation worse when he spurned the men and women 
of San Juan County by declaring the Bears Ears National Monument last 
December. In doing so, he defied the will of the State legislature, the 
Governor, and the entire Utah congressional delegation. President 
Obama's last-minute monument designation imposed even greater land use 
restrictions on a region that is already predominately controlled by 
the Federal Government.
  As I have said before, in opposing the Bears Ears National Monument 
designation, I am in no way opposing the protection of lands that need 
to be protected. Indeed, there are many cultural sites in Utah that 
warrant preservation, and I am committed to working with the President 
and with Congress to protect those sacred places for future 
generations. But as I have also said previously, I believe that it is 
both unlawful and undemocratic for any President to seize millions upon 
millions of acres of land through the Antiquities Act--a law that was 
geared to give the President only narrow authority to designate special 
landmarks, such as a unique national arch or the site of old cliff 
dwellings.
  We desperately need a new process for creating national monuments. 
Congress and impacted local communities, not the President alone, 
should have a say in decisions that restrict access to millions of 
acres of federally owned land. In making such decisions, the voice of 
the people is paramount.
  Let me be clear: Abusing the Antiquities Act at the expense of local 
communities is not a sustainable public lands strategy. This strategy 
is counterintuitive because it puts Antiquities Act authority at great 
risk. The Antiquities Act was designed to provide specific protections 
for objects of antiquity, but out West, particularly in Utah, the law 
has become synonymous with land grabs and Federal overreach.
  Restoring the legitimacy of Antiquities Act authority in the eyes of 
westerners requires a more measured approach to monument designations, 
an approach that takes into account the needs of locals and restores 
trust between States and the Federal Government.
  To be clear, I have no objection when Presidents use the Antiquities 
Act according to its original purpose, which was to protect cultural 
antiquities by designating the minimum acreage necessary. Take, for 
example, the great State of Washington, which is home to several 
national monuments that were created in line with the law's original 
intent. The State's beautiful San Juan Islands cover only 970 acres, 
while the Hanford Reach encompasses 195,000 acres. At first glance, 
this amount of acreage may seem large, but compared to Utah's two most 
prominent national monuments, it is a tiny speck on the map. In fact, 
the total acreage of the San Juan Islands and Hanford Reach combined is 
only 6 percent of the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monuments.
  In the State of Washington, Presidents have used the Antiquities Act 
within reason. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my home State 
of Utah, where Presidents have repeatedly abused their authority under 
the law to declare eight national monuments that together span more 
than 3.3 million acres. In Utah, national monuments cover roughly 10 
percent of all Federal land in a State where 67 percent of the land is 
already owned and dominated by the Federal Government. By contrast, 
only 28 percent of the land in the State of Washington is owned by the 
Federal Government. Of that Federal land, only 1.6 percent is locked 
away as a national monument. It is no wonder, then, that Utahns feel 
more threatened by the Antiquities Act than Washingtonians. This is a 
law that past Presidents have brandished as a weapon to cut up entire 
sections of our State.
  This is far from the first time I have taken to the floor to speak 
out against Antiquities Act abuse. It certainly won't be the last. But 
I am encouraged by yesterday's Executive order with President Trump and 
Secretary Zinke

[[Page S2599]]

on our side. I believe we can plot a path forward to correct past 
abuses and forge a new precedent for future monument designations.
  The President's Executive action signifies a critical milestone in 
the effort to include local voices in the management of our public 
lands. As the Trump administration reviews various national monuments, 
we must replace the top-down approach of past administrations with a 
grassroots strategy that engages local leaders, State officials, and 
Members of Congress in the decision-making process. Bringing all 
stakeholders to the table is essential to establish a new precedent 
that will undo the decades of abuse we have endured under, I think, 
false interpretations of the Antiquities Act.
  I am eager to continue working with the President and the Secretary 
of the Interior to preserve our Nation's cultural treasures in a way 
that honors the original meaning of the Antiquities Act. I am likewise 
eager to involve locals in that process. With all parties working 
together, I firmly believe we can restore a relationship of trust 
between the States and the Federal Government in the management of 
public lands.
  I am grateful for a President who is willing to work with us to reset 
the status quo. Better than any of his predecessors, President Trump 
understands the lasting damage wrought by past Presidents under the 
Antiquities Act. Indeed, in all my years of public service, I have 
never seen a President so committed to reining in the Federal 
Government and so eager to address the problems caused by these 
overreaching monument designations.
  I wish to thank President Trump and Secretary Zinke for taking 
concrete steps to rein in abuse through yesterday's Executive order.
  I also wish to thank the President's Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, 
who helped make yesterday's victory possible. Reince has done 
exceptionally well in one of the toughest jobs in all of Washington. 
The President is lucky to have Reince in the White House. I am lucky to 
call him a friend.
  I also wish to thank my former chief of staff, Ron Porter, who is now 
a special assistant to the President and the Staff Secretary at the 
White House. Rob is an invaluable asset to the President's team and 
ours as well. Without him, yesterday's Executive order would never have 
come to fruition, at least in my opinion. Rob was among the finest men 
ever to serve as my chief of staff. I have enjoyed watching him succeed 
at the White House.
  Yesterday we took a meaningful first step to fix past abuses under 
the Antiquities Act. Yet there is still much work to be done, and I 
look forward to working with the White House every step of the way.
  With that, I am grateful for all those who have participated in 
helping us to right the wrongs that have been going on for far too 
long, as some of the Presidents have played pure politics with public 
lands at the expense of the States involved, especially my State. It is 
easy to pick on a State that is 67 percent owned by the Federal 
Government and up to well over 70 percent owned by the Federal and 
State governments. It is easy to pick on these States--a small State 
indeed. But our State is resilient. We have some of the better people 
in Congress, and we also have the ability to be able to raise all kinds 
of hell here.
  All I can say is that I just want my State treated fairly. I want to 
make sure the bureaucrats here in Washington don't walk all over the 
West because they think they can because of the wide expanses of 
territory and the many, many other aspects of the Western States that 
make them vulnerable to this type of inappropriate activity.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.