[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7826-S7827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL MONUMENTS DESIGNATION

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it was 20 years ago when I was first 
elected to the Senate. I was asked to consider a bill called the Red 
Rocks Wilderness Act. I didn't know anything about it. It was a bill 
that had been offered by Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. He was 
retiring. I was asked to consider sponsoring this wilderness proposal 
in the State of Utah. Of course, I said, I am from Illinois, not Utah, 
and I have never seen this. Well, they asked me to come out and take a 
look, and I did.
  My wife and I went out to take a look at what was known as the Red 
Rocks Wilderness Area. It is in the southeastern corner of Utah. I had 
never been there, nor had I ever heard of it before I visited. What an 
eye-opener, to go there and see this magnificent vista, this incredible 
landscape that was being proposed for wilderness protection and status.
  So over the years, I have reintroduced the bill, the conversation 
continued, and it wasn't until President Obama took a major share of 
this area, which is in San Juan County in the southeastern corner of 
Utah, and designated it in the name of the Bears Ears Monument that we 
finally achieved protection for this beautiful piece of real estate.
  I have been there. It is breathtaking. There are incredible cultural 
sites there by Native Americans, and it is a great place to visit, to 
hike, and to enjoy a special piece of America. It is filled with 
magnificent red rock formations, deep, carved canyons, long mesas, and 
rock arches. Some of the photos just don't do it justice. We can take a 
look at some of these, and we can get an idea of the vastness of the 
area that is affected here.
  Then you might take a look at some of the others and realize it 
includes a lot of cultural and prehistoric settings that were utilized 
by the Native American people when they called these caves their homes. 
It has special meaning to the Native American Tribes that are there. 
Many of them trace their origins to the very people who dwelled in 
these caves and the structures they built with the loose rocks that we 
can still see today.
  We look at it and think, Well, if you didn't use this, if you didn't 
preserve it, if you didn't protect it, what would you do with it?
  I have spoken with some of the Senators from Utah, and they have 
readily conceded there is no oil or gas there to be drilled. There may 
be some uranium processing but very little. I asked them: Why wouldn't 
you want this area protected? It doesn't have economic value other than 
the fact that people will come, tourists will come to Utah to see this 
beautiful place.
  I was troubled when President Trump announced he was going to follow 
Secretary Zinke's recommendation and shrink the proposed Bears Ears 
Monument as well as another nearby called the Grand Staircase-
Escalante. They would reduce the size of the Bears Ears Monument by 85 
percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 50 percent.
  In April, President Trump issued an Executive order requiring the 
Department of the Interior to preview and review the previous national 
monument designations of President Obama. Although Bears Ears and Grand 
Staircase are the first two targets to be hit by President Trump, this 
attack on what is known as the Antiquities Act and our national 
monuments goes far beyond these two sites.
  As part of the review, the President and Secretary of the Interior 
Zinke considered changing every national monument that had been created 
since 1996, which is more than 50 nationwide. These are areas that have 
been protected by Presidents of both political parties. It goes back, 
in fact, to a Republican President, Teddy Roosevelt, who realized it 
was worth fighting off some of the parochial and economic interests to 
preserve pieces of America for future generations.
  The list that was subject to the Trump order spans the country. It 
includes the Cascade-Siskiyou in Oregon, Gold Butte in Nevada, Katahdin 
Woods and Waters in Maine, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande 
in New Mexico, and several marine monuments.
  The administration's decisions to shrink Bears Ears and Grand 
Staircase-Escalante goes against continued support for these sites. The 
Bears Ears Monument was the first monument to be proposed and advocated 
by the five sovereign Tribal nations: The Hopi, Navajo Nation, Ute 
Mountain Ute, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Indians.
  The Tribes sought protection because of the important place Bears 
Ears has in their cultures. The artifacts within Bears Ears range from 
700 to 12,000 years old, providing Tribes with an incredible insight 
into the sacred history of their ancestral homeland and bolstering 
their deep spiritual connection to the landscape itself. In total, 30 
Native-American Tribes with ancestral, historical, and contemporary 
ties to the Bears Ears region supported the designation--30.
  I might recall, for those who are not students of history--and I am 
learning--treatment of Native Americans in this region has again raised 
some serious questions about America's past. It wasn't until 1920 that 
Native Americans were recognized as citizens of the United States in 
many of these areas. It wasn't until 1957 that Native Americans were 
given the right to vote in the State of Utah even though Native 
Americans had served our country in World War II, such as the Code 
Talkers, who were honored by President Trump last week. It wasn't until 
the 1970s that the State of Utah built its first public school on a 
Tribal area reservation--and only did that after being ordered by the 
Federal court. The history of our relationship with these Native-
American Tribes is one that raises questions about our respect for what 
they meant to the earliest founding of America and what they mean to us 
today.
  Mr. President, I see the majority leader has taken the floor. I know 
that under the rules he has priority when it

[[Page S7827]]

comes to speaking. I wish to finish my remarks, but if I can have the 
permission of the Chair by unanimous consent and allow the majority 
leader to speak and then resume my statement after he is finished.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my friend from Illinois.

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