[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 81 (Thursday, May 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3651-S3653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-107. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress and 
     President of the United States to repeal or amend the 
     Antiquities Act of 1906; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2008

       Whereas, the Antiquities Act of 1906 (Antiquities Act) 
     directs the President of the United States to limit the 
     designation of national monuments to the smallest area 
     compatible with the proper care and management of the objects 
     to be protected; and
       Whereas, the Antiquities Act is inconsistent with the 
     principles of a government by and for the people; and
       Whereas, the Antiquities Act was intended to preserve only 
     historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures and 
     other objects of historic or scientific interest; and
       Whereas, the Antiquities Act has been misused repeatedly to 
     set aside enormous parcels of real property; and
       Whereas, 46% of all land in the coterminous Western States 
     is already under federal management, and the majority of 
     Arizona's lands are restricted from public access and 
     recreation; and
       Whereas, the establishment in 1996 of the Grand Staircase-
     Escalante National Monument in southern Utah set aside 1.7 
     million acres of land despite the objections of public 
     officials in the State of Utah, making it the largest 
     national monument in the continental United States; and
       Whereas, in 2017, Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
     Monument and Bears Ears were reduced by 50% and 85%, 
     respectively; and
       Whereas, the 2021 overreaching restoration of the Grand 
     Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears will 
     result in the loss of significant economic resources for the 
     public schools and the taxpayers of the State of Utah; and
       Whereas, this designation clearly violates the spirit and 
     letter of the Antiquities Act, which requires monument lands 
     to ``be confined to the smallest area'' necessary to preserve 
     and protect historical areas or objects; and
       Whereas, the greatest threat to the lands of Arizona is the 
     intrusion and overreach of the federal government, including 
     the economically harmful 30x30 initiative, which will only 
     further prevent Arizona from deciding what is best for its 
     citizens; and
       Whereas, land is a significant asset for states, and the 
     President and the United States Congress should repeal the 
     Antiquities Act or at the very least amend it to require 
     congressional approval of, as well as state and local 
     approval and consent of, any future monument of federal 
     designation.
       Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of 
     the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
       1. That the United States Congress act by repealing the 
     Antiquities Act of 1906 or amending it to reaffirm that 
     entire landscapes, animate life, such as birds and mammals, 
     and common plants and vegetation not be considered landmarks, 
     structures or objects under federal law.
       2. That any proclamation made by the President of the 
     United States be stated publicly and shall specifically name 
     and describe the location of each landmark, structure and 
     object to be protected.
       3. That the limitation on extending or establishing a 
     national monument, which requires the express authorization 
     of Congress and is currently offered only to the State of 
     Wyoming, be offered to all Western States.
       4. That no new national monument or federal reservation or 
     expansion of an existing national monument or federal 
     reservation be established in Arizona, unless with:
       (a) The express authorization of the Arizona State 
     Legislature while in session.
       (b) The express authorization of the members of the county 
     board of supervisors in all the counties that would be 
     impacted by the monument or reservation.
       5. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-108. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Arizona urging the President of the United 
     States to rescind or revoke the designation of the ancestral 
     footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument and opposing 
     any such future designation in the State of Arizona; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2007

       Whereas, for decades, radical environmental activist groups 
     and others have sought to remove state and federal land in 
     Arizona from economic production, to permanently ban critical 
     mineral and metal mining, cattle grazing and other multiple-
     use activities on federal controlled lands in

[[Page S3652]]

     this state and to acquire or otherwise exert additional 
     political and economic control over Arizona's land, water, 
     and natural resources, especially in the resource-rich area 
     in Northern Arizona; and
       Whereas, multiple attempts have been made in Congress to 
     permanently ban critical mineral and metal mining and other 
     multiple-use activities outside the Grand Canyon area that 
     would permanently set aside millions of acres of federally 
     controlled lands both north and south of the Grand Canyon 
     National Park; and
       Whereas, multiple attempts by radical environmental 
     activist groups have been made to direct the United States 
     Secretary of the Interior or the President of the United 
     States to circumvent Congress and unilaterally declare the 
     establishment of national monuments that would permanently 
     withdraw mining and other multiple-use activities in the 
     Grand Canyon area; and
       Whereas, under the Obama Administration, the United States 
     Department of the Interior exercised unilateral authority to 
     effectuate temporary bans on all new mineral and hardrock 
     mining claims in the Grand Canyon area, including a two-year 
     ban in 2009, a six-month extension and a 20-year ban in 20l2; 
     and
       Whereas, radical environmental activist groups and others 
     have stated publicly that the goal is to obtain a permanent 
     withdrawal of mineral and mining rights on the land; and
       Whereas, to effectuate such a ban, radical environmental 
     activist groups in 2016 proposed the establishment of a 
     national monument to set aside up to 1.7 million acres of 
     land north and south of the Grand Canyon National Park, 
     including approximately 64,000 acres of Arizona state trust 
     land and 22,000 acres of private land; and
       Whereas, by locking up 64,000 acres of state trust land, 
     the national monument would have denied the Arizona State 
     Land Department the ability to put such lands to highest and 
     best use and, therefore, has reduced by hundreds of millions 
     of dollars the amount of monies available to state trust 
     beneficiaries, including K-l2 education; and
       Whereas, in 2021, it was estimated that the economic impact 
     of establishing this national monument would be $29 billion 
     in lost economic activity and as many as 4,000 jobs 
     destroyed; and
       Whereas, in 2023, despite vehement state opposition, 
     President Joe Biden designated Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni--
     Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument 
     near the Grand Canyon National Park; and
       Whereas, this designation restricts access to approximately 
     1 million acres of state and federal land located in Northern 
     Arizona in a remote region of the state known as the 
     ``Arizona Strip,'' which provides world class opportunities 
     for ranching, farming, mining, logging, hunting, recreation 
     and other multiple uses that local communities depend on for 
     social and economic support; and
       Whereas, the portion of Northern Arizona in the Arizona 
     Strip and other areas surrounding the greater Grand Canyon 
     region contain some of the nation's best uranium deposits as 
     a result of the unique collapse breccia pipe uranium 
     mineralization, which is a natural part of the environment in 
     this region; and
       Whereas, uranium mining on the Arizona Strip has been a 
     major source of economic development in previous years, and 
     there are as many as l0,000 existing mining claims on United 
     States (U.S.) Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest 
     Service land near the Grand Canyon for all types of hardrock 
     mining; and
       Whereas, the designation of the Ancestral Footprints of the 
     Grand Canyon National Monument blocks the production of 
     uranium from domestic sources and other reasons, making the 
     United States alarmingly reliant on foreign countries for 
     enriched uranium and requiring the importation of 
     approximately 95% of our nation's uranium from foreign 
     countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan; and
       Whereas, according to the U.S. Energy Information 
     Administration, the United States produces only 5% of the 
     uranium it needs; and
       Whereas, Arizona news sources indicate one of the main 
     purposes of designating the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand 
     Canyon National Monument was to extend the current moratorium 
     on uranium mining indefinitely, which would continue and 
     potentially exacerbate U.S. reliance on foreign imports of 
     enriched uranium; and
       Whereas, if allowed to stand, the Ancestral Footprints of 
     the Grand Canyon National Monument will forever close this 
     area to new uranium production and will continue America's 
     reliance on uranium supplied from foreign nations, reducing 
     our ability to provide for the defense of our nation and 
     increasing the cost of delivering safe and reliable power to 
     customers nationwide; and
       Whereas, a plain reading of the Antiquities Act of l906 
     reveals that the President may declare a national monument 
     only to protect eligible objects, which are limited to 
     ``historic landmarks,'' ``historic'' or ``prehistoric 
     structures,'' or ``other objects of historic or scientific 
     interest,'' (54 United States Code (U.S.C.) Sec. 32030l(a)) 
     and that, in reserving land related to the national monument, 
     the President may reserve only the ``smallest area compatible 
     with the proper care and management'' of the eligible objects 
     (54 U.S.C. Sec. 320301(b)); and
       Whereas, since 1906, U.S. Presidents have used the 
     Antiquities Act of 1906 to establish 18 national monuments in 
     Arizona, totaling 3.7 million acres and increasing in size 
     each designation; and
       Whereas, at nearly 1 million acres, the Ancestral 
     Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument represents 
     the largest, single designation of a national monument in 
     Arizona history in terms of land mass, yet the Monument fails 
     to indicate any ``objects'' eligible for designation as a 
     national monument, as defined in the Antiquities Act of 1906; 
     and
       Whereas, significant portions of the acreage within the 
     Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument 
     are already protected through wilderness designations or 
     successfully managed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department 
     in a multiple-use framework and partnership with the Bureau 
     of Land Management and the United States Forest Service; and
       Whereas, withdrawing federal Bureau of Land Management and 
     U.S. Forest Service land from multiple use would impact not 
     only uranium mining in the area but also other multiple-use 
     activities, such as hunting, fishing, logging, and cattle 
     grazing on federal grazing allotments; and
       Whereas, Arizona's great strength lies in the value of its 
     public and private lands and the ability of the public to 
     access and use those lands for a variety of economic and 
     recreational uses; and
       Whereas, in total, local, state, tribal and federal 
     governments control over 81% of all land in Arizona, which 
     leaves only 18% of all Arizona land to private owners; and
       Whereas, the designation of additional special use areas, 
     including the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon 
     National Monument, further restricts Arizona's ability to 
     maximize economic production for the national interest and 
     recreation for the people and visitors of Arizona; and
       Whereas, multiple legislative measures have been proposed 
     to protect Arizona's land, water, and natural resources and 
     send a clear message to the United States that responsible 
     economic production of these resources, including uranium, 
     minerals and aggregate mining, cattle grazing and other 
     multiple uses, are critical to the U.S. economy, food and 
     energy supply, and national interest; and
       Whereas, no additional federal land reservation or special 
     use designation should be made or declared in Arizona without 
     the express vote and consent of Congress, the Arizona 
     Legislature and the local communities that will be impacted.
       Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of 
     the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
       1. That the President of the United States rescind or 
     revoke the designation of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
       2. That the United States President oppose the designation 
     of any future permanent federal land or mineral withdrawal 
     that seeks to limit critical mineral, metal and aggregate 
     mining, cattle grazing, or multiple-use activities in the 
     Arizona Strip.
       3. That the President of the United States not designate 
     any national monument, park, wildlife refuge, conservation 
     area, area of critical environmental concern, wild and scenic 
     river, wilderness or wilderness characteristic area or any 
     other federal special use designation or land or mineral 
     reservation or withdrawal in Arizona without having the 
     express authorization of each of the following:
       (a) The United States Congress.
       (b) The Legislature of the State of Arizona while in 
     session.
       (c) The members of the county board of supervisors in each 
     county that would be impacted by the designation, reservation 
     or withdrawal.
       4. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each Member of the United States Congress from the State of 
     Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-109. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress and 
     President of the United States to enact legislation to give 
     Western States a percentage of federally owned lands; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2005

       Whereas, the federal government is the largest landowner in 
     the United States, controlling almost one-third of the entire 
     land in the country, over 90% of which is located in Western 
     States; and
       Whereas, conveying title and jurisdiction of federal public 
     lands to the states was promised in congressional resolutions 
     in 1780, the Land 0rdinance of 1784 and the Northwest 
     Ordinance of 1787, among others; and
       Whereas, it was not until the enactment of the Federal Land 
     Policy and Management Act of 1976 that Congress unilaterally 
     declared a change in federal public lands policy to one of 
     permanent federal ownership; and
       Whereas, once land is taken by the federal government, it 
     is often squandered, locked away forever from economic 
     production; and
       Whereas, federal ownership of vast amounts of lands 
     elimlnates or restricts reasonable and thoughtful use of 
     these natural resources for multiple purposes, such as 
     recreation, grazing, mining, energy development and forestry; 
     and
       Whereas, the promise and duty of the federal government to 
     timely dispose of the

[[Page S3653]]

     public lands is the same in the enabling acts for all newly 
     created states both east and west of Colorado; and
       Whereas, because of the breach of states' enabling acts, 
     and the resulting damages, the United States Congress should 
     immediately dispose of the public lands lying within the 
     State of Arizona and other Western States directly to those 
     states; and
       Whereas, the State of Arizona is composed of 113,417 square 
     miles of land, of which 42% is federally owned, nontribal 
     land that is unavailable for economic development and not 
     part of the property tax base; and
       Whereas, the great strength of Arizona and other Western 
     States lies in the value of their lands and the ability for 
     the public to access those lands for a variety of economic 
     and recreational uses; and
       Whereas, the low percentage of private and state lands in 
     the West places these states at a significant economic 
     disadvantage and restricts their ability to adequately 
     provide for the future; and
       Whereas, the federal government has done an exceedingly 
     poor job of stewarding these resources as a result of decades 
     of dysfunctional federal bureaucracy. The federal government 
     has mismanaged public lands economically and ecologically, 
     while handcuffing local control; and
       Whereas, state ownership of public lands is more efficient, 
     thoughtful, accountable and locally driven, which improves 
     public access, environmental health and economic 
     productivity.
       Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of 
     the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
       1. That the United States Congress immediately pass and the 
     President sign legislation that requires 30% of all federally 
     controlled lands in the West to be given to their respective 
     states by 2030 under the equal footing doctrine as enshrined 
     in the United States Constitution.
       2. That the United States Congress engage in good faith 
     communication, cooperation, coordination and consultation 
     with Western States regarding the immediate disposal of the 
     public lands directly to those states.
       3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-110. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress and 
     President of the United States to enact legislation that 
     requires the federal government to provide an acre-for-acre 
     offset when acquiring public land; to the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2006

       Whereas, at the time of Arizona's Enabling Act, the course 
     and practice of the United States Congress with all prior 
     states admitted to the Union had been to fully dispose, 
     within a reasonable time, of all lands within the boundaries 
     of such states, except for those Indian lands, or lands 
     otherwise expressly reserved to the exclusive jurisdiction of 
     the United States; and
       Whereas, the authority of state and local governments to 
     promote the highest value and use of land is critical to 
     funding education and other essential government services; 
     and
       Whereas, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
     of 1976, federal land policy changed from one of disposal, in 
     which land would enter the state tax rolls, to permanent 
     federal retention as untaxable public land; and
       Whereas, nearly 50% of all land in Arizona is already under 
     federal management, and the majority of Arizona's lands are 
     restricted from public access, recreation and economic 
     development; and
       Whereas, imposing federal preservation management on 
     Arizona lands obstructs this state's land management 
     objectives and principles; and
       Whereas, the United States Congress empowered the 
     Department of the Interior to acquire any interest in lands, 
     water rights or surface rights to lands, inside or outside of 
     existing reservations, to provide land for tribal governments 
     and individual Indians. Off-reservation lands acquired 
     through these processes potentially raise jurisdictional 
     uncertainties in local communities, complicate land use 
     planning and provision of services and cause economic 
     consequences for surrounding communities; and
       Whereas, Arizona should have had total control over its 
     public lands from 1912, plus a reasonable time for 
     disposition of the lands; and
       Whereas, had the national government disposed of the land 
     in or about 1912, Arizona would have generated, from that 
     point forward, substantial tax revenues to the benefit of its 
     public schools and to the common good of the state; and
       Whereas, the conservation of wildlife resources is the 
     trust responsibility of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, 
     and this responsibility extends to all lands within Arizona 
     to ensure abundant wildlife resources for current and future 
     generations; and
       Whereas, recent federal initiatives attempt to erode 
     property rights, pilfer more public land and redesignate 
     multi-use land as conservation land; and
       Whereas, Arizona has been damaged by the inordinate cost 
     and substantial uncertainty regarding the national 
     government's infringement on Arizona's sovereign control of 
     public lands within its borders; and
       Whereas, the greatest threat to the lands of Arizona is the 
     intrusion and overreach of the federal government.
       Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of 
     the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
       1. That the United States Congress immediately pass and the 
     President sign legislation that requires the federal 
     government to give one of the following to the applicable 
     county or the state for every acre of county or state land 
     acquired or federal public domain land expressly reserved or 
     withdrawn by the federal government:
       (a) An acre of land of equal or greater size and value, as 
     determined by the applicable county or the state.
       (b) In the absence of land of equal or greater size and 
     value, both of the following:
       (i) Land of a size and value as proximate as possible to 
     the size and value of the acquired, reserved or withdrawn 
     land, as determined by the applicable county or the state.
       (ii) In lieu payments to the applicable county or the state 
     for the value of the difference, as determined by the 
     applicable county or the state.
       2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.

                          ____________________