[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19619-19620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     SHASH JAA NATIONAL MONUMENT AND INDIAN CREEK NATIONAL MONUMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Curtis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, as you can see in this picture, Indian 
Creek, located in southeastern Utah in my congressional district, is 
home to some of the most beautiful and majestic scenery in the world, 
but it has also become an epicenter of an ongoing conflict between 
those whose livelihoods depend on multiple uses of these public lands 
and groups focused on advocating for limited use of those lands.
  Almost exactly 1 year ago, President Obama, over the objections of 
many stakeholders, utilized the Antiquities Act to unilaterally 
designate 1.35 million acres of land as the Bears Ears National 
Monument. Last week, President Trump came to Utah to help resolve this 
issue by reauthorizing this monument into two much smaller national 
monuments, the Indian Creek and the Shash Jaa National Monument.
  Although both executive actions have ignited widespread anger and 
resentment on each side of this issue, I still believe that both sides 
share many common goals and values and can work together for the 
benefit of Utah. We can all agree that these important lands must be 
responsibly managed for future generations to appreciate.
  Now that Utah has two, more manageable monuments, the time has come 
for Congress to act to ensure that these archeological treasures and 
sacred Tribal lands are protected the right way. I believe the right 
way to manage these lands is to have input from Utah's Tribal members, 
local citizens, and government officials.
  Additionally, there needs to be a management plan that protects 
important archeological sites and sacred Tribal land while also 
maintaining

[[Page 19620]]

multiple uses of these lands, such as recreation, hunting, and grazing.
  Lastly, the legislative process and constitutionally mandated system 
of checks and balances are the best way to both determine the best 
management of these lands as well as the creation of any new national 
parks, monuments, recreation, and conservation areas. That is why I 
have joined other members of Utah's House delegation to introduce the 
Shash Jaa National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument Act, 
which creates the first tribally comanaged monument area. It will 
safeguard these new monuments by establishing management councils 
comprised of representatives of local government and Native Americans.
  This bill also authorizes law enforcement officials to protect these 
sacred and significant archeological sites and antiquities from 
looters, while preserving the multiple use and access to these lands 
for recreation, grazing, and hunting.
  As a Member of Congress, my job is to bring forth solutions that add 
stability to this region and complement our mutually shared goals. That 
is the Utah way. It is my hope that, as Congress considers my Shash Jaa 
National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument bill, we can we 
bring all sides together to manage these important areas in the right 
way.


                             Net Neutrality

  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, this Thursday, the Federal Communications 
Commission is set to vote on their Restoring Internet Freedom proposal, 
to revisit the FCC's previous open internet order of 2015.
  Over the past few weeks, I have received thousands of calls and 
emails from my constituents expressing their support for net neutrality 
and for an open and free internet. I have personally read every single 
one of these emails, conducted townhall meetings, and listened to the 
phone calls. Today, I would like to share my views on this critical 
issue.
  Many in this Chamber may not know that Utah is currently experiencing 
somewhat of a technical startup phenomenon. My district is known as one 
of the best places in the United States to start a business.
  I recognize that the great success that we have been able to achieve 
in Utah and throughout the U.S. is largely due to the progress and 
advance of the internet. This is the most important technological 
advancement of our time, and the internet has become the backbone of 
our economy.
  I believe the internet is successful despite government, not because 
of government. Because the internet has been open and free, we have 
seen exciting innovation and progress that was previously unimaginable.
  Like so many of my constituents and colleagues in Congress, I support 
the principles of net neutrality and am opposed to any blocking, 
throttling, or paid prioritization of the internet. Because I do not 
favor a burdensome government regulatory framework over the internet, I 
feel a great burden to assure those in my district that the internet 
will remain open and free. The way to do this is for Congress to act.
  It is more than time that Congress step up and modernize the statutes 
that control how the internet is regulated. A vast number of my 
constituents and small businesses are concerned about the future of the 
internet. They worry that large corporations will win out and deprive 
them of their ability to be competitive.
  As a Congress, we can give them the protection that they need. It has 
been more than 20 years since Congress last reformed our national 
telecommunications laws. It is my sincere hope that we will come 
together in a bipartisan way to update this outdated regulatory 
framework and to ensure that the internet continues to be fair, open, 
and free so that it continues to benefit customers and advance and 
innovate, unhindered by burdensome government regulations.

                          ____________________