U.S. Senate Defeats Attack on President's Power to Create National Monuments
Suzanne Potter, Producer
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Environmental groups are breathing a sigh of relief after the U.S. Senate defeated an attack on the president's ability to declare national monuments by executive order.
Lawmakers on Tuesday killed an amendment to the Senate energy bill that would have modified the Antiquities Act to make all presidential national-monument designations temporary for three years, and subject to approval by Congress and the relevant state legislature.
If ultimately passed, said David Myers, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy, the change effectively would have blocked most new national monuments.
"I think it was a real vote for reason that the majority of the United States Senate believes in the value of our public lands, and the ability of the president to set aside these unblemished landscapes for perpetuity, when it's the only way to get it done," Myers said.
Conservation groups have urged President Obama to declare three national monuments in the Southern California desert: Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains.
Myers said a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to create the monuments has stalled.
"The senator tried for six years to get legislation passed," he said, "but it had no chance in passing through a Republican-led Congress."
The Antiquities Act has been used equally by Democrats and Republicans since its inception in 1906 under President Theodore Roosevelt. Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree and Grand Teton national parks all started out as national monuments declared under the Antiquities Act.
The amendment text is online at congress.gov.
get more stories like this via email
United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…
Social Issues
The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …
Environment
Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …
Environment
April has been "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month," but the pests don't know that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's the …
Health and Wellness
The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …
Environment
Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …