Antiquities Act Executive Order: An Opportunity to End a Monumental Abuse of Government Power
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Posted: May 05, 2017 12:01 AM
Over the last 20 years, presidents from both sides of the aisle have used the stroke of a pen to lock up hundreds of millions of acres using the Antiquities Act, but none more egregiously than President Obama. In 2014, then-President Obama said, “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone. And that’s all I need.” This braggadocious one-liner was the basis for devastating monument designations by the Obama administration. President Trump’s recent Executive Order directs Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review national monuments created by the Antiquities Act since 1996 that exceed 100,000 acres and to coordinate with local stakeholders. These communities that were shut up and shut out of the charade of discussions surrounding national monument designations deserve a voice.
https://townhall.com/columnists/congressmanpaulgosar/2017/05/05/trumps-antiquities-act-executive-order-an-opportunity-to-end-a-monumental-abuse-of-government-power-n2322586
