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The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 1487, as reported by the Committee
on Resources, because the bill represents an unwarranted incursion upon
established presidential authority to protect significant natural,
prehistorical, historical, and scientific resources on federal lands. If
H.R. 1487 is presented to the President, his senior advisers will recommend
that he veto the bill.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the President, at his discretion, to
declare federal lands to be national monuments. Over the course of this
century, every President but three has employed this authority to protect
sites across this country -- from the Statue of Liberty, New York, to the
coastal redwood stands of Muir Woods, California -- that now are
acknowledged to be the Nation's most treasured places. Historically,
Presidents have invoked the Act's authorities to protect areas that faced
imminent threat. While some of these declarations have stirred local
opposition -- notably President Theodore Roosevelt's declaration of the
Grand Canyon National Monument, Arizona -- and others have caused Congress
to consider amending the 1906 Act -- such as President Franklin Roosevelt's
declaration of Jackson Hole National Monument, Wyoming, now part of Grand
Teton National Park -- history soundly refutes any suggestion that this
unique presidential authority has been abused.
H.R. 1487 would impose procedural and notification requirements and other
limitations that would undermine the President's authority to move
decisively to protect and preserve the Nation's treasures for future
generations. Any diminutions of the President's authority would be
contrary to the Act's spirit and protective purposes.
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