Ban New National Monuments. This amendment by Representative James Hansen (R-UT) would ban the use of funds for the implementation of "National Monuments" designated by the president since 1999. President Clinton has used a loophole in the 1906 Antiquities Act to lock up millions of acres of land from human usage. Representative Don Young (R-AK) explained that "this President is using this act … to designate and to dictate the use of lands. Under the Constitution, it says only the Congress shall have that responsibility…. I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. Yet, we sit in this body and allow this act to be misused by this administration and say, oh, it is to protect those lands…. This is against the Constitution. He is not protecting what should be protected. He, in fact, is running this as a fiefdom and a kingdom."
The House rejected the Hansen amendment to H.R. 4578 on June 15, 2000 by a vote of 187-234 (Roll Call 280). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.
