Rehberg Joins Western Colleagues in Sponsoring Legislation to Modernize the Antiquities Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has cosponsored the National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act with members of the Congressional Western Caucus. In conjunction with legislation he’s already introduced that would require congressional approval of any National Monument designation in Montana, this legislation would enact additional reforms intended to modernize the original 1906 legislation to meet public expectations of transparency and accountability.
“Montanans expect and deserve a new level of government transparency that wasn’t possible when the Antiquities Act was first created more than a century ago,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Western Caucus. “The Antiquities Act is a relic of a time when politicians worked far from the scrutiny of public attention – often days of travel by train from the voters they represented. The secrecy that this distance afforded simply doesn’t fly anymore. Voters deserve to know what their government is doing, and they deserve to have a say in it. Modern technology makes it possible, and it’s the responsibility of every elected official to ensure it happens.”
The National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act includes several provisions that will modernize the Antiquities Act. By changing the size restriction of land the President can designate from “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the object to be protected,” to “the smallest area essential to ensure the proper care and management of the objects to be protected,” it reduces the amount of land the President can designate as a national monument. This simple change has become necessary following the audacity of the recently leaked secret plans being crafted by the Department of the Interior to designate more than 13 million acres as new National Monuments.
In addition, the process by which a National Monument is designated is also updated in the bill, with new requirements for transparency and accountability added before and after any monument designation. For example, 30 days before making a decision, the President would be required to provide the language of the proposed proclamation to all government officials with authority over the land located within the proposed National Monument. This includes state, local and tribal officials. The Secretary of the Interior would then be required, by the law, to hold a public meeting, take public comments and make the draft and comments available online.
The legislation also creates a role for congressional oversight once the President designates the monument. Within one year of a new designation, the Administration would have to produce a report that examines the monument designation across several criteria: economic impact of the local communities, impact on domestic energy production, and the impact on other interests, rights and uses of the land – including water rights, hunting, grazing, timber production, forest health, off-road vehicle use, hiking, horseback riding, and mineral and energy leases, claims, and permits. Once the report is completed, the designation must be approved by an Act of Congress within two years. Without such an approval, the proclamation would be undone.
“The Clinton Administration invented the abuse of the Antiquities Act with the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and the Obama Administration seems intent on perfecting it,” said Rehberg. “The Secretary of the Interior has already promised an open and transparent system – this legislation ensures the Department keeps its promise. Transparency is the antidote to government abuse.”