The House of Representatives approved a measure on Wednesday that would amend the Antiquities Act of 1906 to reduce the ability of the president to unilaterally declare national monuments.
The Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) would prohibit the president from making more than one declaration in a state during a four-year term in office without congressional action.
The measure would prohibit national monument declarations from including private property without written consent of the property owner. Declarations that encompass more than 5,000 acres of land would be considered a “major federal action” and would be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) recently circulated a letter of opposition to the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act.
DeFazio and Grijalva said the legislation would “eviscerate” the Antiquities Act and allow Republicans in the House of Representatives to block all new national monuments.
Bishop, who worked as a teacher for 28 years, marked up the letter and “corrected” it with point-by-point annotations.
Bishop’s staff said after reading DeFazio’s and Grijalva’s letter, Bishop assessed that they hadn’t done the necessary research to get a passing grade on their analysis of the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act.