STATEMENT: Rep. Jimmy Gomez Condemns Trump’s Decision to Shrink Two National Monuments in Utah
Washington,
December 4, 2017
Tags:
Energy and Environment
It is a barefaced overreach of presidential power that will prove to be unwise and illegal.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D – Los Angeles), a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, released the below statement following President Trump’s announcement that he would shrink Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears National Monument. Established under the 111-year-old federal Antiquities Act, both monuments were designated after lengthy environmental study and public input. “President Trump’s decision to shrink these national monuments is an affront to every American who treasures our public lands as well as a complete abrogation of Federal trust obligations to Native Americans. The overwhelmingly unpopular decision opens up these public lands to oil, mining, and gas interests at the expense of Native American cultural and sacred sites. It is a barefaced overreach of presidential power that will prove to be unwise and illegal. Future generations are counting on Congress to stand up against corporate greed. I urge my colleagues in Congress stand up for America's public lands legacy.” On December 1, 2017, Congressman Jimmy Gomez co-sponsored H.R.4518, a bill codifying and expanding the Bears Ears monument designation. He has been an outspoken advocate for public lands, including the San Gabriel Mountains National Monuments in California, which was placed on a short list of monuments to be under review by the Trump administration. ### |
