Mike Lee Forcing Bill To Block Presidents From Enlarging Utah's National Monument
- Austin Searle
- Jan 26, 2021
- 2 min read
Senators of Utah including Mike Lee(R), is pushing bill that will block president Biden and future presidents from creating or enlarging national monuments in Utah. We need to stop this from happening and I encourage congress to vote against this bill for the reasons of our land and protection of our scenery. Utah has seven national monuments and I believe decreasing them will only decrease our population by 30% we have a great number of people visiting Utah because of the great national monuments. I disagree with this bill and congress and the state Legislature should disapprove as well. I believe bringing our national monuments back to their original size is necessary. In 2017, Trump had decrease Utah's national monument by 2 million acres.
President Bill Clinton set aside Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996 by using the Antiquities Act. Republicans including Trump had used the same law to slash the monuments, although legal challenges are still in the courts about whether that power is allowed in the Act.
Mike Lee had stated "Rural Americans want what all Americans want: a dignified decent-paying job, a family to love and support, and a healthy community whose future is determined by local residents – not their self-styled betters thousands of miles away,"
"That is why I am introducing the Protecting Utah’s Rural Economy Act today, a bill that would protect Utah from future abuses under the Antiquities Act by prohibiting the president from establishing or expanding a national monument in Utah unless the proposed monument has been authorized by an act of Congress and the state Legislature."
I disagree with Lee for many reasons regarding this bill. For one, how has Utah's national monuments ever abused anyone? For another, why pass a bill that should be authorized by an act of Congress and the state Legislature for this to be back to its original size? I can go on and on, but the point being, this is outrages for senator Lee who is suppose to represent Utah. The word "representation" comes with more than "I agree with former president Trump, because I am a republican", this is just completely outrages and people loves the beautiful scenery in Utah. Utah is blessed with the national monuments, and as senator I will protect our national monuments, lands and scenery. I am blessed to be a Utahn, and this is one of the reasons why, because of our beautiful scenery.
Without disagreeing with you, I'd like to point out the issue is more nuanced than "Mike Lee hates our beautiful scenery." If you want any hope of defeating him you're going to have to explain exactly why a national monument is necessary to protect the land. You're going to have to know and understand the consequences of not designating the area as a monument. And you're going to have to do a better job of countering republican's arguments against the Antiquities Act.