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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gordon A. Langston who wrote (137594)	4/11/2001 8:55:03 PM
From: gao seng	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Land grab - Mormons persecuted for their beliefs. ANTIQUITIES ACT MONUMENT DESIGNATIONS The Antiquities Act can be summarized simply. By proclamation, the President may reserve federal land as a National Monument. The land must be a historic landmark, a historic or prehistoric structure, or an object of historic or scientific interest. In addition, the reserved area must``in all cases'' be ``confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.'' The Act contemplates that objects to be protected must be threatened or endangered in some way. (2) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS MONUMENTAL DECISIONS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS ``I'm increasingly of the view that we should just drop these Utah ideas . . . these lands are not really endangered.''--CEQ Chair Kathleen McGinty. The state of Utah was settled by hearty Mormon pioneers seeking to avoid persecution for their beliefs. They moved west in an effort to find wide, open spaces and freedom from intrusion into their affairs by their neighbors and the government. Now, more than a century later, the citizens of Utah have been forced to endure the ultimate government intrusion: a federal land grab of 1.7 million acres, taken in the dead of night--with no public notice, no opportunity to comment, and no involvement of the Utah Congressional Delegation. Indeed, the Utah delegation was deceived about the imminent decision to designate the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument up until hours before the President's high-profile, public, campaign-style announcement. Once again, at the hands of the Clinton Administration, the people of Utah were being persecuted for their beliefs. Had Utah been a pro-Clinton state, a state with prominent Democratic Members of Congress, or one that factored importantly into Clinton's re-election effort, then the land- grab would almost certainly not have occurred. In sum, the documents received by the Committee show several points quite clearly: (1) the designation of the Monument was almost entirely politically motivated; (2) the plan to designate the monument was purposefully kept secret from Americans and Utah Members of Congress; (3) the Monument designation was put forward even though the Administration officials did not believe that the lands proposed for protection were in danger; (4) use of the Antiquities Act was intended to overcome Congressional involvement in land designation decisions; (5) use of the Antiquities Act for monument designation was planned to evade the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Indeed, its use was specifically intended to evade the provisions of NEPA and other federal administrative requirements, and to assist the Clinton-Gore reelection effort. IT'S POLITICS, STUPID--NOT THE ENVIRONMENT The records and documents provided by the CEQ and DOI clearly demonstrate that the Administration's goal was political, not environmental, a fact that contradicts the Congressional intent of the Antiquities Act. The Clinton White House took pains to ensure that all prominent Democrats from neighboring states were not only warned in advance, but had an opportunity to give their views on the designation. In an August 14, 1996, memorandum for the President, CEQ Chair Kathleen McGinty opines that the monument designation would be politically popular in several key Western states. In Ms. McGinty's words: ``This assessment squares with the positive reactions by Sentor [sic] Harry Reid (D-NV), Governor Roy Romer (D-CO), and Representative Bill Richardson (D-NM) when asked their views on the proposal. . . . Governor Bob Miller's (D-NV) concern that Nevada's sagebrush rebels would not approve of the new monument is almost certainly correct, and echoes the concerns of other friends, but can be offset by the positive response in other constituencies.'' In fact, even non-incumbent Democratic candidates for office from states other than Utah were warned about the impending land grab. CEQ Chair Kathleen McGinty explained this in a moment of partisan candor in her September 6, 1996, White House weekly report: ``I have called several members of congress to give them notice of this story and am working with political affairs to determine if there are Democratic candidates we should alert. We are neither confirming nor denying the story; just making sure that Democrats are not surprised.'' It was only Republicans, the lone Utah Democratic Member, and Utahans who were to be kept in the dark. Even media outlets like the Washington Post were advised by insiders to the Utah Monument decision as evidenced by electronic mail (e-mail) traffic: ``Brian: So when pressed by Mark Udall and Maggie Fox on the Utah monument at yesterday's private ceremony for Mo [Udall] Clinton said: `You don't know when to take yes for an answer.' Sounds to me like it's going forward. I also hear Romer is pushing the president to announce it when he's in Colorado on Wednesday. . . . --Tom Kenworthy'' (September 10, 1996 From Brian Johnson (CEQ press) to others at CEQ transmitting e-mail from Washington Post reporter Tom Kenworthy). Another CEQ staffer commenting on the above e-mail: ``Wow. He's got good sources and a lot of nerve.'' (September 10, 1996, response from Tom Jensen to Brian Johnson's e-mail previously forwarded). The exchange continues: ``south rim of the grand canyon, sept 18th--be there or be square.'' (September 11, 1996, e- mail from Tom Kenworthy to Brian Johnson). The exchange continues again: ``Nice touch doing the Escalante Canyons announcement on the birthday of Utah's junior senator! Give me a call if you get a chance.'' (September 16, 1996, e-mail from Tom Kenworthy to Brian Johnson). continued at resourcescommittee.house.gov