AZ U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, AZ-04

Sedona AZ (March 24, 2016) – Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 3946, the Protecting Local Communities from Executive Overreach Act, legislation which updates the 1906 Antiquities Act in order to protect property rights, water rights and jobs from presidential abuse of the Antiquities Act:

“While originally created in good faith, the Antiquities Act has been repeatedly abused in order to appease special-interest groups and bypass the legislative process. Shamefully, President Obama has exceeded the intent of this law more than any other American president, designating or expanding 19 national monuments and locking up more than 1.25 million acres of land. Unfortunately, he isn’t done yet, and I expect several more overreaching declarations in the next 14 months.

“Regardless of political affiliation, presidents on either side of the aisle shouldn’t have unilateral authority to create massive new national monuments by executive fiat without local public input. It is, after all, the people living near these national monuments who will be the most affected by their creation. These folks deserve to have a strong voice regarding the use of public land near their communities.

“Unilateral designations that circumvent Congress typically result in devastating consequences for local communities and negatively impact future economic prosperity. The livelihoods of thousands of Americans are at stake. Our nation’s public resources are best managed when the public is intimately involved in the process. It is far past time that Congress reform this abused executive privilege by requiring local stakeholder input and approval before blocking off massive swaths of land. I will continue to do everything in my power to oppose the misguided effort to lock up 1.7 million acres in the Grand Canyon Watershed. The strong showing of support for this bill provides further evidence that the American people agree.”