National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016

Floor Speech

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Ms. TITUS. I thank my colleague for the time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to bring attention to a provision that is included in this package that, besides being completely unnecessary, may have far-reaching impacts on the management of our Nation's public lands. Specifically, this package contains language that would allow the Department of Defense to utilize certain public lands designated as national monuments for whatever purpose it chooses.

Our national monuments are part of America's story. Sixteen Presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, from Teddy Roosevelt to George Bush to President Obama, have utilized their authority under the Antiquities Act to designate land as national monuments. These designations have protected iconic parts of our Nation, such as Chimney Rock in Colorado, San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound, and the ancient flint quarries in the Texas Panhandle. In each and every case, careful consideration and collaboration with other Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, occurred.

Now, representing southern Nevada, I have an acute understanding of the importance of our armed services and the training necessary to support national security missions, but the language included in this package ignores the fact that today's military operations continue at our national monuments.

Just look to Oregon Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument in New Mexico, which was created with clear exceptions for military overflight operations, or the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona, designated by President Clinton, which abuts the Barry Goldwater Range and to this day continues to serve as an example of how our national security and conservation goals can coexist.

Closer to home, the recently designated Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument north of Las Vegas was designed in coordination with the needs of neighboring Nellis and Creech Air Force bases. If this provision were to become law, it would essentially cede national monuments to the Department of Defense, dismissing the long history of the armed services working to conserve our sensitive lands while protecting the mission.

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Ms. TITUS. So instead of having the DOD at the table to evaluate and inform the monument creation process on a case-by-case basis, this provision would grant a virtual veto over any future designations.

Mr. Chairman, as this legislation moves forward, I hope that we can remove unnecessary provisions such as this one that are really just solutions in search of a problem.

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