Senate rejects bid to block Obama on national monuments
Frank DuBois, The Westerner, Monday, March 01, 2010 [here]
The first round of a new fight over White House power to unilaterally impose new protections on large tracts of western lands went to the Obama administration. The Senate on Thursday rejected, 38-58, Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) bid to block White House authority to designate national monuments in western states. DeMint wanted to attach the amendment to legislation approved yesterday aimed at bolstering tourism in the U.S… read more [here]
See how they voted [here].
You will note 4 Republicans voted with Obama:
Alexander (R-TN)
Collins (R-ME)
Gregg (R-NH)
Snowe (R-ME)
All are from the NE except for Alexander, who as Governor, lobbyist and now Senator has always been a tool of the enviros, especially on land acquisition and park issues.
The only Senators who actually displayed fortitude on the vote were two Democrats (Baucus D-MT and Nelson D-NE) and who knows where they would have been had their votes been needed.
Let’s also remember that under George W. Bush the R’s controlled the White House and both houses of Congress for six years. Did they use this opportunity to restrict the President’s authority under the Antiquities Act? Nope.
Besides, George W. Bush created five national monuments totalling over 334,000 square miles (220 million acres). Only one small one though was in the Continental USA.
Since the act passed in 1906, only three President’s have not used it, all R’s: Nixon, Reagan and Bush the first.
The R’s won’t restrict executive authority when an R is President and the D’s won’t do it when a D is President. So it never gets restricted.
Both parties are to blame and The West will suffer because of it.