AMA Disappointed by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt Comments
U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt Urges to use Executive Powers to Close Land
Pickerington, OH (2/8/2013)
- Former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
is wrong to urge President Obama to use executive
powers to close off public land, the American
Motorcyclist Association said.
In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C., on Feb. 5, Babbitt, who served as Interior
secretary under President Bill Clinton, said the
current administration should use the Antiquities
Act and other powers to protect public land from
development.
But Wayne Allard, a former U.S. representative
and U.S. senator from Colorado who now serves
as the AMA vice president for government relations,
said such actions would bypass the people's representatives
in Congress. He called the Babbitt comments disappointing.
"The administration shouldn't unilaterally decide
how public land should be managed," Allard said.
"Those decisions need to be made in Congress,
with input from citizens and officials in the
affected communities."
The Antiquities Act of 1906 allows the president
to declare national monuments. The federal law
was initially passed to protect native American
artifacts such as pottery from being taken from
small tracts of federal land in the West. That
is, Congress determined that national monument
designations were to be confined to very small
areas.
But presidents haven't interpreted the law to
apply to small areas. Clinton created an uproar
in 1996 when he designated 1.9 million acres in
southern Utah as the Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument.
President George Bush used the Antiquities Act
to circumvent Congress and set aside the future
use of thousands of square miles of the Pacific
Ocean without public debate. In 2006, he designated
140,000 square miles of ocean and 10 islands and
coral atolls in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands
as a U.S. national monument.
National monuments don't automatically ban off-highway
vehicle use but a national monument designation
makes it much easier to ban their use without
input from the public, elected representatives
and affected communities.
About
the American Motorcyclist Association
Since 1924, the AMA has protected the future of
motorcycling and promoted the motorcycle lifestyle.
AMA members come from all walks of life, and they
navigate many different routes on their journey
to the same destination: freedom on two wheels.
As the world's largest motorcycling rights organization,
the AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests
in the halls of local, state and federal government,
the committees of international governing organizations,
and the court of public opinion. Through member
clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions
more motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational
events than any other organization in the world.
AMA members receive money-saving discounts from
dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services,
gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel
stays and more. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall
of Fame, the AMA honors the heroes and the heritage
of motorcycling for future generations. For more
information, please visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.
|