Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. LABRADOR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today with my friend, Mr. Heller, to join in this great amendment.

Last year an internal document was leaked from the Department of Interior. This document described the administration plans to lock up more than 140 million acres of public lands and designate 14 new national monuments.

It also proposed using its land management authority to sidestep prohibitions on monument designations. When the secret plan was brought to light, the administration backtracked and quickly claimed it had no plans to lock up millions of acres of public lands.

The administration essentially wanted us to forget about how President Clinton used his authority in the dark of the night to lock up millions of acres of land. I can't say for sure that the administration will follow through with that commitment, but I already know that they have betrayed us, and they have betrayed our trust.

Once again, they acted to restrict public land use when Secretary Salazar rolled out a new plan, cooked up in secret, to create a new category of off-limit lands called ``Wild Lands.''

The actions of this administration have proven to me that it cannot be trusted to possess the authority to designate monuments without congressional oversight, which is why I have joined my friend, Congressman Heller, in offering this amendment. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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