Cheney: Monuments May Be Cancelled
The Associated Press
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) - Republican vice presidential hopeful Dick Cheney raised the possibility Thursday that some of the new national monuments created by President Clinton could be reviewed and possibly rescinded if he and George W. Bush are elected in November.
``Of course it's not my decision to make. It's the president-elect who has to make the decision,'' Cheney said, commenting on what is a hot topic in the West. ``But I certainly expect we would review a lot of these decisions to see whether or not any action was appropriate.''
He said Clinton has used his executive authority ``willy-nilly all over the West'' to create national monuments without considering the desires of the people who will be affected.
Many fear that creating monument after monument could harm the Western economy by removing land from commercial uses like grazing, logging and mining.
During his time in office, Clinton has created or added to 10 national monuments covering nearly 4 million Western acres in his effort to carve out an environmental legacy.
Environmentalists have welcomed designations, but critics complain they bypass the normal give-and-take of the political process because congressional approval is not required.
Cheney said that when he was a congressman from Wyoming he helped get 1 million acres designated as wilderness - but only after listening to all sides.
``We need to strike a balance. We need an opportunity for all to be heard,'' he said.
Earlier, Cheney extolled the virtues of the family farm to about 150 people at Crater High School, including members of the school's Future Farmers of America organization. He said one reason a Bush-Cheney administration would abolish the estate tax would be to help farmers ``pass on from one generation to the next their farms and ranches.''
``It's not just the sheer number of people in agriculture. It's the values we want to preserve,'' Cheney said, recalling his childhood in rural Nebraska and relatives who were farmers.
``We don't want a situation where all we have are large corporate farms,'' he said.
In a subsequent discussion with journalists, Cheney said the Clinton administration has not done enough to make American agricultural products attractive to overseas markets.
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The Associated Press
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) - Republican vice presidential hopeful Dick Cheney raised the possibility Thursday that some of the new national monuments created by President Clinton could be reviewed and possibly rescinded if he and George W. Bush are elected in November.
``Of course it's not my decision to make. It's the president-elect who has to make the decision,'' Cheney said, commenting on what is a hot topic in the West. ``But I certainly expect we would review a lot of these decisions to see whether or not any action was appropriate.''
He said Clinton has used his executive authority ``willy-nilly all over the West'' to create national monuments without considering the desires of the people who will be affected.
Many fear that creating monument after monument could harm the Western economy by removing land from commercial uses like grazing, logging and mining.
During his time in office, Clinton has created or added to 10 national monuments covering nearly 4 million Western acres in his effort to carve out an environmental legacy.
Environmentalists have welcomed designations, but critics complain they bypass the normal give-and-take of the political process because congressional approval is not required.
Cheney said that when he was a congressman from Wyoming he helped get 1 million acres designated as wilderness - but only after listening to all sides.
``We need to strike a balance. We need an opportunity for all to be heard,'' he said.
Earlier, Cheney extolled the virtues of the family farm to about 150 people at Crater High School, including members of the school's Future Farmers of America organization. He said one reason a Bush-Cheney administration would abolish the estate tax would be to help farmers ``pass on from one generation to the next their farms and ranches.''
``It's not just the sheer number of people in agriculture. It's the values we want to preserve,'' Cheney said, recalling his childhood in rural Nebraska and relatives who were farmers.
``We don't want a situation where all we have are large corporate farms,'' he said.
In a subsequent discussion with journalists, Cheney said the Clinton administration has not done enough to make American agricultural products attractive to overseas markets.
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http://Second.Amendment.Homepage.com
