This bill amends the Antiquities Act to impose a short-term expiration date on national monument designations unless extended by Congress, and prohibits re-designation of the same land for 25 years if the initial designation expires or is rejected.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Representative
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This bill, the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act, amends existing law to impose strict time limits on national monument designations made under the Antiquities Act. Designations will automatically expire after six months or the end of the current Congressional session unless Congress passes new legislation to extend them. Furthermore, if a monument designation expires or is rejected by Congress, the same land cannot be designated again for 25 years.
Land Grab: Bill Forces National Monument Designations to Expire After Six Months Without Congressional Approval
This bill, officially titled the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act, introduces a massive shift in how the President can protect public lands. Currently, the President uses the 1906 Antiquities Act to designate national monuments, a power often used to quickly protect culturally or ecologically important areas. This bill changes that by making all new monument designations temporary, expiring automatically after only six months or at the end of the current Congressional session, whichever date comes first (SEC. 2).
The New Clock on Conservation
Think of this as putting a very short fuse on any new national monument. If the President designates a new monument—say, protecting a sensitive archaeological site or a unique desert ecosystem—it only lasts for half a year unless Congress passes a new law to make it permanent. This flips the script entirely. Right now, the designation is permanent until Congress acts to change it; under this bill, the designation is temporary until Congress acts to approve it. For anyone working in land management, this creates immediate, high-stakes uncertainty. Imagine trying to plan for tourism, enforce regulations, or manage resources in an area that could revert to its previous status within months.
The 25-Year Penalty Box
If that short deadline passes and Congress doesn't act, or if Congress explicitly votes to reject the monument, the consequences are severe: that specific piece of land cannot be designated as a national monument again for 25 years (SEC. 2). This is the provision that really matters. It’s not just about slowing down the process; it’s about creating a powerful, long-term block on conservation efforts. If a monument designation is rejected for political reasons in a given year, future administrations—even 10 or 15 years down the line—are barred from using the Antiquities Act to protect that same area, regardless of new scientific findings or changing public opinion. For conservation groups and the public interest in preserving cultural sites, this is a major hurdle.
What This Means for Everyday People
For most people, the immediate impact is on the certainty of public land use. If you’re a small business owner relying on tourism near a newly designated monument, your entire business plan is now on a six-month timer, subject to the political winds of Washington. If you’re a hiker, hunter, or outdoor enthusiast, the status of your newly protected area is now highly unstable. Essentially, the bill takes the power to make quick, protective land decisions away from the Executive Branch and hands a veto to Congress, requiring immediate consensus on issues that often take years to resolve. This mechanism creates a high-stakes legislative bottleneck that could easily be used to stop any new monument designation, regardless of its merits, simply by running out the clock.