Yates letter: National monuments

Just a friendly FYI to all you folks with the “no monument without a vote of Congress” signs in your front yards: Public Law 59-209, commonly known as the Antiquities Act, passed by the 59th Congress, and effective June 8, 1906, grants authority to the president to establish national monuments as he sees fit. In other words, that act of Congress you yearn for already happened, over a century ago. The only act of Congress that could prevent a monument now would be one that repeals Public Law 59-209. Start writing those letters to your representatives, and see if you can undo 110 years of precedent. Good luck.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Yates letter: National monuments."