Arizona Senate Republicans condemned President Joe Biden’s “blatant government overreach” of seizing almost a million acres of land from Coconino and Mohave Counties to designate as a new national monument near the Grand Canyon.
Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu) said that Biden’s new monument designation is a dictator-style land grab that will have dire consequences for all Arizonans.
“This thinly veiled effort to appease his radical environmental base as he campaigns for re-election will have dire consequences for all Arizonans. We strongly condemn this dictator-style land grab that will greatly hurt Mohave county and further limit private and state land resources needed for our economic viability,” Borrelli said.
According to State Senator Frank Carroll (R-Suprise), Biden welcomes a greater reliance on communist China with this designation by stopping uranium mining in the area.
“Halting uranium mining in this region will only promote our country’s dependence on communist China for the minerals needed every day to support our energy supply. Even the FBI has sounded the alarm that China is the greatest long-term threat to our nation’s ideas, economic security, and national security, yet President Biden is welcoming a greater reliance on this government with this action,” Carroll said.
President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R-Florance) said Biden’s actions put Arizona citizens, resources, the economy, and national security at risk.
“The Biden Administration is determined to halt mining across our country and here in Arizona, crippling our ability to meet demands. We must immediately open up mining in Arizona and address other national security risks here locally that are associated with China’s influence. Shame on President Biden for putting our citizens, our resources, and our economy at risk,” Shope said.
According to Majority Whip Sine Kerr (R-Buckeye), Biden’s government overreach is infuriating and just wrong it will drastically impact the livelihood of cattle ranchers in the state.
“This move will have drastic implications for the livelihoods of our cattle ranchers who have relied on this land for generations. There are no better stewards of the land than our farmers and ranchers. The fact that they were left out of the discussion process is infuriating and just wrong,” Kerr said.
State Senator David Gowan (R-Sierra Vista) said the new monument is unacceptable and unconstitutional and that Arizona does not need federal government over-reach.
“There was entirely inefficient notice from the Biden Administration to the residents, business owners, and elected officials of Mohave County. This is not how government should conduct itself within Arizona or within the United States. We don’t need the federal government coming in and dictating to Arizonans how to protect Arizona. We’ve been doing a fine job of conserving our precious resources and will continue to do so. This federal overreach is unacceptable and unconstitutional,” Gowan said.
On Monday evening, Republican lawmakers held an emergency joint committee meeting where they formally voted to oppose Biden’s designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
The Biden Administration claims that the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument protects thousands of sites that are sacred to the Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Paiute, Navajo, Yavapai-Apache, Zuni and Colorado River Indian Tribes.
According to the lawmakers, Biden’s monument designation promises to adversely impact the state’s economy and national security by devastating critical industries like mining and cattle ranching.
Biden officially designated the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon a National Monument during an Arizona trip on Tuesday.
The Arizona Sun Times reached out to Borrelli for comment as to next steps in opposition to the monument but did not receive a reply before press time.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Joe Biden” by Joe Biden.
