Thursday, April 27, 2017
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Page 7A
Trump: national monuments Trump tax plan
a ‘massive federal land grab’ could be good
WASHINGTON (AP) — President
Donald Trump signed an executive
order Wednesday directing his interior
secretary to review the designation
of dozens of national monuments on
federal lands, calling the protection
efforts “a massive federal land grab” by
previous administrations.
It was yet another executive action
from a president trying to rack up
accomplishments before his first 100
days in office, with Saturday marking
that milestone. And it could upend
protections put in place in Utah and other
states under a 1906 law that authorizes
the president to declare federal lands as
monuments and restrict their use.
During a signing ceremony at the
Interior Department, Trump said the
order would end “another egregious
abuse of federal power” and “give that
power back to the states and to the
people where it belongs.”
Trump accused the Obama admin-
istration of using the Antiquities Act
to “unilaterally put millions of acres
of land and water under strict federal
control” — a practice Trump derided as
“a massive federal land grab.”
“Somewhere along the way the Act
has become a tool of political advocacy
rather than public interest,” Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke said. “And it’s
easy to see why designations in some
cases are viewed negatively by those
local communities that are impacted the
most.”
In December, shortly before leaving
office, President Barack Obama infu-
riated Utah Republicans by creating
the Bears Ears National Monument on
more than 1 million acres of land that’s
sacred to Native Americans and home
to tens of thousands of archaeological
sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.
Republicans in the state asked Trump
to take the unusual step of reversing
Obama’s decision. They said the desig-
nation will stymie growth by closing
the area to new commercial and energy
development. The Antiquities Act does
not give the president explicit power to
undo a designation and no president has
ever taken such a step.
Trump’s order was one of a handful
he intended to sign this week in a flurry
of developments before his 100th day in
office. The president has used executive
orders aggressively over the past three
months; as a candidate, Trump railed
against Obama’s use of this power.
Wednesday’s order will cover
news for many,
bad for deficit
By JOSH BOAK and
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
President Donald Trump speaks at the Interior Department in Washington,
Wednesday, before signing an Antiquities Executive Order.
Western monuments
under review:
• Hanford Reach National Monu-
ment, Washington
• Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument, Utah
• Bears Ears National Monument,
Utah
several dozen monuments across the
country designated since 1996. They
total 100,000 acres or more and include
the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument and Bear Ears, both in Utah.
Zinke was directed to produce an
interim report in 45 days and make a
recommendation on Bears Ears, and
then issue a final report within 120 days.
Zinke said that over the past 20
years, the designation of tens of millions
of acres as national monuments have
limited the lands’ use for farming,
timber harvesting, mining and oil and
gas exploration, and other commercial
purposes.
While designations have done “a
great service to the public,” Zinke said
the “local community affected should
have a voice.”
Some, including Sen. Orrin Hatch,
R-Utah, have hailed the order as the end
of “land grabs” by presidents dating to
Bill Clinton.
But Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.,
said that if Trump truly wants to make
America great again, he should use the
law to protect and conserve America’s
public lands. In New Mexico, Obama’s
designation of Rio Grande del Norte
National Monument and Organ Moun-
tains-Desert Peaks National Monument
have preserved important lands while
boosting the economy, Heinrich said,
and that story has repeated across the
country.
“If this sweeping review is an excuse
to cut out the public and scale back
protections, I think this president is
going to find a very resistant public,”
Heinrich said.
Members of a coalition of five
Western tribes that pushed for the Bears
Ears National Monument said they’re
outraged the administration will review
a decision they say was already carefully
vetted by the Obama administration,
including a multi-day visit last summer
by then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
Davis Filfred, the Navajo Nation
representative on the coalition, said it
would be heart-breaking if the review
leads to an attempt to strip the monu-
ment of designation.
“Once it’s designated, it’s desig-
nated. He should just honor our past
leaders and those who were before
him,” Filfred said. “He’s disregarding
the Native Americans, the first people of
this nation. This is sacred land.”
Filfred said he and the coalition
won’t stand by idly if Zinke tries to
undo the designation. “He’s going to be
in for a fight. We’re not going to let this
down easy.”
WASHINGTON
—
Dismissing concerns about
ballooning federal deficits,
President Donald Trump
on Wednesday proposed
dramatic tax cuts for U.S.
businesses and individuals
— outlining an overhaul
his administration promises
will spur economic growth
and simplify America’s
tangle of tax code rules.
His proposal, a one-page
sketch short on detail, would
reduce the top corporate tax
rate by 20 percentage points
and allow private business
owners to claim the new
lower rate for their take-
home pay. It would whittle
the number of tax brackets
for individuals from seven
to three, lower the top tax
rate from 39.6 percent to
35 percent and double the
standard amount taxpayers
could deduct.
It would eliminate the
estate tax and reduce taxes
on investments, typically
paid by the rich. It would
further reduce the tax
burden for the wealthy by
eliminating the catch-all
alternative minimum tax,
which takes an additional
bite out of high-income
Americans.
More
lower-income
Americans would pay no
tax at all, and there would
be relief — still undefined
— for families with child
care expenses.
The plan does not
propose any budget cuts
or tax increases that might
offset the lost revenue, a
choice that alarms some
fiscal conservatives in
Trump’s party who have
spent years railing about
the dangers of deficit
spending.
It also does not fully
embrace tax proposals
backed by Republican
House Speaker Paul Ryan,
an essential ally if the
president is to make good
on his promise to deliver
a tax overhaul that creates
growth and brings jobs
to struggling parts of the
country.
Still, “I would never,
ever bet against this presi-
dent. He will get this done
for the American people,”
said Gary Cohn, director of
the White House National
Economic Council. “He
understands that there are
a lot people who work hard
and feel like they’re not
getting ahead.”
The president’s proposal
marks a rehash of an
economic theory popular-
ized in the 1980s. Trump
officials essentially argue
that benefits from the tax
cuts will trickle down from
higher profits for compa-
nies into stronger pay raises
for workers and greater
consumer spending. This
expected surge in growth,
in theory, would be enough
to keep the federal budget
deficit
from
shooting
upward.
Some economists agree,
but most budget experts say
it’s unlikely.
“Unfortunately,
it
seems the administration
is using economic growth
like magic beans — the
cheap solution to all our
problems,” said Maya
MacGuineas, president of
the non-partisan Committee
for a Responsible Federal
Budget. “But there is no
golden goose at the top of
the tax cut beanstalk, just
mountains of debt.”
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