89–008 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 111–510 

DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO TRANSMIT TO THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATING TO 

THE POTENTIAL DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS 

JUNE 23, 2010.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. RAHALL, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H. Res. 1406] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

resolution (H. Res. 1406) directing the Secretary of the Interior to 

transmit to the House of Representatives certain information relating to the potential designation of National Monuments, having 

considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommend that the resolution be agreed to. 

PURPOSE OF THE RESOLUTION

The purpose of H. Res. 1406 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior to transmit to the House of Representatives certain information relating to the potential designation of National Monuments. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H. Res. 1406 is a resolution of inquiry that directs the Secretary 

of the Interior to transmit to the House of Representatives, not 

later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of the resolution 

by the full House, copies of all Department of the Interior documents, maps, records (including electronic records), communications and other information dating from July 1, 2009, and later referring to or relating to a specific internal draft document of the 

Department of the Interior concerning the potential designation of 

National Monuments. Under clause 7 of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives, the Committee must act on such a 


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resolution within 14 legislative days or a privileged motion to discharge the Committee will be in order in the House. 

Under the rules and precedents of the House, a resolution of inquiry is one of the methods used by the House to obtain information from the executive branch. According to volume 7, chapter 24, 

section 8 of Deschler’s Procedure, it is a ‘‘simple resolution making 

a direct request or demand of the President or the head of an executive department to furnish the House of Representatives with specific factual information in the possession of the executive branch.’’ 

An earlier resolution of inquiry (H. Res. 1254) introduced by Representative Doc Hastings (R–WA) on this same subject, as well as 

other matters, was ordered reported without recommendation by 

the Committee on May 5, 2010. That earlier resolution sought numerous documents and significantly more broad categories of information. H. Res. 1406 asks only for the information related to the 

specific internal draft document on the potential designation of National Monuments. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H. Res. 1406 was introduced on May 27, 2010 by Representative 

Hastings of Washington. The resolution was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. No hearings were held on the resolution. On June 16, 2010, the full Natural Resources Committee met 

to consider the resolution. The resolution was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply, as H. Res. 1406 is not a bill or joint 

resolution. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this resolution. The Committee estimates implementing 

this resolution would not result in any significant costs. The Congressional Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate for the resolution. 

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this resolution does 

not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit 

authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this resolution is to direct the Secretary of the Interior to transVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:11 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089008 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR510.XXX HR510

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mit to the House of Representatives certain information relating to 

the potential designation of National Monuments. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This resolution contains no unfunded mandates. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

H. Res. 1406 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of 

rule XXI. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This resolution is not intended to preempt any State, local or 

tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

H. Res. 1406 would make no changes in existing law. 


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ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

Over three months ago, Committee Republicans sent a written 

request to Interior Secretary Salazar seeking documents related to 

an internal memo that revealed the Administration’s potential 

plans to unilaterally designate up to 13 million acres as new national monuments. Such a designation could have a dramatic impact on the livelihoods and jobs of Americans and rural communities all across the Western United States. 

Despite repeatedly claiming that there is no ‘‘hidden agenda,’’ the 

Interior Department has done nothing but stonewall efforts to 

make these documents public. In fact, the Department has failed 

to produce even one single additional page from this memo beyond 

pages 15–21 that the Committee Republicans exposed. 

The night before the Committee’s previous markup when the 

first resolution of inquiry was considered, the Department released 

383 pages of e-mails and documents, but purposefully withheld 

2,016 pages of documents. While these e-mails contained no substantial information—they did not even provide the attachments 

shown in the e-mails—they did raise even more questions about 

the Administration’s plans. 

We know that other pages of this document do exist and that the 

Department of the Interior apparently does not want the American 

people to find out what the document says. At this point, only 

pages 15 to 21 have been revealed and they were leaked, not released. The Department continues to withhold pages 1 through 14 

as well as pages 22 and higher. Why is the Department refusing 

to disclose ALL of the pages? 

We now know that other agencies were involved in preparing 

this document—not just the Bureau of Land Management. The emails reveal that other Department of the Interior agencies including the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau 

of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Reclamation were involved in 

contributing to this document. What were the proposals for new 

designations or actions within each of these agencies? 

The resolution of inquiry—House Resolution 1406—passed with 

a bi-partisan vote of the Committee on Natural Resources. The 

Committee’s favorable vote should result in the American public 

getting answers to these questions. The Department should 

promptly transmit a complete copy of the document along with the 

2,016 pages of related material they have identified and gathered 

as being responsive to our request but are nevertheless deliberately 

withheld from the public. 

The Resolution is very straight forward. It simply directs the Department of the Interior to transmit to the House of Representatives material that is specifically identified in the resolution as: 

Copies of all Department of the Interior documents, 

maps, records (including electronic records), communicaVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:11 Jun 24, 2010 Jkt 089008 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6604 E:\HR\OC\HR510.XXX HR510

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tions and other information dating from July 1, 2009, and 

later referring to or relating to the document containing 

‘‘Attachment 4 Prospective Conservation Designation: National Monument Designations under the Antiquities Act’’ 

and marked ‘‘Internal Draft—NOT FOR RELEASE’’, including that document in full, all attachments in full, and 

all iterations of that document, and related similar documents. 

This will not require extra work or distract the Department from 

other responsibilities. They have this information readily available. 

It was assembled weeks ago. All they need do is make it public. 

There is no justifiable reason for the Department to keep these documents secret. This resolution puts the Committee on Natural Resources on the side of full disclosure and transparency, principles 

that Members on both sides should be proud to support. It is now 

time for the Department to make all the documents public. If the 

Department fails to disclose all of the documents following action 

by the Committee to favorably report House Resolution 1406, then 

it will be up to the Committee to act again and take what steps 

are necessary to compel the Department to disclosure the documents. 

DOC HASTINGS. 

Æ 


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