{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chaffetz.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=777", "Chaffetz Outraged by Obama Decision to Impose Unwanted Midnight Monument in Utah", "2016-12-28", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Jason Chaffetz", "C001076", "chaffetz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) released the following statement regarding President Obama\u2019s imposition of a national monument designation at Bears Ears in San Juan County:\n\n\n\n\u201cPresident Obama\u2019s unilateral decision to invoke the Antiquities Act in Utah politicizes a long-simmering conflict. This unfortunate act threatens to further inflame controversies that were near resolution. The midnight monument is a slap in the face to the people of Utah, attempting to silence the voices of those who will bear the heavy burden it imposes. Furthermore, the decision is a major break with protocol previously followed by this administration. It does not have the support of the Governor, a single member of the state\u2019s Congressional delegation, nor any local elected officials or state legislators who represent the area.\n\n\n\n\"After years of painstaking negotiations with a diverse coalition, Utah had a comprehensive bipartisan solution on the table that would have protected the Bears Ears and provided a balanced solution. Instead, the president's midnight monument cherry picked provisions of the Public Lands Initiative and disregarded the economic development and multi-use provisions necessary for a balanced compromise. In reality, a win-win solution never really had a chance as the very threat of the Antiquities Act prevented a serious negotiation with the stakeholders of PLI \u2013 many of whom never wanted a compromise to begin with.\n\n\n\n\"Finally, the so-called tribal coalition supporting the monument over the objections of their own Utah members will quickly find they have been misled. The president\u2019s promise of co-management between the tribes and the federal government cannot be gained through executive action. Only Congress can authorize such agreements \u2013 and the administration made little effort to help facilitate legislation that would have done so.\n\n\n\n\"We look forward to working with President-elect Trump to follow through on his commitment to repeal midnight regulations. We will work to repeal this top-down decision and replace it with one that garners local support and creates a balanced, win-win solution.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chaffetz.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=777"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0544080287218094, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}