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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10669 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10669
To require congressional approval for Federal land withdrawals over
5,000 acres, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2026
Mr. Gosar (for himself, Mr. Begich, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Crane, Ms.
Hageman, Mr. Kennedy of Utah, and Mr. Stauber) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require congressional approval for Federal land withdrawals over
5,000 acres, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Legislative Approval for National
Designations Act'' or ``LANDs Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR LAND WITHDRAWALS OVER 5,000
ACRES.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except
as provided in subsection (b), a covered land withdrawal may only be
carried out with the express authorization of Congress.
(b) Exception.--The restriction with respect to a covered land
withdrawal under subsection (a) shall not apply if the withdrawal is--
(1) made pursuant to temporary public land order, the
expiration of which--
(A) is 5 years or less after the date on which the
land order was issued; and
(B) has not been extended beyond the 5-year period
after the date on which the land order was issued; and
(2) necessary for national security purposes, as determined
by the President.
(c) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Covered land withdrawal.--The term ``covered land
withdrawal'' means a Federal land withdrawal carried out by a
Federal agency that would result in a withdrawal of more than
5,000 acres in aggregate.
(2) Withdrawal.--The term ``withdrawal'' means--
(A) withholding an area of Federal land from
settlement, sale, location, or entry, under some or all
of the general land laws, including--
(i) entry, appropriation, or disposal under
the public land laws;
(ii) location, entry, or patent under the
mining laws; and
(iii) operation of the mineral leasing,
mineral materials, or geothermal leasing laws;
(B) reserving an area for a use described in
subparagraph (A);
(C) transferring jurisdiction over an area of
Federal land, other than property governed by the
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (40
U.S.C. 472), from one Federal agency to another Federal
agency; or
(D) restricting an area from operations of the
mineral leasing provisions of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON SIZE OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS; CLARIFICATION OF
ELIGIBLE OBJECTS.
Section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``historic landmarks,
historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of
historic or scientific interest'' and inserting ``object or
objects of antiquity'';
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ``confined to the
smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of
the objects to be protected'' and inserting ``in accordance
with the limitations outlined in subsections (f), (g), (h), and
(i)''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Limitation on Size of National Monuments.--Except as provided
by subsections (g) and (h), after the date of the enactment of the
Legislative Approval for National Designations Act, land may not be
designated under this section in a configuration that would create a
national monument--
``(1) that is more than 640 acres; and
``(2) the exterior boundary of which is less than 50 miles
from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument
designated under this section.
``(f) Exception for Emergency Designation.--
``(1) In general.--Subsection (e) shall not apply to the
designation under this section of a national monument of any
acreage amount if designation is made to prevent imminent and
irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity to be
protected by the designation.
``(2) One year limitation.--A national monument designation
under this subsection shall terminate on the date that is one
calendar year after the date of the designation.
``(3) One time designation.--Land designated as a national
monument under this subsection--
``(A) may only be so designated one time; and
``(B) may not also be permanently designated as a
national monument under this section.
``(4) Rights and uses.--Land designated as a national
monument under this subsection shall remain subject to--
``(A) valid existing rights; and
``(B) uses allowed on the day before such
designation under an applicable land management plan,
resource management plan, or forest plan.
``(g) Non-Federally Owned Property.--After the date of the
enactment of the Legislative Approval for National Designations Act,
land may not be designated as a national monument under this section in
a configuration that would place non-federally owned property within
the exterior boundaries of the national monument without the express
written consent of the owners of that non-federally owned property.
``(h) Effect of Designated on Federal Funds.--No designation under
this section shall be construed to increase the amount of Federal funds
that are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year.
``(i) Water Rights Associated With a Designation.--Water rights
associated with a designation under this section--
``(1) may not be reserved expressly or by implication by a
designation under this section; and
``(2) may be acquired for a designation under this section
only in accordance with the laws of the State in which the
water rights are based.
``(j) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
``(1) Designated; designation.--The terms `designate' and
`designation' shall be construed to include `declare' and
`declaration', `proclaim' and `proclamation', `establish' and
`establishment', `extend' and `extension', and similar terms
used in Federal statutes, regulations, or executive documents
to refer to the creation or expansion of a national monument by
the President.
``(2) Imminent and irreparable harm.--The term `imminent
and irreparable harm' does not include generalized,
speculative, or cumulative environmental conditions, including
long-term ecological or climatological changes, unless an
immediate threat is identified with respect to a specific
object or objects of antiquity.
``(3) Land.--The term `land' shall not include submerged
land or water.
``(4) Object or objects of antiquity.--The term `object or
objects of antiquity'--
``(A) means--
``(i) relics;
``(ii) artifacts;
``(iii) human remains;
``(iv) fossils (other than fossil fuels);
and
``(v) certain buildings constructed before
the date of the enactment of the Legislative
Approval for National Designations Act; and
``(B) does not include, among other things--
``(i) natural geographic features;
``(ii) objects not made by humans, except
fossils (other than fossil fuels) or human
remains;
``(iii) landscapes or ecosystems; or
``(iv) values.''.
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