S-4205-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sponsored by John Cornyn (R-TX)
What it does
This bill would abolish the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, California, which was established by Presidential Proclamation in October 2012. It would prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from using any remaining unobligated funds to operate or maintain the monument, and would redirect those funds to the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, which supports forensic DNA testing programs.
Who benefits
Law enforcement agencies and crime labs that would receive additional funding for DNA analysis backlogs. Victims of unsolved crimes who may benefit from faster DNA processing. Taxpayers who support redirecting federal spending away from the monument. Those who oppose the use of federal monuments to honor individuals with contested historical records.
Who is hurt
Visitors and tourists who currently use the monument, including the roughly 20,000 annual visitors to the Keene, California site. The local Kern County economy, which benefits from monument-related tourism. National Park Service employees and contractors who work at or support the monument. Labor movement organizations and advocates who view the monument as recognition of farmworker history. Latino and Hispanic communities for whom Cesar Chavez holds cultural and historical significance. Historians and educators who use the site for research and teaching about the farmworker movement.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that federal monuments should not honor individuals whose full historical record is disputed, and that the monument's funding is better directed toward concrete public safety outcomes. They contend that the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act addresses a documented crisis — hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits and crime scene samples — and that redirecting monument funds toward solving violent crimes is a more appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the Antiquities Act and the Presidential Proclamation process represent a legitimate, long-standing exercise of executive authority to preserve sites of historical and cultural significance, and that Congress has rarely used legislation to abolish an existing national monument. They contend that the monument commemorates the farmworker movement's documented contributions to American labor history, and that abolishing it sets a precedent for politically motivated removal of monuments honoring minority communities.