WASHINGTON — Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) issued the following statements after Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, blocked passage of the No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act, introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).

“This is what ‘not one acre’ means in practice,” said Senator Lee. “Democrats would rather preserve a site tied to the abuse of women and children than take action in light of deeply disturbing allegations. That is indefensible. We’re talking about a location that, according to credible reporting, was the setting for heinous abuse. Yet instead of confronting that reality, my colleague chose to block a straightforward measure and replace it with one that keeps this site enshrined.”

 

“The César E. Chávez National Monument should be abolished," said Senator Barrasso. "Senator Cornyn’s common-sense legislation should have unanimous, bipartisan support. Instead, Democrats would rather continue to honor someone who has been widely discredited due to his alarming history of abuse,” said Barrasso."

The legislation would close and dispose of the César E. Chávez National Monument in Keene, California, following a bombshell report from the New York Times detailing allegations that Chávez sexually abused women and girls.

Senator Heinrich objected to the bill’s passage and offered a substitute amendment that would preserve the monument.