The White House issued a statement Wednesday threatening a veto of the Red River Private Property Protection Act. Texas Congressman Mac Thornberry’s bill would settle the dispute over 90,000 acres along the Red River that are being threatened by takeover by the Bureau of Land Management. NCBA (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) President Philip Ellis says for more than 100 years ranchers have owned, managed and paid taxes on their private property.
Ellis says if this is unchecked by Congress, it sets a precedent that the Secretary of the Interior can lay claim to private land without legal consequence, due process or just compensation.
Public Lands Council is also concerned about this issue. Their President Brenda Richards says the Administration is erroneously arguing that the Secretary of the Interior has the unimpeachable authority to tell Americans where their private property rights begin and end.