The White House issued a statement Wednesday threatening a veto of H.R. 2130, the Red River Private Property Protection Act, offered by Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, bringing concern from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
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NCBA President Philip Ellis said the veto threat was "another example of egregious federal overreach."
According to Ellis, the bill would settle the dispute over 90,000 acres land along a 116 mile stretch of the Red River the Bureau of Land Management claims may be considered public domain by requiring a survey of the contested area to be completed within two years and approved by the states of Texas and Oklahoma.
"For more than 100 years, private land owners have owned, successfully managed, and paid property taxes on lands along the Red River," he said. "This veto threat is no more than the White House asserting another federal land grab, usurping private property rights."
Ellis said the veto threat sets a precedent that the Secretary of Interior can "lay claim to private land without legal consequence, due process or just compensation."
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Public Lands Council President Brenda Richards echoed Ellis' comments. "Once again, this 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."
Richards said ranchers in the West have dealt with this type of federal overreach for years and that it's "distressing" to see the Administration attempt to expand federal estate in areas of clear private property.
Source: NCBA