Statement by Senator John McCain on Mine Opponents' Effort to Repeal Resolution Copper Land Exchange

Statement

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today released the following statement on mine opponents introducing legislation to repeal the Resolution Copper land exchange, which was passed by both Houses of Congress with bipartisan support and signed by President Obama last December as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015:

"I am extremely proud to have worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass the Resolution Copper land exchange last year. It was a major victory for Arizona after years of hard work.

"That's why I am disappointed but not surprised that longtime mine opponents are trying to stop the project and kill the thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity it is set to create. Resolution Copper is a game-changer for one of the most economically-depressed areas of Arizona, as the company has already pledged to hire local Arizonans and members of the nearby San Carlos Apache Tribe where unemployment stands around 70 percent. It is incomprehensible that any Member of Congress would try to eliminate their constituents' economic opportunities. Repealing the land exchange also guts the acquisition of more than 5,000 acres of land, much of which was identified as environmentally significant by conservation organizations and the Interior Department, and includes land that would protect sensitive habitat along the endangered San Pedro River.

"The truth is, the land exchange passed last year was a bipartisan compromise hashed out through 10 years of debate and public testimony in Congress. It does not involve any tribal land or federally-designated "sacred sites,' as the Interior Department's 1955 Public Land Order (PLO) on Oak Flat campground clearly shows. Further, the land exchange included key concessions to address concerns from anti-mining activists, including requiring a full environmental impact study on the mine in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before the land is transferred to the mine, and designating the majestic Apache Leap cliffs -- celebrated by Apache folklore -- as a Forest Service special management area."

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