Volume 144, No. 74 covering the 2nd Session of the 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S6035-S6037 on June 10, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS
The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:
POM-449. A resolution adopted by the St. Augustine Beach City Commission relative to funding of a shore protection project; to the Committee on Appropriations.
POM-450. A resolution adopted by the Nevada Legislature's Committee on Public Lands relative to the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
POM-451. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of New Hampshire; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
House Joint Resolution 23
Whereas, the state of New Hampshire has continued to decrease air pollution emissions in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990; and
Whereas, certain regions of the country, including the state of New Hampshire, are currently victims of air pollution emitted upwind from the region, but are being held responsible for that pollution by the federal Clean Air Act; and
Whereas, section 126 of the federal Clean Air Act allows states to petition the Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find that any stationary source or group of stationary sources emits any air pollutant in amounts which significantly contribute to levels of air pollution in excess of the national air quality standard outside of the state; and
Whereas, the state of New Hampshire filed a petition to section 126 before the EPA in August 1997; now therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
That the New Hampshire Senate and House of Representatives support the section 126 petition filed by the state of New Hampshire in August 1997; and
That the federal Clean Air Act should be amended so that section 126 petitions may refer not only to stationary sources and groups of stationary sources, but also to non-stationary sources and groups of non-stationary sources; and
That the EPA should exercise its duty under section 110 of the federal Clean Air Act to require states to submit plans consistent with attainment of the national air standards in their own state and in all areas downwind from them; and to refuse to accept plans containing emissions which significantly contribute to non-attainment of the national air standards in areas downwind, by determining what total reductions are needed to attain the standards and then apportioning the responsibility for reductions in a cost-effective equitable manner among all states that contribute significantly to non-attainment; and
That copies of this resolution be sent by the hours clerk to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the chairpersons of committees of the United State Congress having jurisdiction over the Clean Air Act, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and each member of the New Hampshire congressional delegation.
____
POM-452. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Senate Resolution No. 132
Whereas, This General Assembly acknowledges the importance and emerging dependence of business, government and society on the Internet as a growing part of our system of communications and commerce; and
Whereas, The members of this legislative body also recognizes that the Internet as a medium of free speech contains, in addition to its many salutory features, potential dangers for society and especially our youth, in that it can provide uncontrolled and instantaneous access to obscenity, child pornography and other adult-oriented materials that are harmful to youth; and
Whereas, in 1996 Congress attempted to place restrictions on the Internet to curb these dangers by the passage of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which was declared unconstitutional in part by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Reno v. ACLU; and
Whereas, The Internet is in a developing stage and software developments and other market forces may eventually allow Internet providers to provide clean Internet services or products that will protect children from the harms of the Internet and permit users to block out offensive materials and services without compromising the beneficial aspects of the Internet; and
Whereas, The technology currently exists to more readily control these problems by the use of a designated top-level domain site for web sites that contain pornographic and adult-oriented materials and services which, if employed, will expedite and facilitate the development of clean Internet materials and services by the lawful classification of web sites; and
Whereas, In October of this year, the United States Department of Commerce plans to set up a private not-for-profit corporation whose directors will create five new top-level domains that will register web sites by subject type; and
Whereas, A federal requirement that an adult-oriented domain site be created and that all adult-oriented web sites be registered to such domain would greatly aid Internet users, parents and teachers in shielding America's youth from the harms of pornography and adult-oriented materials and services that are available and proliferating on the Internet, and
Whereas, The states are somewhat limited in the regulation they can provide in this area because of the federal Commerce Clause; and
Whereas, Congress and the Executive Branch are the appropriate governmental branches to provide leadership in this area and may lawfully act to resolve quickly this issue in a responsible manner that comports with the ideals of the First Amendment; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the One-Hundredth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That this Body hereby urges the United States Congress to establish and maintain a uniform resource locator system that contains a top-level domain for all Internet web sites providing pornographic or adult-oriented materials or services so as to facilitate and assist Internet users, service providers and software developers to manage the problem of uncontrolled access to obscenity, child pornography and other adult-oriented materials and services via the Internet. Be it
Further Resolved, That this Body respectfully urges the President and Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of the Department of Commerce to use their offices and considerable influence to bring about the aims of this resolution by the means of executive order or department regulation, or the promotion of federal regulation, as they deem appropriate. Be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate deliver enrolled copies of this resolution to each member of the Tennessee delegation, to the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, to the Chairmen of the United States Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the United States House Commerce Committee, and to the President and Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce.
____
POM-453. A resolution adopted by the House of the Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on Finance.
House Resolution No. 212
Whereas, Housing credits are the primary state-federal tool for making affordable rental housing available for low-income people. Since 1987, state agencies have allocated housing credits that have helped finance nearly 900,000 apartments for low-income families; and
Whereas, The cap on the amount of housing credits was set ten years ago. Over the past decade, less and less housing is becoming available. As a result of the impact of inflation, demand for this highly successful program exceeds supply by a three-to-one ratio; and
Whereas, The Congress of the United States is considering two bills that would rectify the problem of inadequate housing credits by adjusting the cap to reflect inflationary growth. These bills, H.R. 2990 and S. 1252, will reopen doors to more low-income housing. In Michigan, it is estimated that the legislation will result in enough credit authority to create another 1,000 units of much-needed housing. Another key to the bills is a provision to index the cap for housing credits to reflect inflationary change. This is an appropriate strategy to ensure the continuing availability of low-income housing; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to increase the cap on low-income housing credits; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
____
POM-454. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on Finance.
Senate Resolution No. 171
Whereas, The Internal Revenue Code is beyond repair; and
Whereas, The Internal Revenue Code is the core of the distrust of government the American people feel; and
Whereas, the current tax code is 7 million words, compared to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of 269 words and the Declaration of Independence, which is 1,337 words; and
Whereas, The IRS's ``simplest'' return, the EZ Form 1040, has 33 pages of instructions, and the IRS Form 1040 has 76 pages of instructions; and
Whereas, Individual taxpayers spend 1.7 billion hours and American business will spend 3.4 billion hours each year simply trying to comply with the tax code. That effort is equivalent to a ``staff'' of 3 million people working full time, year round, just on taxes; and
Whereas, Taxes are too high, but any steps to lower taxes by modifying the existing tax code would make it even longer and more confusing; and
Whereas, A proposal to abolish the Internal Revenue Code by December 31, 2001, embodies a prudent method and provides adequate time for developing a new tax code; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to abolish the Internal Revenue Code by December 31, 2001, and replace it with a new method of taxation. The new tax code must:
--Lower taxes--to create job opportunities;
--Foster growth--by encouraging work and savings;
--Be fair--for all taxpayers;
--Be simple enough for all taxpayers to understand;
--Be neutral--allowing people, not government to make choices;
--Be visible, so people know the cost of government;
--Be stable, so people can plan for the future; and be it further
Resolved, That we request the other states to urge Congress to enact this proposal; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to members of the Michigan congressional delegation, and to the legislatures of the other states.
____
POM-455. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of California; to the Committee on Finance.
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 65
Whereas, The California Legislature and the Governor, on a bipartisan basis, enacted Assembly Bill 1126 and other conforming legislation to establish the Healthy Families Program; and
Whereas, The Healthy Families Program embodies the Governor's vision of providing private insurance to the children of working parents whose employers do not provide dependent health insurance coverage and whose family income is insufficient to purchase private health care coverage for their children; and
Whereas, It was the Legislature's intent, in enacting the Healthy Families Program, that children of low-income parents who work receive the same beneficial treatment, with regard to income disregards, as families applying for Medi-Cal; and
Whereas, The state government expressly requested the use of income disregards to establish eligibility for the Healthy Families program, similar to the disregards applied to low-income persons applying for Medi-Cal coverage for their children; and
Whereas, The federal government accepted the plan developed by the administration, including the provisions of the plan which protect against crowd out; and
Whereas, The delay and potential elimination of families who want and need to participate in the program, since they do not have the means to purchase insurance without financial assistance, would place a great hardship on these families and their children; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California memorializes the federal Health Care Financing Administration, and the Congress and the President of the United States to preserve the state plan to implement the Healthy Families Program in its current approved form; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.
____
POM-456. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
House Joint Resolution 98-1036
Whereas, The Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997 pending in the federal congress would require all aircraft maintenance facilities, whether domestic or abroad, to adhere to the same safety and operating procedures; and
Whereas, The Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997 would provide for more stringent standards for certification of foreign aircraft repair stations by the Federal Aviation Administration and would revoke the certification of any repair facility that knowingly uses defective parts; and
Whereas, There are over five hundred fifty persons with a combined annual income of over twenty-nine million dollars employed in the aircraft repair industry in Colorado whose jobs are at risk of being moved out of the United States unless foreign aircraft repair stations are required to adhere to our safety and operating procedures; and
Whereas, On January 9, 1997, House Resolution No. 145 was introduced in the House of Representatives of the United States by Representative Robert Borski; and
Whereas, On July 30, 1997, a companion bill, S. 1089, was introduced in the Senate of the United States by Senator Arlen Specter; and
Whereas, H.R. 145 and S. 1089 both propose to enact the Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein: That the General Assembly requests the United States Congress to enact and the President to sign the Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997, be it further
Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the President and Vice-President of the United States, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to each member of the Congressional delegation from Colorado.
____
POM-457. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
House Concurrent Resolution No. 13
Whereas, the Republic of Poland is a free, democratic, and independent nation with a long and proud history, being the first nation in Central Europe to stand up for democratic values and to undergo a systematic transformation; and
Whereas, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is dedicated to the preservation of freedom and security of its member nations; and
Whereas, Poland and its Central European neighbors the Republic of Hungary and the Czech Republic recognize their responsibilities as democratic nations and wish to exercise such responsibilities in concert with members of NATO; and
Whereas, Poland will bring to the alliance its defense potential, its stabilizing role in the region, and its good relations with its neighbors; and
Whereas, Hungary and the Czech Republic have also shown their commitment to democracy and its preservation throughout the world; and
Whereas, the Republic of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic desire to become a part of NATO's efforts to prevent the extremes of nationalism and to spread democracy and stability; and
Whereas, the security of the United States is dependent upon the stability of Central Europe. Therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does respectfully urge the United States Senate to support the establishment of a timetable for the admission of the Republic of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Be it
Further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the president of the United States Senate, to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation, and to the ambassadors of the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Hungary, and the Czech Republic to the United States.
____
POM-458. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
House Concurrent Resolution No. 33
Whereas, the Republic of Poland is a free, democratic, and independent nation with a long and proud history, being the first nation in Central Europe to stand up for democratic values and to undergo a systematic transformation; and
Whereas, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is dedicated to the preservation of freedom and security of its member nations; and
Whereas, Poland and its Central European neighbors, the Republic of Hungary and the Czech Republic, recognize their responsibilities as democratic nations and wish to exercise such responsibilities in concert with members of NATO; and
Whereas, Poland will bring to the alliance its defense potential, its stabilizing role in the region, and its good relations with its neighbors; and
Whereas, Hungary and the Czech Republic have also shown their commitment to democracy and its preservation throughout the world; and
Whereas, the Republic of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic desire to become a part of NATO's efforts to prevent the extremes of nationalism and to spread democracy and stability; and
Whereas, the security of the United States is dependent upon the stability of Central Europe. Therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Legislature of Louisiana does respectfully urge the United States Senate to support the establishment of a timetable for the admission of the Republic of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Be it
Further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation, and to the ambassadors of the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Hungary, and the Czech Republic to the United States.
____
POM-459. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
House Concurrent Resolution No. 41
Whereas, congress, through the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (FAIR Act), mandated that the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture consolidate the then existing thirty-two federal milk marketing orders into not less than ten nor more than fourteen orders by April 4, 1999; and
Whereas, the FAIR Act also authorized the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture to review and reform the pricing and other provisions of the consolidated orders; and
Whereas, on January 23, 1998, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture issued proposed rules for federal milk order consolidations and reforms; and
Whereas, these proposed rules included two options for pricing milk used in Class I (fluid milk products), which are noted and referred to as Option 1A and Option 1B; and
Whereas, Option 1A is similar to the present geographic price structures; however, Option 1B would reduce the minimum federal order prices in Louisiana by more than one dollar per hundredweight; and
Whereas, while demand has been rising due to increasing population, milk production in Louisiana and the entire Southeast has declined during each of the past seven years; and as a result, larger quantities of milk are imported from other regions at higher cost than local milk; and
Whereas, implementation of Option 1B, even with the highest transition option, would aggravate the loss of dairy farms and local milk production; and
Whereas, such loss will be devastating to the dairy farmer, the rural communities, and the consumers. Therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes the Congress of the United Stated to support, and urges and requests the United States Secretary of Agriculture to incorporate, Option 1A as the pricing procedure in all federal milk marketing orders in his final decision on consolidation and reform of these orders. Be it
Further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted to the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States of America, each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture.
____________________
Alerts Sign-up