Volume 144, No. 60 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 S4821-S4823 on May 13, 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-391. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Senate Resolution No. 163
Whereas, Federal departments such as the Environmental Protection Agency have sought to implement strict standards on American farmers regarding pesticide use; and
Whereas, Certain nations allow the use of pesticides that are prohibited for use by American farmers and the export to the United States of agricultural products growth with the assistance of these pesticides; and
Whereas, This provides an unfair advantage to other nations and their citizens over American farmers and American agricultural workers who depend on this productivity for their livelihood; and
Whereas, The United States' agriculture is a vital industry to the nation's economy and quality of life; and
Whereas, Protecting our citizens by proven science and policy is of paramount importance to American citizens; and
Whereas, No nation should be allowed to export items into our nation using methods such as certain pesticides that the government of the United States prohibits its own farmers from using based on debatable claims of health and environmental concerns; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to prohibit the importation of agricultural and other food items from nations that do not have the same requirements, standards, and restrictions on allowable pesticides and chemicals used in the production, preservation, and growth of the products in future trade agreements; 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.
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POM-392. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; to the Committee on Appropriations.
Resolutions
Whereas, although we believe that the United States should retain its position as the strongest military Nation in the world, we also believe that the security of our Nation is dependent fundamentally not on military might, but on the well-being and vitality of our citizens; and
Whereas, programs which sustain and improve the health, education, and affordable housing, environmental protection, and safety of our citizens are being transferred from the Federal to the State governments; and
Whereas, the funds being provided by the Federal Government to the States are insufficient to fulfill these responsibilities; and
Whereas, the seven countries currently identified as our potential adversaries have a combined military budget of 15 billion dollars, while the United States military budget for 1997 is 265 billion dollars; and
Whereas, the United States military budget remains at cold war levels and contains: 114 billion dollars not requested by the Pentagon, 25 billion dollars for 10,000 nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, and 40 billion dollars in excess and what many former military leaders and leading executives consider sufficient; and
Whereas, current Pentagon spending outweighs all military threats, and creates fewer jobs than increased spending on domestic programs would deliver; and
Whereas, shifting funds from the military to repairing our infrastructure would dramatically improve the lives of our citizens and strengthen our ability to complete successfully in the world market; and
Whereas, sufficient amounts of money need to be redirected from the military budget to the several States so that the States can meet the critical needs of rebuilding communities and inner cities, repairing schools, educating children, reducing hunger, providing housing, improving transportation, protecting the environment, and obtaining a decent level of health care and safety for all of our citizens, thereby increasing fundamentally our security and well-being; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Massachusetts Senate memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to shift sufficient funds from the military to the States for the improvement of the lives of citizens; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted forthwith by the clerk of the Senate to the President of the United States, the Presiding Officers of each branch of Congress and the Members thereof from this commonwealth.
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POM-393. A resolution adopted by the House of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; to the Committee on Appropriations.
Resolution
Whereas, in August of 1996, the United States Congress enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, so-called; and
Whereas, Congress in said act forbade use of Federal funds to provide SSI benefits and food stamp benefits for financially needy immigrants lawfully residing in the United States; and
Whereas, legal immigrants pay taxes and contribute in many ways to the productivity and vitality of our communities; and
Whereas, the United States was founded and built by immigrants; and
Whereas, Congress should be applauded for the restoration of SSI benefits for legal immigrants through passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997; and
Whereas, Congress must continue in this effort by resolving to restore its financial responsibility in the Food Stamp Benefits Program as the present situation imposes a financial burden on the States and needy residents of the States; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Massachusetts House of Representatives respectfully requests that the President and the Congress of the United States restore to the States the authority to provide federally funded food stamp benefits to needy, lawful residents of the United States; and be it further
Resolved, That the Massachusetts House of Representatives respectfully requests that the President and the Congress of the United States restore to the Commonwealth adequate Federal funding to allow for the provision of food stamp benefits for financially needy immigrants lawfully residing in this Commonwealth; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted forthwith by the clerk of the House of Representatives to the President of the United States of America, the Presiding Officer of each branch of the United States Congress and each Member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.
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POM-394. A resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Yuba, California relative to Beale Air Force Base; to the Committee on Armed Services.
POM-395. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of California; to the Committee on Armed Services.
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 52
Whereas, on the night of July 17, 1944, two transport vessels loading ammunition at the Port Chicago naval base on the Sacramento River in California were suddenly engulfed in a gigantic explosion, the incredible blast of which wrecked the naval base and heavily damaged the town of Port Chicago, located 1.5 miles away; and
Whereas, everyone on the pier and aboard the two ships was killed instantly--some 320 American naval personnel, 200 of whom were Black enlisted men; and another 390 military and civilian personnel were injured, including 226 Black enlisted men; and
Whereas, the two ships and the large loading pier were totally annihilated and an estimated $12,000,000 in property damage was caused by the huge blast; and
Whereas, this single, stunning disaster accounted for nearly one-fifth of all Black naval casualties during the whole of World War II; and
Whereas, the specific cause of the explosion was never officially established by a Court of Inquiry, in effect clearing the officers-in-charge of any responsibility for the disaster and insofar as any human cause was invoked, laid the burden of blame on the shoulders of the Black enlisted men who died in the explosion; and
Whereas, following the incident, many of the surviving Black sailors were transferred to nearby Camp Shoemaker where they remained until July 31, when two of the divisions were transferred to naval barracks in Vallejo near Mare Island; another division, which was also at Camp Shoemaker until July 31, returned to Port Chicago to help with the cleaning up and rebuilding of the base; and
Whereas, many of these men were in a state of shock, troubled by the vivid memory of the horrible explosion; however, they were provided no psychiatric counseling or medical screening, except for those who were obviously physically injured; none of the men, even those who had been hospitalized with injuries, was granted survivor leaves to visit their families before being reassigned to regular duties; and none of these survivors was called to testify at the Court of Inquiry; and
Whereas, Captain Merrill T. Kline, Officer-in-Charge of Port Chicago, issued a statement praising the African American enlisted men and stating that ``the men displayed creditable coolness and bravery under those emergency conditions''; and
Whereas, after the disaster, white sailors were given 30 days' leave to visit their families--according to survivors, this was the standard for soldiers involved in a disaster--while only African American sailors were ordered back to work the next day to clean and remove human remains; and
Whereas, after the disaster, the preparation of Mare Island for the arrival of African American sailors included moving the barracks of white sailors away from the loading area in order to be clear of the ships being loaded in case of another explosion; and
Whereas, the survivors and new personnel who later were ordered to return to loading ammunition expressed their opposition, citing the possibility of another explosion; the first confrontation occurred on August 9 when 328 men from three divisions were ordered out to the loading pier; the great majority of the men balked, and eventually 258 were arrested and confined for three days on a large barge tiered to the pier; and
Whereas, fifty of these men were selected as the ring-leaders and charged with mutiny, and on October 24, 1944, after only 80 minutes of a military court, all 50 men were found guilty of mutiny--10 were sentenced to 15 years in prison, 24 sentenced to 12 years, 11 sentenced to 10 years, and five sentenced to eight years; and all were to be dishonorably discharged from the Navy; and
Whereas, after a massive outcry the next year, in January 1946, 47 of the Port Chicago men were released from prison and ``exiled'' for one year overseas before returning to their families; and
Whereas, in a 1994 investigation, the United States Navy stated that ``there is no doubt that racial prejudice was responsible for the posting of only African American enlisted personnel to loading divisions at Port Chicago''; and
Whereas, in the 1994 investigation, the United States Navy, prompted by Members of Congress, admitted that the routine assignment of only African American enlisted personnel to manual labor was clearly motivated by race; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress and the President of the United States to act to vindicate the sailors unjustly blamed for, and the sailors convicted of mutiny following, the Port Chicago disaster, and to rectify any mistreatment by the military of those sailors; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.
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POM-396. A resolution adopted by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania relative to Federal credit unions; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
POM-397. A resolution adopted by the Mayor and Councilmen of the City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee relative to the Department of Energy Laboratory for Comparative and Functional Genomics in Oak Ridge (TN); to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
POM-398. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
House Joint Resolution 98-1018
Whereas, the Internet is a massive global network spanning local government, state, and international borders; and
Whereas, transmissions over the Internet are made through packet-switching, a process that makes it not only impossible to determine with any degree of certainty the precise geographic route or endpoints of specific Internet transmissions but infeasible to separate interstate from intrastate Internet transmissions or domestic from foreign transmissions; and
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that state taxation of companies operating outside the borders of the state is constitutional only if there is a substantial connection between the state and the company and the tax is fairly apportioned, does not discriminate against interstate commerce, and is fairly related to services provided by the state; and
Whereas, the tax laws and regulations of local governments, state governments, and the federal government were established long before the Internet or interactive computer services became available; and
Whereas, taxation of Internet transmissions by local, state, and federal governments without a thorough understanding of the impact such taxation would have on Internet users and providers could have unintentional and unpredictable consequences and may be unconstitutional if it does not meet the tests set forth by the United States Supreme Court; and
Whereas, the United States Congress is being asked to consider federal legislation that would establish a national policy on the taxation of the Internet and other interactive computer services; 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 Colorado General Assembly does not support at this time any Congressional action that would establish a national policy expanding taxation of the Internet and other interactive computer services; be it further
Resolved, That the Colorado General Assembly endorses a moratorium on taxation of the internet and interactive computer services until the impact of such taxation can be thoroughly studied and evaluated; be it further
Resolved, That the Colorado General Assembly encourages Congress to establish or appoint a consultative group to study, evaluate, and report back to Congress on the impact of any taxation on the use of the Internet and other interactive computer services and the users of those services; be it further
Resolved, That any consultative group established or appointed by Congress should include state and local governments, consumer and business groups, and other groups and individuals that may be impacted by a national policy on the taxation of the internet and other interactive computer services; be it further
Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, Governor Roy Romer, the National Governors' Association, and each member of the Colorado Congressional Delegation.
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POM-399. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Resolution No. 6
Whereas, the Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997 would provide for more stringent standards for certification of foreign repair stations by the Federal Aviation Administration and would revoke the certification of any repair facility that knowingly uses defective parts; and
Whereas, the Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997 would require all maintenance facilities, whether domestic or foreign, to adhere to the same safety and operating procedures; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota, That it urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact the Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997; be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President and Vice-President of the United States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.
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