Volume 143, No. 96 covering the 1st 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 S7115-S7116 on July 9, 1997.
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-163. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
House Joint Resolution 97-1003
Whereas, The federal ``Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991'' (ISTEA) was designed to be the comprehensive solution to federal surface transportation funding since it replaced the ``Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987'', which marked the end of the interstate era; and
Whereas, The purpose of ISTEA is ``to develop a National Intermodal Transportation System that is economically efficient and environmentally sound, provides the foundation for the Nation to compete in the global economy, and will move people and goods in an energy efficient manner''; and
Whereas, When it was proposed, ISTEA was designed to give states and local governments flexibility as to how federal moneys were to be spent in their regions but, in fact and practice, the new federal program specifies how these moneys are distributed as well as how they can be spent by states and local governments; and
Whereas, Examples of the types of categories for which specified percentages of ISTEA moneys may be spent include, but are not limited to, safety, enhancements, population centers over 200,000 people, areas with populations under 5,000 people, transportation projects in areas that do not meet the Clean Air Act standards, and minimum allocation, reimbursement, and hold harmless programs; and
Whereas, For the six-year duration of ISTEA, Colorado will receive an estimated $1.31 billion in federal moneys, compared to $1.43 billion Colorado received in the previous six years; and
Whereas, Before the enactment of ISTEA, Colorado was permitted to use a portion of Interstate Maintenance Funds to increase vehicle carrying capacity, but under ISTEA, capacity improvements are limited to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes or auxiliary lanes in nonattainment areas; and
Whereas, Since the six-year duration of ISTEA will end after the 1996 fiscal year, Congress will have to reauthorize ISTEA in order to continue the federal surface transportation funding to states and local governments; 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 respectfully urges the 105th Congress of the United States to consider the following proposals as ISTEA comes under scrutiny for reauthorization:
(1) Eliminate federal mandates, sanctions, and restrictions that limit the powers of the states and local governments to accomplish their individual transportation needs and reduce federal oversight and reporting requirements;
(2) Transfer from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund, for distribution to the states, the 4.3 cents per gallon fuel tax added by the United States Congress in 1993; and
(3) Allow the 2.5 cents per gallon fuel tax added by the United States Congress in 1990 to be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and distributed to the states, given the demonstrated need for moneys for transportation systems.
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state's legislature of the United States of America, and Colorado's Congressional delegation.
POM-164. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Hawaii; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 242
Whereas, one of the most important legislative initiatives in the 105th Congress is the reauthorization of the federal highway and mass transit programs, referred to as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA); and
Whereas, the quality of our highways and mass transit systems directly affect the lives of virtually all Americans; and
Whereas, the United States Department of Transportation reports that an additional $15 billion in highway investment above current spending is needed annually just to maintain existing highway conditions; and
Whereas, highway users pay for construction and maintenance of highways and mass transit through the Highway Trust Fund, which is financed with the revenues from the federal motor fuels tax; and
Whereas, in 1993, Congress enacted a 4.3 cent per gallon increase in the motor fuels highway user fee which was directed into the Treasury general fund for deficit reduction rather than into the Highway Trust Fund; and
Whereas, the allocation of federal highway user fee revenues among the states will be the single most contentious issue in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act reauthorization debate; and
Whereas, the allocation debate could effectively be eliminated before it becomes contentious by significantly increasing the total amount of federal highway funds available to be allocated among the states; and
Whereas, this can be accomplished by swift action on the following two measures:
(1) Redirecting the revenue from the 1993, 4.3 cent federal motor fuels tax increase into the Highway Trust Fund; and
(2) Removing the Highway Trust Fund from the unified budget to ensure that all revenues into the Highway Trust Fund are spent; and
Whereas, failure to act on these two measures before the completion of the fiscal year 1998 budget resolution means this source of additional highway revenues for the State of Hawaii could be lost for the entire six-year duration of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act reauthorization measures; now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate of the Nineteenth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1997, the House of Representatives concurring, that Hawaii's Congressional Delegation is respectfully urged to support and enact measures before the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to redirect the revenue from the 1993, 4.3 cent federal motor fuels tax increase into the Highway Trust Fund, and to remove the Highway Trust Fund from the unified budget, before Congress completes the fiscal year 1998 budget resolution; and
Be it further resolved that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Representative Neil Abercrombie, and Representative Patsy T. Mink.
POM-165. A resolution adopted by the House of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
House Resolution 203
Whereas, on November 15, 1990, the President signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399); and
Whereas, the Environmental Protection Agency has demonstrated an inability to effectively promulgate fair and equitable regulations pertaining to vehicle emissions which frustrate the intent of the Congress of the United States to permit the various states to have a range of acceptable options; and
Whereas, a number of members of Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation have expressed concern over various aspects to the operational parameters of the emissions program as currently mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency; and
Whereas, it is quite likely that the Commonwealth will be threatened with the loss of up to $1 billion in Federal highway funds and possibly fined on a daily basis by a Federal District Court judge; and
Whereas, the only remedy for Pennsylvania is Congressional action to relieve these penalties; therefore be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize Congress to suspend implementation of the vehicle emissions provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and subsequent regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency until October 1, 1998; and be it further,
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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