[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        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-379. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on 
     Armed Services.

                      ``Senate Resolution No. 313

       ``Whereas, It has long been customary for kings and 
     republics, governments of all kinds, to issue medals 
     commemorating events or faithful service. Presently the 
     United States issues a multitude of medals and ribbons for a 
     broad scope of services and actions, both to individuals and 
     to all members of a command; and
       ``Whereas, Members of the armed forces are issued campaign 
     medals and ribbons indicating participation in certain 
     actions, bravery, or honorable service. These are to denote a 
     person's accomplishments. Now, the question of a medal that 
     will also identify heritage has been raised. The 
     establishment of a National Armed Forces Medal for United 
     States military veterans would continue a proud tradition 
     from one generation to the next; and
       ``Whereas, It has been suggested that a separate ribbon for 
     each American effort of one's blood lineage be worn with one 
     universal medal. Thus, on quick observation, it would be 
     apparent by the line of ribbons whether the wearer had 
     forebears in service during the American Revolution, the War 
     of 1812, the American Indian Wars, the Civil War, or other 
     events in a certain 100-year time frame; and
       ``Whereas, Other periods of war service would also be 
     included after the 100-year period. The Spanish-American War, 
     1898 to 1902, would be included in 1998, and World War I, 
     World War II, and succeeding conflicts, after each had passed 
     the century mark; now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate, That this legislative body 
     memorialize the Congress of the United States to establish a 
     National Armed Forces Medal for United States military 
     veterans; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That a copy 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-380. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Tennessee to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science and Transportation.

                    ``House Joint Resolution No. 407

       ``Whereas, a joint National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration (NASA) and U.S. Department of Defense study 
     has proposed the construction of a $3.2 billion state-of-the-
     art subsonic and transonic wind tunnel complex with all 
     necessary operational support facilities, such project to be 
     know as the National Wind Tunnel Complex (NWTC); and
       ``Whereas, although such worthy project has yet to be 
     funded, technical and cost criteria for the project have been 
     established and a process begun to select a site for the 
     proposed NWTC; and
       ``Whereas, if approved, the NWTC would establish a 
     capability for advanced aeronautical development that will 
     strengthen the national security of the United States in two 
     important ways; and
       ``Whereas, the NWTC would provide a development capability 
     second to none in the world for advanced military aircraft, 
     and more importantly, it would enable our commercial aircraft 
     developers to compete more effectively in the world market, 
     thereby strengthening our economic national security; and
       ``Whereas, the NWTC would require some 1,200 experienced 
     construction workers to build the facility and at least 200 
     skilled management and engineering personnel to operate the 
     facility; and
       ``Whereas, the premier site in this nation for the new 
     development of wind tunnels is the U.S. Air Force's Arnold 
     Engineering Development Center (AEDC), located in southern 
     Coffee County and neighboring Franklin County in Middle 
     Tennessee; and
       ``Whereas, AEDC houses testing grounds for jet engines and 
     space systems, including wind tunnels used to gauge equipment 
     strength and durability on 40,000 acres managed by the U.S. 
     Air Force and operated by private contractors; and
       ``Whereas, AEDC has a total work force of nearly 4,000, 
     including roughly 500 Air Force and Defense Department 
     civilian employees; and
       ``Whereas, the existing support infrastructure and 
     experienced development testers at AEDC would reduce the 
     initial cost and operational risk of the NWTC, and there are 
     opportunities for commercial-military partnerships in dual-
     use technologies which are made possible only by the co-
     location and joint use of civilian and military facilities; 
     and
       ``Whereas, U.S. Senator Jim Sasser, U.S. Senator Harlan 
     Mathews and U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper have so astutely 
     stated: `This potential investment is far too critical to our 
     nation's economic and defense future not to be placed in a 
     location in which low life-cycle cost, high operating 
     efficiencies, ideal environment conditions and an abundance 
     of space for future expansion can maximize its 
     effectiveness'; and
       ``Whereas, the AEDC site provides an ideal location for the 
     NWTC because of the abundance of land, water for cooling the 
     vast machinery used to operate the test facilities, low-cost 
     electricity, and its relative isolation from other 
     development; and
       ``Whereas, the AEDC installation is buffered from 
     surrounding communities by thousands of forested acres, and 
     would remain so even with further expansion in the future; 
     and
       ``Whereas, the Tennessee Valley Authority has the current 
     generating capacity to meet the electrical needs of the NWTC 
     with no impact on current customers or restrictions on 
     testing operations; a 4,000-acre cooling-water reservoir is 
     already in place; and
       ``Whereas, finally, the entire southern Middle Tennessee 
     area benefits from relatively low construction costs, a 
     workforce already experienced in production development 
     testing, and the synergism that would be created by co-
     locating this facility with those testing and research 
     facilities already in the area; and
       ``Whereas, the NWTC will provide our nation with a world-
     class developmental test capability which will support 
     military and commercial aeronautical requirements well into 
     the next century; and
       ``Whereas, the siting of NWTC at AEDC would ensure AEDC's 
     long-term viability as a national testing and research 
     center; and
       ``Whereas, the members of this General Assembly are 
     confident that the site selection process for NWTC will 
     clearly demonstrate that AEDC is by far the best site in the 
     nation for the complex; Now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-
     eighth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, the Senate 
     concurring, That this General Assembly hereby memorializes 
     the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress to 
     locate the proposed National Wind Tunnel Complex (NWTC) at 
     the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in Middle 
     Tennessee, because the AEDC installation best serves the 
     aeronautical development needs of this nation, and be it 
     further
       ``Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the House is hereby 
     directed to transmit enrolled copies of this resolution to 
     the President and Vice President of the United States; the 
     U.S. Secretary of Defense; the Administrator for NASA, the 
     Speaker and the Clerk of the U.S House of Representatives; 
     the President and Secretary of the U.S. Senate; and to each 
     member of the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. Congress.''
                                  ____

       POM-381. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     Rockland County, New York relative to Northern Ireland; to 
     the Committee on Foreign Relations.
       POM-382. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                      ``Senate Resolution No. 369

       ``Whereas, The President of the United States has lifted 
     the trade embargo with Vietnam by Executive Order. This 
     embargo was imposed on North Vietnam in 1964 and on the 
     entire country in 1975 after the communist forces succeeded 
     in capturing South Vietnam. The embargo was enforced not only 
     because this communist government had waged a bitter and 
     painful war against the United States, but also because some 
     of our citizens may still be missing in that country; and
       ``Whereas, The MIA issue is a painful controversy in this 
     nation, one that will not be resolved until we have the 
     fullest possible accounting of the nearly 2,300 Americans who 
     remain missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. 
     Seventy-two of these people are from Michigan, brave and 
     patriotic citizens who cannot be forgotten; and
       ``Whereas, Restoring this embargo will maintain pressure on 
     the government of Vietnam to do everything possible to find 
     the missing Americans. On behalf of the MIAs, their loved 
     ones, and all veterans, we request the President to restore 
     the trade embargo on Vietnam; Now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the President 
     of the United States to reconsider lifting the trade embargo 
     with Vietnam; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That a copy of this 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, and the members of the Michigan 
     congressional delegation.''
                                  ____

       POM-383. A concurrent resolution from the Legislature of 
     the State of Texas relative to State Tidelands Rights; to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-384. A concurrent resolution from the Legislature of 
     the State of Texas relative to polygamy and polygamous 
     cohabitation; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-385. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                 ``House Concurrent Resolution No. 122

       ``Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in a 
     5-4 decision that popular legislative assemblies' attempts to 
     curtail those acts that are an affront to the American people 
     by protecting national symbols through local legislation may 
     be unconstitutional if they go beyond the fine-line of the 
     First Amendment; and
       ``Whereas, The desecration of national symbols through acts 
     which are beyond the free speech essentials of our laws that 
     allow the expression of diverse ideas or opposition to 
     national policy that is political in nature, should be 
     defined in law in order to protect against offensive acts 
     which may incite or encourage violence or counterproductive 
     activity of other citizens; and
       ``Whereas, Veterans' groups, expressing the sentiment of 
     our people, have called for action to ban the desecration of 
     the American flag. Indeed, to ignore the effect of this 
     decision would be an affront to everyone who has been 
     committed to the ideals of our nation in times of war and in 
     times of peace; now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the members of the Michigan Legislature 
     hereby memorialize the United States Congress to pass an 
     amendment to the United States Constitution to prohibit the 
     desecration of the American flag; and be it further
       ``Resovled, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted 
     to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 
     the President of the United States Senate, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.''
                                  ____

       POM-386. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of West Virginia; to the Committee 
     on the Judiciary.

                        ``House Resolution No. 8

       ``Whereas, Legal injustice and discrimination on the basis 
     of gender have long existed; and
       ``Whereas, The citizens of West Virginia clearly support an 
     end to discrimination on the basis of gender through an 
     amendment to the Constitution of this nation, as the United 
     States has previously renounced slavery, racial 
     discrimination, and denial of the right to vote on the basis 
     of race and gender; and
       ``Whereas, Congress in 1972 proposed a federal Equal Rights 
     Amendment to the United States Constitution to provide for 
     equality of the law regardless of gender, which was narrowly 
     defeated in 1982; and
       ``Whereas, The West Virginia House of Delegates prefers 
     that each state ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment to 
     achieve a uniform national policy; and
       ``Whereas, The Equal Rights Amendment provides that gender 
     should not be a factor in determining the legal rights of men 
     and women and thereby recognizes the fundamental dignity, 
     individuality, and worth of each human being; and
       ``Whereas, The West Virginia House of Delegates again 
     stands ready to ratify a federal Equal Rights Amendment when 
     approved by Congress for state ratification; therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the House of Delegates: That the House of 
     Delegates of the State of West Virginia respectfully 
     memorializes the President and the Congress of the United 
     States to propose to the several states an amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States stating that all men and 
     women are equal under the law; and, be it further
       ``Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates is 
     hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the 
     President and Vice President of the United States, to the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator 
     and Representative from West Virginia in the Congress of the 
     United States.''
                                  ____

       POM-386. A resolution adopted by the Council of the City of 
     New York, New York relative to AIDS education and prevention; 
     to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

                          ____________________