[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 39 (Wednesday, April 13, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 13, 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-437. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Washington; to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation.

                      ``Senate Joint Memorial 8030

       ``Whereas, harbor seals and sea lion populations have 
     greatly expanded in recent years due to absolute protection 
     afforded them under the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act; 
     and
       ``Whereas, seals and sea lions are active predators upon 
     anadromous fish such as salmon and steelhead trout; and
       ``Whereas, anadromous fish populations are significantly 
     reduced in numbers throughout Washington state and some 
     stocks have been listed as threatened or endangered species; 
     and
       ``Whereas, many more stocks of anadromous fish have been 
     requested for listing as threatened or endangered species; 
     and
       ``Whereas, many more anadromous fish stocks are likely to 
     be listed as threatened or endangered; and
       ``Whereas, in order to allow certain salmon and steelhead 
     populations to recover to, and be sustained at, viable levels 
     it will be necessary to have more flexibility to actively 
     manage seals and sea lions in identifiable areas where they 
     cause unacceptable mortality levels in specific fish runs; 
     and
       ``Whereas, the lethal removal of seals and sea lions is 
     currently prohibited under the Federal Marine Mammal 
     Protection Act in most all cases; and
       ``Whereas, it is time that the federal government allow 
     that predacious seals and sea lions be killed in order for 
     salmon and steelhead to be allowed a reasonable chance to 
     survive; Now, therefore,
       ``Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Marine 
     Mammal Protection Act be modified to provide for reasonable, 
     balanced and prudent population levels of seals and sea lions 
     in the state of Washington and also provide for the active 
     management of abundant populations at set levels determined 
     with modern wildlife management science by federal and state 
     management agencies, including the use of lethal removal when 
     and where necessary.
       ``Be It Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be 
     immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, 
     President of the United States, the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
     and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.''
                                  ____

       POM-438. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Environment and 
     Public Works.

                      ``Legislative Resolve No. 22

       ``Whereas the Congress enacted the Oil Pollution Act of 
     1990 in order to prevent shipping accidents and to ensure 
     that there would be adequate money immediately available to 
     respond to oil pollution discharges, especially those 
     discharges occurring in the ocean; and
       ``Whereas the Act increased from $36,000,000 to 
     $150,000,000 the amount of financial responsibility that must 
     be demonstrated by offshore exploration and production 
     facilities; and
       ``Whereas the definition of ``offshore'' in the Act covers 
     facilities in, on, or under navigable waters of the United 
     States; and
       ``Whereas the Alaska State Legislature is concerned that 
     this definition may be interpreted to apply to all marinas, 
     port authorities, utility companies, gas stations, trucking 
     companies, railroads, pipelines, farms, and airports in 
     almost every area of Alaska; and
       ``Whereas the potential effect on the Alaska economy could 
     be severe because it is unlikely that any but the largest 
     companies will be able to demonstrate the $150,000,000 of 
     financial responsibility required under the Act; and
       ``Whereas the broad coverage of the Act is well beyond the 
     historical purview of the Minerals Management Service, United 
     States Department of the Interior, which enforces the Act; 
     and
       ``Whereas the Act provides a sliding scale for proof of 
     financial responsibility for vessels but requires 
     $150,000,000 of proof of financial responsibility for all 
     offshore facilities, regardless of risk to the environment 
     from a potential spill; and
       ``Whereas the Alaska State Legislature agrees with the 
     requirements of the Act to the extent that they relate to 
     large companies conducting offshore activities on the outer 
     continental shelf, but does not agree that the same financial 
     responsibility requirements should apply to small companies 
     that are only indirectly related to offshore activities;
       ``Be It Resolved, that the Alaska State Legislature urges 
     the Congress to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 so that 
     the financial responsibility requirements of persons involved 
     in oil operations more closely reflect the relative risks of 
     those operations; and be it
       ``Further Resolved, That, in particular, facilities on the 
     outer continental shelf should be the only facilities subject 
     to the kind of high financial responsibility requirements now 
     contained in the Act.
       ``Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States and President of 
     the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President Pro 
     Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, 
     Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and to the 
     Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. 
     Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, 
     members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.''
                                  ____

       POM-439. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Environment and 
     Public Works.

                      ``Legislative Resolve No. 20

       ``Whereas the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 
     part of the original Bill of Rights, reads as follows: ``The 
     powers not delegated to the United States by the 
     Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are 
     reserved to the states respectively, or to the people''; and
       ``Whereas the limits on congressional authority to regulate 
     state activities prescribed by the Tenth amendment have 
     gradually been eroded, and federal mandates to the states in 
     these protected areas have become almost commonplace; and
       ``Whereas the regulation of traffic and motor vehicle 
     safety laws is constitutionally the province of state, not 
     congressional, authority; and
       ``Whereas a recently passed federal mandate would reduce 
     the apportionment of federal highway funds to states that do 
     not enact statues requiring the use of helmets by 
     motorcyclists; and
       ``Whereas, while the stated goals of this federal mandate 
     to reduce highway fatalities and injuries through increased 
     use of motorcycle helmets are certainly praiseworthy, it is 
     the opinion of the legislature that the passage of such 
     legislation by the U.S. Congress is at least an inappropriate 
     federal mandate and at most a blatant transgression upon the 
     state's regulatory authority under the Tenth Amendment;
       ``Be It Resolved, That the Congress is urged to refrain 
     from imposing upon the states' constitutional authority to 
     regulate traffic and motor vehicle safety within their 
     respective boundaries, and specifically to repeal any law 
     mandating the passage of state laws requiring the use of 
     motorcycle helmets.
       ``Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 
     President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, 
     President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable 
     Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House of 
     Representatives; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the 
     Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable 
     Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 
     delegation in Congress.''

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