[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 111 (Thursday, August 11, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 11, 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-613. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Commonwealth of Massachusetts; to the Committee on Banking, 
     Housing, and Urban Affairs.

 ``Resolutions Memorializing the United States Congress To Defeat the 
                      One Dollar Coin Act of 1993.

       ``Whereas, the One Dollar Coin Act of 1993 under 
     consideration in the United States Congress would, if enacted 
     in its present form, mandate the elimination of the one 
     dollar bill, and the replacement of the bill with a one 
     dollar coin; and
       ``Whereas, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has, for over 
     one hundred years, produced the paper from which United 
     States currency, including the one dollar bill, is made, and 
     takes great pride in the product; and
       ``Whereas, the elimination of the one dollar bill would 
     have a severely negative impact on the local economies of the 
     western region of the Commonwealth and on the Commonwealth's 
     economy at large; and
       ``Whereas, the economy of the western region of the 
     Commonwealth has suffered greatly in past years due to 
     manufacturing job reductions and attendant economic impacts; 
     and
       ``Whereas, the ``benefits'' claimed by proponents of the 
     dollar coin are highly suspect, and would come at the overall 
     expense of the people of the Commonwealth; and
       ``Whereas, the paper from which currency is made comes from 
     renewable resources and recycled industrial products, while 
     the metals to produce coins come from environmentally 
     damaging hardrock mining; and
       ``Whereas, the prices of coin operated machines will likely 
     rise with the replacement of the dollar bill with a dollar 
     coin, thereby negatively impacting those least able to afford 
     such price rises; and
       ``Whereas, the overwhelming majority of Americans have 
     consistently opposed replacing the dollar bill with a dollar 
     coin; now therefore be it
       ``Resolved, That the Massachusetts Senate calls upon the 
     members of its congressional delegation to withdraw any 
     support of H.R. 1322, and to work actively to defeat such 
     legislation or any other measure which mandates elimination 
     of the one dollar bill; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted 
     forthwith by the Clerk of the Senate to the Presiding Officer 
     of each branch of Congress and to the members thereof from 
     this Commonwealth.''
       POM-614. A resolution adopted by the City of Superior, 
     Wisconsin relative to railroad transport; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
       POM-615. A joint resolution adopted by executive committees 
     of societies of professional biologists relative to human 
     overpopulation; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
       POM-616. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Illinois; to the Committee on Labor and Human 
     Resources.

                    ``House Joint Resolution No. 98

       ``Whereas, The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board is located in 
     the City of Chicago, the County of Cook, employing hundreds 
     of Illinois citizens; and
       ``Whereas, The railroad industry is acknowledged as the 
     originator of private company pensions in the United States; 
     and
       ``Whereas, In the 1930's, the United States Congress 
     assumed the responsibility for developing a federally 
     administered retirement program to place the various railroad 
     pension plans on a solid financial basis; and
       ``Whereas, The railroad retirement system today covers over 
     one million individuals who have contributed over the years 
     in good faith and who have legitimate expectations of 
     receiving their benefits; and
       ``Whereas, The National Performance Review in its report, 
     `From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government That Works 
     Better & Costs Less,' proposes to transfer the functions of 
     the Railroad Retirement Board to the Social Security 
     Administration, to other federal agencies, and to `private 
     section service providers'; and
       ``Whereas, This proposal would privatize and terminate a 
     program that has worked well and provided retirement security 
     to millions of people for nearly 60 years; and
       ``Whereas, It now costs less money per benefit dollar to 
     administer Railroad Retirement than it costs to administer 
     Social Security, and, consequently, the proposal is likely to 
     increase costs to the taxpayer; and
       ``Whereas, The transfer would violate the federal 
     government's stated commitment to `serving the customer' as 
     current and future Railroad Retirement beneficiaries 
     vehemently oppose the transfer; and
       ``Whereas, This action threatens to disrupt earned and 
     needed benefits for 1.3 million active, retired, and disabled 
     rail workers and their families; and
       ``Whereas, This proposal would adversely affect all active 
     and retired railroad employees and their families in the 
     great State of Illinois; therefore, be it
       ``Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-
     eighth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, the Senate 
     concurring herein, That we assert that (1) a continued 
     federal commitment to the railroad retirement system is 
     essential to assure the integrity of the railroad retirees' 
     benefits; and (2) the preservation of the present structure 
     of the railroad retirement system, including the 
     administrative framework of the Railroad Retirement Board, is 
     necessary to fulfill the time-honored responsibility of the 
     federal government; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
     presented to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, 
     the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and each 
     member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.''

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