[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6514-S6517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.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-600. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Legislature of the State of Georgia; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                        ``Senate Resolution 288

       ``Whereas, it is estimated 37 million Americans are without 
     health insurance, many while between jobs, and more are 
     underinsured because of the effects of rising health care 
     costs and spending. The costs of health care are escalating, 
     forcing employers to trim the level and availability of 
     health care benefits to their employees; and
       ``Whereas, overutilization of health care services for 
     relatively small claims is one of the most significant causes 
     of health care cost and spending increases. Currently, more 
     than two-thirds of all insurance claims for medical spending 
     are less than $3,000.00 per family per year in this country; 
     and
       ``Whereas, in response to the runaway cost increases on 
     health care spending in this country, the private sector has 
     developed the concept of medical savings accounts. This 
     initiative is designed to ensure health insurance 
     availability for Americans. It is predicated on providing 
     incentives to eliminate unnecessary medical treatment and 
     encourage competition in seeking health care; and
       ``Whereas, through employer-funded medical savings account 
     arrangements and reduced cost qualified higher deductible 
     insurance policies, millions of Americans could insure 
     themselves for both routine and major medical services. Under 
     the concept of medical savings accounts, an employer 
     currently providing employee health care benefits would 
     purchase instead a low-cost, high deductible major medical 
     policy on each employee. The employer may then set aside the 
     saving premium differential in a medical savings account 
     arrangement. The participating employees would use the money 
     in the account to pay their medical care expenses up to the 
     deductible. However, any account money unspent by the 
     participating employees in a plan year would then belong to 
     the employees to save, spend on medical care, or use 
     otherwise. This would be a strong incentive for people not to 
     abuse health expenditures and to institute ``cost-shopping'' 
     for medical care services; and
       ``Whereas, by setting aside money for employees to spend on 
     health care, employees could change jobs and use the money 
     they had so far earned to buy interim health insurance or to 
     cover health care expenses thereby eliminating the problems 
     of uninsureds between jobs and helping to reduce ``job-
     lock''; and
       ``Whereas, by making medical care decisions the employee's 
     prerogative, individual policyholders have a strong stake in 
     reducing costs. This simple financial mechanism will expand 
     health insurance options to others who presently have no 
     insurance. Most importantly, this move to decrease health 
     care cost burdens in this country would require no new 
     federal bureaucracy and would be revenue neutral to 
     employers; Now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate, That the members of this body 
     encourage the Congress of the United States to enact 
     legislation swiftly and in good faith to enable Americans to 
     establish medical savings accounts; be it further
       ``Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate is authorized 
     and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this 
     resolution to the President of the United States, the 
     President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and all members of 
     the Georgia congressional delegation.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-601. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the Commonwealth of Virginia; to the Committee on Finance.

                    ``House Joint Resolution No. 227

       ``Whereas, tax-exempt industrial development bonds play a 
     critical role in promoting economic development in the 
     Commonwealth; and

[[Page S6515]]

       ``Whereas, these bonds are used by local industrial 
     development authorities and corporations to create jobs and 
     bring investment to the Commonwealth; and
       ``Whereas, in 1995, these bonds, amounting to $134 million, 
     played a role in creating 2,500 jobs; and
       ``Whereas, the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority, 
     which facilitates the administration of the industrial 
     development bond program for the Commonwealth, finds that 
     federal restrictions on the issuance of these bonds hinders 
     business development; and
       ``Whereas, particularly restrictive is the $10 million cap 
     and the limitation that bond proceeds cannot be used to 
     finance associated office and warehouse space that businesses 
     expanding in or relocating to Virginia need; and
       ``Whereas, Congressman Phil English has introduced H.R. 
     2617 to the 104th Congress to increase the cap to $20 million 
     and to remove many of the unnecessary restrictions on the use 
     of industrial development bonds; and
       ``Whereas, the Joint Subcommittee Studying Capital Access 
     and Business Financing, created pursuant to House Joint 
     Resolution No. 591 (1995) and Senate Joint Resolution No. 370 
     (1995), has expressed its support for H.R. 2617; now, 
     therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the House of Delegates, the Senate 
     concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged 
     to pass legislation providing states and localities with 
     additional flexibility relating to the issuance of tax-exempt 
     industrial development bonds to promote economic development; 
     and, be it
       ``Resolved further, That the Clerk of the House of 
     Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the President 
     of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the Virginia Liaison Office, and to each member of 
     the Virginia Congressional Delegation in order that they may 
     be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of 
     Virginia.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-602. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of New Jersey; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.

                      ``Assembly Resolution No. 23

       ``Whereas, Since illegally coming to power in 1959, the 
     government of Fidel Castro has constantly demonstrated a 
     consistent disregard for internationally adopted standards of 
     human rights and domestic values; and
       ``Whereas, The Cuban people have demonstrated their desire 
     for freedom and democracy and their opposition to the Castro 
     government by risking their lives by organizing 
     demonstrations in opposition to Castro's totalitarian regime; 
     and
       ``Whereas, Cubans regardless of their age, gender and 
     medical conditions, are presently undertaking the hazardous 
     and perilous 90 mile journey of freedom to the United States; 
     and
       ``Whereas, Fidel Castro is attempting to manipulate this 
     exodus of innocent people to win concessions from an American 
     nation that has grown increasingly impatient and intolerant 
     of his regime; and
       ``Whereas, The Castro regime has historically placed 
     citizens of the United States in danger by maintaining a 
     government dominated by the military and proliferating its 
     offensive military capacity 90 miles from this nation's 
     shores; and
       ``Whereas, In response to Castro's continued ruthless 
     leadership, many Americans, regardless of ethnic or national 
     background, feel strongly that the United States needs to 
     isolate Castro's Cuba from the rest of the democratic world; 
     and
       ``Whereas, The citizens of New Jersey fully support the 
     federal ``Cuban Democracy Act of 1992'' and the trade embargo 
     currently imposed by the government of the United States 
     against the Cuban government; and
       ``Whereas, While additional sanctions recently imposed by 
     President Clinton are having a dramatic impact on the ability 
     of Castro to continue his forced rule over the Cuban people, 
     a full quarantine of Cuba will further isolate the Castro 
     government from the rest of the world, and thus hasten its 
     movement towards democratic elections; now, therefore be it
       ``Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New 
     Jersey:
       ``1. The President of the United States is memorialized to 
     assist the people of Cuba by implementing a full quarantine 
     of Cuba until such time that the authoritarian regime of 
     Fidel Castro gives way to a democratically elected 
     government.
       ``2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed 
     by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the 
     Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the President and Vice 
     President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and every member of Congress elected from 
     this State.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-603. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.

                        ``Senate Resolution 2035

       ``Whereas, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico enjoys a close 
     relationship with the province of Taiwan, Republic of China, 
     and
       ``Whereas, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen founded the Republic of China in 
     Taiwan, which is at present the fourteenth largest commercial 
     country, the twentieth in gross national product and the 
     twenty-fifth in gross per capita income, and
       ``Whereas, the population of the Republic of China in 
     Taiwan is greater than the population of two thirds of the 
     members of the United Nations Organizations, and
       ``Whereas, the Republic of China in Taiwan has consistently 
     shown its support to democracy and world peace, its concern 
     for regional and international development, and its interest 
     in programs of assistance to its global fellow neighbors, and
       ``Whereas, the establishment of an ad hoc committee for the 
     study and analysis of the special situation of the Republic 
     of China in Taiwan in the international community, has 
     been proposed to the United Nations Organization in order 
     to find a fair and viable solution to its participation 
     within the frame of the United Nations Organization, and
       ``Whereas, the people of the Republic of China in Taiwan 
     deserve appropriate recognition and credit for their dynamic 
     participation in the international community, and
       ``Whereas, the Republic of China in Taiwan should be 
     granted full membership in the United Nations Organization 
     and its affiliated organizations in the same manner as other 
     divided nations such as South Korea and the former East and 
     West Germany, which have been granted full participation, and
       ``Whereas, considering that our Puerto Rican people lack 
     the power to influence directly the United States of 
     America's foreign policy which applies to Puerto Rico, 
     through a vote for the president and representation entitled 
     to vote, it is essential for this High Body to state its 
     feelings on this matter; therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate of Puerto Rico:
       ``Section 1.--The President and the Congress of the United 
     States of America are hereby requested to give their utmost 
     consideration to render active support to the Republic of 
     China in Taiwan as an important commercial nation, and as a 
     former ally, in order to assist in achieving the full 
     participation of the Republic of China in Taiwan in the 
     international community in general, and in the United Nations 
     Organization in particular.
       ``Section 2.--A copy of this Resolution, translated into 
     the English language, shall be remitted to the President, to 
     the Congress of the United States of America and to the 
     Representative of the Republic of China in Taiwan.
       ``Section 3.--This Resolution shall take effect immediately 
     after its approval.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-604. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Arizona; to the Committee on Government 
     Affairs.

                   ``Senate Concurrent Memorial 1001

       ``Whereas, the federal government was established by the 
     states through the ratification of the Constitution of the 
     United States; and
       ``Whereas, the federal government was granted carefully 
     limited powers under the Constitution of the United States 
     and the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution 
     provides that ``[t]he 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 Constitution of the United States 
     established a system in which the states ceded only certain 
     powers to the federal government; and
       ``Whereas, the framers recognized that separation of powers 
     is essential and ensured that the rights of the people would 
     be protected by establishing checks and balances not only 
     between the branches of the federal government but also 
     between the federal government and state governments; and
       ``Whereas, the legislative, executive and judicial branches 
     of the federal government have by many actions usurped powers 
     reserved by the Constitution of the United States to the 
     states and to the people; and
       ``Whereas, by the combined actions of the legislative, 
     executive and judicial branches of the federal government, 
     the relationship between the federal government and state 
     governments established by the Constitution of the United 
     States has been severely unbalanced; and
       ``Whereas, the federal judiciary, itself a branch of the 
     federal government, has failed to stop many of these federal 
     excesses; and
       ``Whereas, the Supreme Court of the United States, in 
     Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (469 
     U.S. 528 (1985)), noted that the interests of states are best 
     protected by their representation in Congress; and
       ``Whereas, to restore the balance of power between the 
     federal government and state governments intended by the 
     framers of the Constitution of the United States, the federal 
     government must carefully consider, and be accountable for, 
     the constitutional boundaries of its jurisdiction to protect 
     the states and the people from the unwarranted assumption of 
     power by the federal government.
       ``Wherefore your memorialist, the Senate of the State of 
     Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring, prays:
       ``1. That the One Hundred Fourth Congress of the United 
     States enact legislation requiring the Congress of the United 
     States to specify the section of the Constitution of the 
     United States that grants Congress the authority to enact the 
     proposed section of law. The Arizona Legislature supports the 
     inclusion in such legislation:

[[Page S6516]]

       ``(a) That Congress be required to state explicitly the 
     extent to which the proposed section of law preempts any 
     state, local or tribal law, and if so, an explanation of the 
     reasons for such preemption.
       ``(b) That if Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, Constitution 
     of the United States, is identified as the Constitutional 
     provision granting authority to Congress for its proposed 
     section of law, Congress report a list of factual findings 
     establishing a substantial nexus between the regulatory 
     effect of the proposed section of law and interstate 
     commerce.
       ``2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit certified copies of this Memorial to each Member of 
     the Senate of the United States and the House of 
     Representatives of the United States and to the Speaker of 
     the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate 
     of each state legislature in the United States.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-605. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Hawaii; to the Committee on Governmental 
     Affairs.

                 ``Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 86

       ``Whereas, the number of unfunded federal mandates imposed 
     upon the states by the United States Congress has alarmingly 
     increased in recent years; and
       ``Whereas, this continuing imposition places Hawaii and her 
     sister states in the precarious position of either attempting 
     to fund the federal requirements with diminishing amounts of 
     available revenue or jeopardizing eligibility for certain 
     federal funds; and
       ``Whereas, the United States Congress should try to 
     understand the difficult posture in which the states have 
     been cast and the urgent necessity of the states to receive 
     monetary assistance for these mandates or relief from the 
     enforcement of these unfunded decrees; and
       ``Whereas, the members of this Legislature desire to convey 
     to the United States Congress the seriousness of this problem 
     so that the Congress may be completely cognizant of the 
     effect the actions of the federal government have at the 
     state legislative level and may be more sensitive to the 
     difficulties unfunded federal mandates create; now, therefore 
     be it,
       ``Resolved by the Senate of the Eighteenth Legislature of 
     the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1996, the House of 
     Representatives concurring, That the United States Congress 
     is respectfully requested not to enact federal legislative 
     mandates on states without necessary funding; and be it 
     further
       ``Resolved, That certified copies of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States Senate, the speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and the members of Hawaii's congressional 
     delegation.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-606. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of New Hampshire; to the Committee on Governmental 
     Affairs.

                       ``Senate Resolution No. 63

       ``Whereas, the number of unfunded federal mandates imposed 
     upon the states by the United States Congress has alarmingly 
     increased in recent years; and
       ``Whereas, this continuing imposition places Hawaii and her 
     sister states in the precarious position of either attempting 
     to fund the federal requirements with diminishing amounts of 
     available revenue or jeopardizing eligibility for certain 
     federal funds; and
       ``Whereas, the United States Congress should try to 
     understand the difficult posture in which the states have 
     been cast and the urgent necessity of the states to receive 
     monetary assistance for these mandates or relief from the 
     enforcement of these unfunded decrees; and
       ``Whereas, the members of this Legislature desire to convey 
     to the United States Congress the seriousness of this problem 
     so that the Congress may be completely cognizant of the 
     effect the actions of the federal government have at the 
     state legislative level and may be more sensitive to the 
     difficulties unfunded federal mandates create; now, 
     therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate of the Eighteenth Legislature of 
     the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1996, That the United 
     States Congress is respectfully requested not to enact 
     federal legislative mandates on states without necessary 
     funding; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That certified 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 Hawaii's congressional delegation.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-607. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of New Hampshire; to the Committee on Governmental 
     Affairs.

                    ``House Joint Resolution No. 26

       ``Whereas, Maxfield Parrish was a citizen of New Hampshire 
     for 68 years; and
       ``Whereas, he was one of the foremost American artist/
     illustrators of the early 20th century; and
       ``Whereas, Maxfield Parrish painted 2 posters for the state 
     of New Hampshire; and
       ``Whereas, through his art, Maxfield Parrish continued to 
     expose millions to the beauties of the New Hampshire 
     landscape; now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in 
     General Court convened:
       ``That the New Hampshire legislature requests that the 
     United States Postal Service issue a postage stamp honoring 
     Maxfield Parrish; and
       ``That copies of this resolution be sent by the house clerk 
     to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, the President of the 
     United States Senate, the United States Postmaster General 
     and New Hampshire's Congressional delegation.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-608. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the Commonwealth of Virginia; to the Committee on 
     Governmental Affairs.

                    ``House Joint Resolution No. 179

       ``Whereas, employees of the Commonwealth and its political 
     subdivisions may defer compensation to a date later in life 
     when tax rates might be more advantageous; and
       ``Whereas, this deferred income remains the ``property'' of 
     the employer as required by federal Internal Revenue Service 
     regulations and technically has not been distributed to the 
     employee; and
       ``Whereas, because the deferred compensation remains in the 
     hands of the employer, there is a possibility that the 
     employer can access deferred compensation funds should the 
     employer find itself in need of revenue for any purpose; and
       ``Whereas, language contained in federal legislation would 
     have required that all assets and income in state and local 
     government deferred compensation plans be held in trust for 
     the exclusive benefit of participants and their parties; and
       ``Whereas, current law prevents states from enacting 
     similar requirements without compromising the tax advantages 
     of deferred compensation plans; now, therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the House of Delegates, the Senate 
     concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged 
     to enact legislation to provide that public employees' 
     deferred compensation funds may be used for no other purpose 
     than to return deferred compensation assets and income to the 
     plan's participants and their beneficiaries. The Congress is 
     urged to provide that all assets and earnings of deferred 
     compensation plans for state and local government employees 
     be held in trust for the exclusive benefit of participants 
     and their beneficiaries; and, be it
       ``Resolved further, That the Clerk of the House of 
     Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the President 
     of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the Virginia Liaison Office, and the members of the 
     Virginia Congressional Delegation in order that they may be 
     apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia on 
     this issue.''
                                                                    ____

       POM-609. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Kansas; to the Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs.

                 ``House Concurrent Resolution No. 5046

       ``Whereas, More than 600,000 members of the United States 
     Armed Forces, including activated units of the Ready Reserve 
     and National Guard, were deployed to the Persian Gulf region 
     in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm to 
     liberate Kuwait; and
       ``Whereas, United States service personnel were exposed not 
     only to the hazards of war, but to an unknown variety of 
     potential health hazards, including exposure to smoke from 
     oil well fires, depleted uranium and infectious biological 
     weapons; and
       ``Whereas, More than 55,000 individuals who served in 
     Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm have 
     reported wide-ranging medical problems that began during 
     service, or shortly after their return from the Persian Gulf, 
     a significant number of which have not been accurately 
     diagnosed or treated; and
       ``Whereas, There is evidence that family members of Gulf 
     War veterans are experiencing health problems similar in 
     nature to those of the veterans, including abnormal numbers 
     of birth defects in children conceived by Gulf War veterans; 
     and
       ``Whereas, In November 1994, Congress enacted the Persian 
     Gulf War Veterans' Act, authorizing the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs to compensate any Persian Gulf War veteran 
     suffering from a chronic disability resulting from 
     undiagnosed illnesses that occurred either during active duty 
     or within a certain period following service in the Persian 
     Gulf War; and
       ``Whereas, The Department of Defense has been conducting 
     research into the causes of symptoms that have collectively 
     come to be called ``Gulf War Syndrome'' for over three years 
     and during that time, the Department has failed to make any 
     substantive scientific progress in determining the causes, 
     effects, and transmissibility of, or treating this disabling 
     and sometimes fatal syndrome: Now, therefore,
       ``Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the 
     State of Kansas, the Senate concurring therein, That we 
     memorialize the President and the United States Congress to 
     take action to identify, locate and provide funds for 
     research and treatment of Gulf War related illnesses among 
     Persian Gulf War Veterans, and, to that end, to work jointly 
     with private research facilities; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That we urge the President and the Congress of 
     the United States, and the Department of Defense to review 
     the necessity for secrecy of all classified information 
     bearing on the detrimental health effects that the Gulf War 
     Veterans and their families are experiencing, and to make any 
     previously classified material available for publication; and 
     be it further

[[Page S6517]]

       ``Resolved, That we urge the President and the Congress of 
     the United States to place a moratorium on the donation of 
     blood, blood products and organs by veterans of the Gulf War 
     until a determination regarding the communicability of these 
     illnesses has been made; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That the Secretary of State be directed to send 
     enrolled copies of this resolution to the President and Vice 
     President of the United States, to the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, to each member of the Kansas 
     Congressional Delegation, to the Administrator of Veterans 
     Affairs, to the Secretary of Defense and to the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services (Center for Disease Control).''
                                                                    ____

       POM-610. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislative 
     of the State of Oklahoma; to the Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs.

                 ``Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 57

       ``Whereas, Oklahoma's atomic veterans showed steadfast 
     dedication and undisputed loyalty to their country and made 
     intolerable sacrifices in service to their country; and
       ``Whereas, these atomic veterans gave their all during the 
     terribly hot atomic age to keep our country strong and free; 
     and
       ``Whereas, these atomic veterans were unknowingly placed in 
     the line of fire, after being assured that they faced no 
     harm, and were subjected to an ungodly bombardment of 
     ionizing radiation; and
       ``Whereas, the radiation to which they were exposed is now 
     and will continue eating away at their bodies every second of 
     every day for the rest of their lives with no hope of 
     cessation or cure; and
       ``Whereas, because their wounds were not of the 
     conventional type and were not caused by the enemy but by the 
     United States Government, the atomic veterans did not receive 
     service-connected medical and disability benefits and did not 
     receive a medal such as the Purple Heart; and
       ``Whereas, many atomic veterans have already died and 
     others will die a horrible and painful death; now therefore, 
     be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate of the 2nd session of the 45th 
     Oklahoma Legislature, the House of Representatives concurring 
     therein:
       ``That atomic veterans be recognized by the federal 
     government.
       ``That the United States Senators and Representatives from 
     Oklahoma propose or support legislation granting service-
     connected medical and disability benefits to all atomic 
     veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation and propose 
     or support legislation issuing a medal to atomic veterans to 
     express the gratitude of the people and government of the 
     United States for the dedication and sacrifices of these 
     veterans.
       ``That copies of this resolution be distributed to the 
     President of the United States, the Vice President of the 
     United States, the Secretary of the United States Senate, the 
     Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the 
     Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
     Chairs of the United States House and Senate Veterans Affairs 
     Committees, and each member of the Oklahoma Congressional 
     Delegation.
       ``Adopted by the Senate the 21st day of May, 1996.''

                          ____________________