[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5505-S5507]
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-131. A resolution adopted by the Roane County 
     (Tennessee) Commission relative to the National Spallation 
     Neutron Source; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation.
       POM-132. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
     and Urban Affairs.

                    House Concurrent Resolution 109

       Whereas, To ensure the prudent use of tax dollars 
     designated for disaster assistance, the federal Flood 
     Disaster Protection Act of 1973 mandates the purchase of 
     flood insurance as a condition of receipt of federal or 
     federally related financial assistance for the acquisition or 
     construction of buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas 
     (SFHAs); and
       Whereas, the Act prohibits federal agencies such as the 
     Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration, 
     the Small Business Administration, and any federally 
     regulated lending institution from making or guaranteeing a 
     loan for a building in an SFHA unless flood insurance has 
     been purchased; additionally, it is standard practice for 
     most mortgage companies to require flood insurance on 
     property in designated flood zones as a condition of a loan; 
     and
       Whereas, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 
     the entity responsible for designating and mapping flood risk 
     zones, uses several criteria to establish floodplain 
     classifications, including a community's historical flood and 
     hydrology data, flood control measures, existing and planned 
     development, and topography; and
       Whereas, For many communities in Texas, the flood insurance 
     requirement is determined using maps that may have been drawn 
     as far back as the 1970s or early 1980s; these dated flood 
     maps do not accurately reflect changes in population, 
     development, or flood control or storm sewer improvements 
     that a community may have implemented to reduce the risk 
     of flooding; and
       Whereas, A glaring example of this problem is the City of 
     Laredo, where residents and business owners are required to 
     purchase flood insurance based on FEMA-designated flood zone 
     maps drawn in 1982; and
       Whereas, During the past decade, the City of Laredo has 
     constructed numerous concrete channels to divert flood waters 
     and has made storm sewer improvements to help reduce the risk 
     of flood; these projects have been carried out to accommodate 
     the rapid population growth in the city, which has tripled in 
     size over the last 15 years; and
       Whereas, The result of federally mandated flood insurance 
     requirements based on outdated maps has created a windfall 
     for insurance companies, which are collecting millions of 
     dollars in flood insurance from people who no longer live in 
     flood zones: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby urge the Congress of the United States to request that 
     the Federal Emergency Management Agency update community 
     flood maps every 10 years; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives 
     and president of the senate of the United States Congress, 
     and to all members of the Texas delegation to the congress 
     with the request that it be officially entered in the 
     Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-133. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Legislature of the State of Oregon; to the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources.

                          Senate Resolution 3

       Whereas the State of Oregon owns the water resources within 
     the state's rivers, streams and lakes; and
       Whereas the State of Oregon has authorized and allowed for 
     the acquisition of the right to the use of water for 
     beneficial purposes and any person may perfect such water 
     right as a vested property right under Oregon law; and
       Whereas chapter 228, Oregon Laws 1905, specifically 
     authorized appropriation of water for use in projects 
     authorized under the Federal Reclamation Act of 1902; and
       Whereas chapter 5, Oregon Laws 1905, specifically 
     authorized the use of the bed of the Upper Klamath Lake for 
     the storage of water for reclamation and irrigation use and 
     for no other purpose; and
       Whereas the Klamath Project was authorized and constructed 
     pursuant to the laws of the states of Oregon and California 
     and the United States; and
       Whereas pioneers, settlers, homesteaders and veterans of 
     two world wars, by their industry and commitment, have made 
     the farmland in the Klamath Project enormously productive and 
     a valued part of the economy and culture of the states of 
     Oregon and California; and
       Whereas water has been appropriated to beneficial use 
     within the Klamath Project in Oregon and California for 
     irrigation of approximately 230,000 acres; and
       Whereas irrigators within the Klamath Project have acquired 
     rights to the use of waters of the Klamath River for 
     irrigation, and these rights are recognized and confirmed in 
     the Klamath River Basin Compact, ratified by the states of 
     Oregon and California and consented to by Act of Congress in 
     1957; and
       Whereas the State of Oregon has the legal authority to 
     quantify and regulate rights to the use of water in Oregon; 
     and
       Whereas the State of Oregon has undertaken to adjudicate 
     certain rights to the use of the Klamath River and its 
     tributaries; and
       Whereas the United States Court of Appeals has confirmed, 
     over the objection of the United States Department of the 
     Interior, that the State of Oregon has the right and 
     responsibility to determine and administer the rights of 
     claimants to the use of the Klamath River and its 
     tributaries; and
       Whereas the United States Department of the Interior has 
     directed and proposes to direct the operation of Klamath 
     Project facilities to allocate water to purposes other than 
     irrigation, including instream purposes and instream uses in 
     California; and
       Whereas the Department of the Interior has used and 
     proposes to use the bed of Upper Klamath Lake for the storage 
     of water for purposes other than irrigation, in contravention 
     of the limited authority granted by the State of Oregon; and
       Whereas the Department of the Interior purports to have the 
     authority to administratively determine and allocate the 
     water of Oregon and to allocate water away from authorized 
     Klamath Project irrigation uses; and
       Whereas the position of the State of Oregon is that the 
     Department of the Interior lacks authority to allocate water 
     or reallocate Klamath Project water supplies and the 
     administration of water must proceed in a manner consistent 
     with Oregon's system for the administration of water 
     rights; and
       Whereas the Department of the Interior has failed and 
     refused to address legitimate, fair and fundamental questions 
     concerning its authority and actions; and
       Whereas the Department of the Interior has failed and 
     refused to protect the rights of the water users in the 
     Klamath Project vis a vis the thousands of junior users in 
     the Klamath watershed, and has instead proposed only to 
     reallocate water used in the Klamath Project to other users 
     and uses; and
       Whereas the actions of the Department of the Interior have 
     resulted in division, distrust and anger; and
       Whereas it is desirable and in the interests of the State 
     of Oregon that the rights and interests of the Klamath 
     Project irrigators and Oregon's system for the allocation and 
     administration of water rights be respected; now, therefore,
       Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Oregon:
       (1) The President and the Congress of the United States are 
     respectfully urged to:
       (a) Act to ensure the protection and respect for the State 
     of Oregon's authority to allocate water and to determine and 
     administer rights to the use of water; and
       (b) Ensure that the United States Department of the 
     Interior and other federal agencies do not operate or direct 
     the operation of Kamath Project facilities except in 
     accordance with the State of Oregon's system for the 
     determination and administration of water rights and to 
     ensure, at a minimum, that the priority of rights in the 
     Klamath Project to the use of Klamath River water is enforced 
     and protected.
       (2) A copy of this resolution shall be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the Secretary of the United 
     States Department of the Interior, the President of the 
     Senate

[[Page S5506]]

     and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United 
     States and to each member of the Oregon Congressional 
     Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-134. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     House Concurrent Resolution 94

       Whereas, The American people have been threatened by 
     terrorists' actions against citizens, government, and private 
     property, with many of these terrorist activities being 
     carried out with explosive materials; and
       Whereas, In passing the Antiterrorism and Effective Death 
     Penalty Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-132), the United States 
     Congress closed several loopholes in the effective 
     administration of justice against terrorist activities; in 
     particular, mandating that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
     and Firearms (BATF) conduct a study on the feasibility of 
     tagging, or rendering inert, several products related to the 
     production of explosive materials; and
       Whereas, The same act of congress also required the use of 
     detection agents in plastic explosives, increased penalties 
     for conspiracies involving the use of explosives, and 
     provided assistance to law enforcement personnel to combat 
     the threat of terrorism both domestically and abroad; and
       Whereas, The Legislature of the State of Texas is aware of 
     the research and implementation efforts of other countries 
     that may provide useful information to protect lives and 
     property through the careful and successful use of taggants; 
     and
       Whereas, The BATF is being assisted in its effort to study 
     the technical options and feasibility by the National 
     Research Council (NRC), and to provide this assistance, the 
     NRC has established a ``Committee on Marking, Rendering 
     Inert, and Licensing of Explosive Materials''; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby commend the United States Congress for recognizing the 
     threat to public health and security from the misuse of 
     explosives; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the legislature pledge its full support to 
     the efforts now underway by the BATF and the NRC to study the 
     economic, practical, and technical feasibility of tagging, or 
     otherwise rendering inert, explosive materials; and, be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the legislature strongly support the active 
     participation of stakeholder interests, including 
     representatives of affected manufacturers and law enforcement 
     personnel, in the conduct of the BATF and NRC studies; and, 
     be it further
       Resolved, That the legislature urge the participants of the 
     NRC study to carefully consider the experiences of other 
     countries and how those experiences may relate to the NRC 
     study; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the legislature looks forward to the results 
     of the BATF and NRC studies, both the interim report, which 
     is due April 1997, and the final report, which is due 
     February 1998, to advise the State of Texas in establishing 
     reasonable and effective controls on explosive materials and 
     thereby contribute to the enhanced protection of all Texans; 
     and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives 
     and the president of the senate of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     the congress with the request that this resolution be 
     officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial 
     to the Congress of the United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-135. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                    Senate Concurrent Resolution 32

       Whereas, The south bank of the Red River constitutes the 
     boundary between the states of Texas and Oklahoma; and
       Whereas, The exact determination of where the south bank of 
     the Red River is located is extremely difficult to ascertain 
     and subject to widely divergent opinion; and
       Whereas, The south bank of the Red River is not a permanent 
     location, but is constantly changing; and
       Whereas, The federal government claims ownership of the 
     south half of the Red River within a 116-mile stretch between 
     the 98th Meridian and the mouth of the North Fork of the Red 
     River; and
       Whereas, The Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes claim 
     entitlement to 62\1/2\ percent of the revenues derived from 
     oil and gas production from these lands; and
       Whereas, The changing location of the south bank and the 
     difficulty in determining its location at any given time have 
     created problems in the enforcement of laws, collection of 
     taxes, economic development, and the establishment of 
     property ownership; and
       Whereas, It is to the mutual advantage of the states of 
     Texas and Oklahoma to agree on and establish a practicable 
     boundary between both states; and
       Whereas, By House Concurrent Resolution 128, Acts of the 
     74th Legislature, the Texas Red River Boundary Commission was 
     created; and
       Whereas, The term of the commission expires on June 30, 
     1998; and
       Whereas, The states of Texas and Oklahoma are working 
     together to adopt a boundary compact to present to their 
     respective legislatures; and
       Whereas, If the Texas Red River Boundary Commission is 
     unable to reach a boundary agreement with the Oklahoma Red 
     River Boundary Commission on or before June 30, 1998, the 
     work of the commission will be lost; and
       Whereas, It is to the benefit of the citizens of Texas to 
     extend the term of the Texas commission and enable it to 
     continue its work toward a joint boundary resolution; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas, 
     That the term of the Red River Boundary Commission is hereby 
     extended to June 30, 2000; commission members, not to exceed 
     17 in number, shall be appointed by the governor; the 
     commissioners shall be representative of private property 
     owners, local government elected officials, mineral 
     interests, and the general public; such members shall serve 
     without compensation, except for reasonable travel 
     reimbursement; staffing for this commission shall be provided 
     by the General Land Office, the Office of the Attorney 
     General, and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation 
     Commission; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the chairman shall be appointed by the 
     governor; and, be it further
       Resolved, That it shall be the duty of the commission to 
     confer and act in conjunction with the representatives 
     appointed on behalf of the State of Oklahoma for the 
     following purposes:
       (1) to initially make a joint investigation at the joint 
     expense of the two states as to the appropriate method of 
     establishing a practicable location of the common boundary 
     between the two states with respect to the Red River;
       (2) to investigate, negotiate, and report as to the 
     necessity and advisability of a compact between the two 
     states defining and locating a practicable, identifiable 
     state line;
       (3) to hold such hearings and conferences in either of the 
     two states as may be required and to take such action, either 
     separately or in cooperation with the State of Oklahoma or 
     the United States, or both, as may be necessary or convenient 
     to accomplish the purposes of this resolution; and
       (4) to report to the governor and the Legislature of the 
     State of Texas annually no later than January 15 of each year 
     its findings and recommendations concerning joint action by 
     the State of Texas and the State of Oklahoma; and, be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Red River Boundary Commission shall 
     terminate on June 30, 2000; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the legislature hereby respectfully request 
     the president and the Congress of the United States to meet 
     and confer with the commission and the representatives of the 
     State of Oklahoma and to assist in carrying out the purposes 
     of this resolution; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the governor of the State of Texas be and is 
     hereby empowered and requested to forward a copy of this 
     resolution to the governor of the State of Oklahoma and to 
     request that the governor or legislature of that state 
     appoint representatives of the State of Oklahoma to confer 
     and act in conjunction with the commission for the purposes 
     above specified, with the understanding that each state pay 
     all expenses of its representatives; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, the speaker of the house of representatives 
     and president of the senate of the United States Congress and 
     to all members of the Texas delegation to the congress with 
     the request that it be officially entered in the 
     Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-136. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on 
     Labor and Human Resources.

                        Senate Resolution No. 61

       Whereas, in the years since science discovered the harmful 
     effects of chlorofluoro- carbons on the earth's protective 
     ozone layer, the United States and other industrial nations 
     have implemented numerous changes to reduce the release of 
     certain chemicals into the air. An international agreement, 
     the Montreal Protocol, has put in place requirements that 
     will have far-reaching health benefits. Alternate processes 
     and materials are now used instead of CFCs routinely by all 
     Americans; and
       Whereas, in addition to the industrial and refrigeration 
     uses of CFCs, the chemicals are invaluable to millions of 
     people for their medical applications. An exception to the 
     ban on CFCs was made for their essential uses in 
     pharmaceuticals. For the 30 million Americans with various 
     respiratory conditions, including asthma and cystic fibrosis, 
     CFCs are essential to metered dose inhalers (MDI), a vital 
     component of treatment. In recognition of the life-saving 
     work that MDIs have made possible over the past forty years, 
     provisions have been made through the Montreal Protocol and 
     the FDA to phase in restrictions for CFCs in MDIs; and
       Whereas, the current plan is for all CFCs to be prohibited 
     from MDIs one year after a single non-CFC MDI is available. 
     This proposal, if put in place without amendment, holds many 
     perils for sufferers of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary 
     disease, and cystic fibrosis; and
       Whereas, as alternatives to CFCs in MDIs are developed, it 
     is necessary to acknowledge that the success of inhalers in 
     delivering medications is enhanced by the fact that there are 
     several options available to patients. Some types of inhalers 
     and products

[[Page S5507]]

     work better with some patients than others with the identical 
     disease. There needs to be an adequate number of alternatives 
     for treatment for patients, instead of ending the search for 
     new products after only one is identified; now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the Congress of 
     the United States and the Food and Drug Administration to 
     phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons from medical 
     inhalers in a schedule of at least three years to permit the 
     development of as many treatment alternatives as possible; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, the members of the 
     Michigan congressional delegation, and the Food and Drug 
     Administration
                                  ____

       POM-137. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Appropriations.

                       Legislative Resolve No. 8

       Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Alaska:
       Whereas the United States and Canada entered into an 
     agreement to reconstruct and pave the Alaska Highway from the 
     Alaska-Canada border to Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, 
     Canada, and the Haines Cutoff Highway from Haines Junction, 
     Yukon Territory, Canada, to the Alaska-Canada border near 
     Haines, Alaska, known as the Shakwak project, as authorized 
     in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973; and
       Whereas the Congress authorized $59,000,000 in 1973 for the 
     project and has appropriated $47,000,000 to the Federal 
     Highway Administration for actual construction by Canada; and
       Whereas the Congress further authorized $20,000,000 a year 
     for fiscal years 1993-1996 under the Intermodal Surface 
     Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, which has been fully 
     appropriated; and
       Whereas, in the last 16 years, the state has provided 
     $37,000,000 of state federal-aid highway apportionments to 
     assist in meeting the obligations of the agreement; and
       Whereas the estimated amount necessary to complete the 
     entire project was in the order of $260,000,000 in United 
     States dollars; be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature respectfully 
     requests the United States government and the Canadian 
     government to honor their agreement and provide the 
     additional funds necessary through direct federal 
     appropriations, independent of the federal funds apportioned 
     to Alaska by the Federal Highway Administration, to complete 
     the remaining portions of the Shakwak project; and be it
       Further resolved, That the United States Congress is 
     respectfully requested to immediately appropriate an 
     additional $94,000,000 to allow work on additional project 
     segments to proceed to a bituminous surface treatment 
     standard.
                                  ____

       POM-138. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
     and Urban Affairs.

                       Legislative Resolve No. 10

       Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Alaska:
       Whereas Alaska had, by regulation, imposed a primary 
     manufacturing requirement applicable to timber harvested from 
     state-owned land that is destined for export from the state; 
     and
       Whereas that regulation was permissive, allowing the 
     director of the division of land to require that primary 
     manufacture of forest products be accomplished within the 
     state; and
       Whereas, considering the Commerce Clause of the United 
     States Constitution, in Southcentral Timber Development, Inc. 
     v. Wunnicke, 467 U.S. 82, 81 L.Ed.2d 71, 104 S.Ct. 2237 
     (1984), the United States Supreme Court determined that the 
     state's regulation could not be given effect; while the court 
     found evidence of a clearly defined federal policy imposing 
     primary manufacture requirements as to timber taken from 
     federal land in Alaska, it determined that the existing 
     Congressional sanction reached only to activities on federal 
     land and concluded that the state's assertion of 
     Congressional authorization by silence to allow a state to 
     regulate similar activities on nonfederal land could not be 
     inferred; and
       Whereas since the Wunnicke decision, the Congress has, in 
     the Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 
     1990, extended an existing ban on unprocessed log exports 
     from federal land in the 11 contiguous Western states to 
     cover timber harvested from nonfederal sources in those 
     states; the extension of the ban on unprocessed log exports 
     in those states collectively does not affect Alaska; and
       Whereas the principal purposes, stated or assumed, in the 
     1990 Congressional Act for extending the ban on unprocessed 
     log exports in the contiguous Western states--the efficient 
     use and effective conservation of forests and forest 
     resources, the avoidance of a shortfall in unprocessed timber 
     in the marketplace, and concern for development of a rational 
     log export policy as a national matter--are equally valid 
     with respect to the significant timber resources held by this 
     state, its political subdivisions, and its public university; 
     and
       Whereas the state cannot act to regulate, restrict, or 
     prohibit the export of unprocessed logs harvested from land 
     of the state, its political subdivisions, and the University 
     of Alaska without a legislative expression demonstrating 
     Congressional intent that is unmistakably clear;
       Be it resolved, That the Legislature of the State of Alaska 
     urges the United States Congress to give an affirmative 
     expression of approval to a policy authorizing the state to 
     regulate, restrict, or prohibit the export of unprocessed 
     logs harvested from its land and from the land of its 
     political subdivisions and the University of Alaska.

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