[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 98 (Friday, July 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7299-S7301]
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-168. A resolution adopted by the House of the General
Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; to the
Committee on Foreign Relations.
Resolution
Whereas, the House of Representatives is becoming
increasingly concerned that the tropical rain forests are
being destroyed at a rate of between 13.5 million and 55
million acres a year; and
Whereas, it is feared that further destruction will lead to
the elimination of hundreds of thousands of species of plants
and animals; and
Whereas, rain forests are an important source of medicinal
plants, and approximately 121 prescription drugs are derived
from plants which have their origins in rain forests; and
Whereas, rain forests are storehouses of evolutionary
achievement and are increasingly invaluable to humankind in
our search for the mysteries of life; and
Whereas, rain forests play a major role in the way the
sun's heat is distributed around the globe, and any
disturbance could produce climatic choas; and
Whereas, it is imperative that something be done before the
damage to the rain forests is irreversible: Therefore be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives memorialize the
President and Congress to take whatever steps are necessary
to protect the rain forests from further destruction; and be
it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States and the presiding officers
of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from
Pennsylvania.
____
POM-169. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature
of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on Foreign
Relations.
House Concurrent Resolution No. 17
Whereas, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has proven
itself to be a stabilizing factor in Europe. Through a wide
variety of programs and the channels of communications it has
opened, NATO has helped to secure the peace, economic
development, and cooperation among its member nations and
other countries; and
Whereas, Poland, a free and democratic nation with a long
and proud history, enjoys numerous ties with NATO member
nations. The Republic of Poland is committed to the
preservation of freedom and the strengthening of democracy.
This nation's well-being as a sovereign country has long been
dependent upon the overall stability of central Europe; and
Whereas, the people of Poland wish to exercise their
responsibilities within NATO. This country desires to become
part of NATO's mission to prevent the excesses of
nationalism; and
Whereas, the United States is dedicated to maintaining its
friendship with Poland, a country that is pivotal to the
continued stability of this area of the world; Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That we memorialize the President and the
Congress of the United States to work for the expansion of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include the
Republic of Poland; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the Office of 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-170. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly
of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Governmental
Affairs.
House Joint Resolution 97-1027
Whereas, the federal ``Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996'', Public Law 104-193,
herein referred to as the ``Act'', was passed by the United
States House of Representatives on July 18, 1996, and the
United States Senate on July 23, 1996, and signed into law by
President Clinton on August 22, 1996; and
Whereas, Article III of such Act addresses the several
states' obligation to provide child support enforcement
services and mandates that the states adopt certain
procedures for the location of an obligor and the
establishment, modification, and enforcement of a child
support obligation against such obligor; and
Whereas, the members of the Sixty-first General Assembly
recognize the importance of assuring financial support for
minor and dependent children; however, the General Assembly
finds that those procedures specified in the Act include such
far-reaching measures as the following:
(1) The necessity to implement the ``Uniform Interstate
Family Support Act'', as approved by the American Bar
Association and as amended by the National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which uniform act allows
for the direct registration of foreign support orders and the
activation of income-withholding procedures across state
lines without any prior verification, certification, or other
authentication that the child support order or the income-
withholding form is accurate or valid and without a
requirement that notice of such withholding be provided to
the alleged obligor by any specified means or method, such as
by first-class mail or personal service, to assure that the
individual receives proper notice prior to the income-
withholding;
(2) Liens to arise by operation of law against real and
personal property for amounts of overdue support that are
owed by a noncustodial parent who resides or owns property in
the state, without the ability to determine if a lien exists
on certain property;
(3) The obligation of the state to accord full faith and
credit to such liens arising by operation of law in any other
state, which results in inadequate notice and the inability
of purchasers to have knowledge or notice of such liens;
(4) A duty placed upon employers to report all newly hired
employees, whether or not the employee has a child support
obligation, to a state directory of new hires within a
restricted period of time after the employer hires the
employee;
(5) The requirement that social security numbers be
recorded when a person applies for a professional license, a
commercial driver's license, an occupational license, or a
marriage license, when a person is subject to a divorce
decree, a support order, or a paternity determination or
acknowledgment, or when an individual dies, whether or not
the person has an obligation to pay child support;
(6) A requirement that the child support enforcement agency
enter into agreements with financial institutions doing
business in the state in order to develop, operate, and
coordinate an unprecedented and invasive data match system
for the sharing of account holder information with the child
support enforcement agency in order to facilitate the
potential matching of delinquent obligors and bank account
holders;
(7) Procedures by which the state child support enforcement
agency may subpoena financial or other information needed to
establish, modify, or enforce a support order and to impose
penalties for failure to respond to such a subpoena and
procedures by which to access information contained in
certain records, including the records of public utilities
and cable television companies pursuant to an administrative
subpoena; and
(8) Procedures interfering with the states' right to
determine when a jury trial is to be authorized; and
Whereas, the Act mandates numerous, unnecessary
requirements upon the several states that epitomize the
continuing trend of intrusion by government into people's
personal lives; and
Whereas, the Act offends the notion of notice and
opportunity to be heard guaranteed to the people by the Due
Process Clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the
Constitution of the United States; and
Whereas, the Act offends the 10th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, which provides that ``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 United States Supreme Court has ruled in New
York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress
may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory
processes of the states; and
Whereas, the Act imposes upon the several states further
insufficiently funded mandates in relation to the costly
development of procedures by which to implement the
requirements set forth in the Act in order to preserve the
receipt of federal funds under Title IV-D of the ``Social
Security Act'', as amended, and other provisions of the Act:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate
concurring herein: That we, the members of the Sixty-first
General Assembly, urge the Congress of the United States to
amend or repeal those specific provisions of the federal
``Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996'' set forth in this Resolution that place undue
burden and expense upon the several states, that violate
provisions of the Constitution of the United States, that
impose insufficiently funded mandates upon the states in the
establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support
obligations, or that unjustifiably intrude into the personal
lives of the law-abiding citizens of the United States of
America; be it further
[[Page S7300]]
Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the
President of the United States, the Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives, the President of the United
States Senate, the Speaker of the House and the President of
the Senate of each state legislature, and Colorado's
Congressional delegation.
____
POM-171. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature
of the State of Hawaii; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Concurrent Resolution No. 257
Whereas, the State of Hawaii is one of the nine states that
comprise the United States (U.S.) Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals that also includes Guam and the Northern Mariana
Islands; and
Whereas, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals consists
of a twenty-eight judge bench with approximately ten
vacancies as of Spring, 1997; and
Whereas, the State of Hawaii has not had full-time, active
representation on this important federal bench since the
retirement to senior status of the Honorable Herbert Y. C.
Choy in 1984; and
Whereas, a judgeship for the State of Hawaii has been
denied throughout the last three presidential
administrations; and
Whereas, the State of Hawaii is one of only two states in
the Union without full-time, active representation on its
respective federal circuits; and
Whereas, the federal circuit courts, according to U.S.
Senator Diane Feinstein of California, ``have been structured
to draw upon the legal traditions of several states'' in
order to ``preserve the federalizing function of the courts
of appeals''; and
Whereas, the ideals expressed by Senator Feinstein cannot
possibly be attained in the U.S. Ninth Circuit if the State
of Hawaii has no circuit judge to give voice to our ``legal
traditions''; and
Whereas, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals receives
approximately six percent of its workload from the State of
Hawaii, including cases involving the Native Hawaiian
Sovereignty vote, mandatory lease to fee condominium
conversion, Native Hawaiian land claims, and the Waikiki
vending ordinances, among many others: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the Nineteenth Legislature of the
State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1997, the House of
Representatives concurring, That the President of the United
States and the United States Senate are respectfully
requested to work diligently and appropriately to award the
State of Hawaii a full and equal measure of judicial
representation on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals by appointing and confirming a qualified resident of
the State of Hawaii to any presently existing vacant Ninth
Circuit judgeship; and be it further
Resolved That certified copies of this Concurrent
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, the
Governor of the State of Hawaii, the members of the Hawaii
Congressional Delegation, and the Honorable Orrin Hatch,
Chairman of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee.
____
POM-172. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly
of the State of Tennessee; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Senate Joint Resolution No. 41
Whereas, in 1976, the United States Supreme Court ruled to
allow the several states to impose the death penalty as
punishment for certain crimes; and
Whereas, Tennessee has had a constitutional death penalty
statute since 1977; and
Whereas, during the last twenty years, Tennessee has not
carried out a single death penalty sentence, in part because
of lengthy habeas corpus proceedings by death row inmates and
the inaction of the federal court system; and
Whereas, most recently, the Honorable John T. Nixon, U.S.
District Court Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee,
has overturned the capital convictions of four (4) of
Tennessee's most heinous convicted killers; and
Whereas, in overturning these four (4) convictions, Judge
Nixon has continued a pattern of judicial conduct that raises
an issue as to his bias against capital punishment; and
Whereas, during his tenure on the U.S. District Court for
the Middle District of Tennessee, Judge Nixon has continually
delayed ruling on capital cases before his court; and
Whereas, he has also repeatedly reversed the convictions
and/or sentences of many capital cases which were tried and
adjudicated years ago, making it difficult for such cases to
be retried; and
Whereas, the State of Tennessee Attorney General has even
filed a petition for writ of mandamus against Judge Nixon to
expedite a death penalty matter in a particular case that
languished in his court: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the one-hundredth General
Assembly of the State of Tennessee, the House of
Representatives Concurring, That this General Assembly hereby
memorializes the House of Representatives and Senate of the
U.S. Congress to consider amending the United States
Constitution to remove Federal Judges for ``dereliction of
duty'', and not just ``high crimes and misdemeanors'', in
order to ensure that judges act with due dispatch and care in
carrying out their duties on appeals of capital cases and
other habeas corpus matters, and writs of mandamus, be it
further
Resolved, That this General Assembly hereby memorializes
the House of Representatives of the United States Congress to
thoroughly and timely investigate whether ground exist to
impeach John T. Nixon, Judge for the United States District
Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, in accordance
with the United States Constitution, and if such grounds
exist, then to initiate proceedings to impeach Judge John T.
Nixon in accordance with the United States Constitution, be
it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Senate is directed to
transmit certified copies of this resolution to the Speaker
and the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the
President and the Secretary of the U.S Senate, the Clerk of
the U.S. Supreme Court, and to each member of the Tennessee
delegation to the U.S. Congress.
____
POM-173. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of
the State of Nevada; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
Senate Joint Resolution No. 6
Whereas, the Las Vegas Valley has in recent years
experienced a tremendous increase in population and growth in
the number of businesses and residential homes in the area;
and
Whereas, the Federal Government presently manages public
land located within the Las Vegas Valley; and
Whereas, a sale or other transfer of some or all of that
public land would facilitate community expansion and growth
in the Las Vegas Valley; and
Whereas, because public lands managed by the Federal
Government in Nevada are not taxable, a sale or transfer of
those lands into state or private ownership would provide
additional land subject to taxation in the State of Nevada;
and
Whereas, although the sale or other transfer of public land
managed by the Federal Government in the Las Vegas Valley
would be beneficial to the State of Nevada and its residents,
such transfers may adversely affect sparsely populated and
rural counties in Nevada by increasing the amount of land
managed by the Federal Government in those counties, thereby
reducing the amount of land in those counties that is
privately owned or owned by the State of Nevada or a local
government; and
Whereas, during the 105th session of Congress,
Representative John Ensign introduced the Southern Nevada
Public Land Management Act of 1997 (H.R. No. 449), which, if
enacted, would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
dispose of certain Federal lands in the Las Vegas Valley and
authorize the State of Nevada to elect to obtain the lands
for public purposes: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of Nevada,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of Nevada hereby
expresses its support for the Southern Nevada Public Land
Management Act of 1997 and for the sale or other transfer of
public land managed by the Federal Government in the Las
Vegas Valley if the transfer does not adversely affect
sparsely populated and rural counties in Nevada; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and
transmit a copy of this resolution to the Vice President of
the United States as the presiding officer of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and each member of
the Nevada Congressional Delegation; and be it further
Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon
passage and approval.
____
POM-174. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly
of the State of Colorado relative to the proposed ``American
Land Sovereignty Protection Act''; to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
Whereas, the United Nations has designated sixty-seven
sites in the United States as ``World Heritage Sites'' or
``Biosphere Reserves'', which altogether are about equal in
size to the State of Colorado, the eighth largest state; and
Whereas, section 3 of Article IV of the United States
Constitution provides that the United States Congress shall
make all needed rules and regulations governing lands
belonging to the United States; and
Whereas, many of the United Nations designations include
private property inholdings and contemplate ``buffer zones''
of adjacent land; and
Whereas, some international land designations, such as
those under the United States Biosphere Reserve Program and
the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations
Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization, operate
under independent national committees, such as the United
States National Man and Biosphere Committee, which have no
legislative directives or authorization from Congress; and
Whereas, these international designations, as presently
handled, are an open invitation to the international
community to interfere in domestic land use decisions; and
Whereas, local citizens and public officials usually have
no say in the designation of land near their homes for
inclusion in an international land use program; and
Whereas, the President and Executive Branch of the United
States have, by Executive Order and other agreements,
implemented these designations without the approval of
Congress; and
[[Page S7301]]
Whereas, actions by the President in applying international
agreements to lands owned by the United States may circumvent
Congress; and
Whereas, in the 105th Congress, Congressman Don Young
introduced HR-901, entitled the ``American Land Sovereignty
Act'', to protect American public and private lands from
jurisdictional encroachments by certain United Nations
programs, and such resolution has been referred to the
Resource Committee with 77 cosponsors; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate
concurring herein: That the State of Colorado supports this
legislation, which reaffirms the Constitutional Authority of
Congress as the elected representatives of the people, and
urges the ``American Land Sovereignty Protection Act'' be
introduced and passed by both the House of Representatives
and the Senate as soon as possible during the 105th
Congressional session; be it further
Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress and to each
member of the Congressional delegation from Colorado.
____
POM-175. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly
of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources.
House Joint Resolution 97-1038
Whereas, in 1976, the United States Congress enacted the
Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program administered by the
United States Bureau of Land Management to compensate local
governments for the tax-exempt nature of and the costs
associated with the presence of federal lands; and
Whereas, counties have historically and traditionally
shared in the benefits of economic activity on public lands
through statutory formulas that guarantee a percentage of all
gross receipts to be returned to the counties where the
activity occurs; and
Whereas, shared natural resource payments to counties from
economic activities such as timber sales, mineral leasing,
and grazing are absolutely vital to the financial stability
of county government; and
Whereas, counties utilize shared receipts to provide vital
services through long-standing intergovernmental agreements
with the federal government; and
Whereas, the United States Congress considered and passed
legislation in 1994 known as S. 455, which adjusted the PILT
program by increasing the authorization level to reflect full
value as enacted in 1976; and
Whereas, in 1995, Congress increased the authorization for
PILT to double the previous $100 million level gradually over
several years in order to make up for inflation, making a
full appropriation for fiscal year 1999 of $190 million
rather than the $101.5 million Interior Secretary Babbitt is
asking for; and
Whereas, the United States Secretary of the Interior, Bruce
Babbitt, announced that the Clinton Administration's budget
proposal calls for a $12 million cut in PILT funding that
dramatically impacts western states; and
Whereas, the money cut from the PILT program will
apparently be used to help pay for the management of the new
Escalante Monument in Utah, which was established by
President Clinton without the usual environmental and public
hearing process; and
Whereas, an 11 percent reduction of Colorado's $8 million
share of the PILT payments would mean that approximately
$900,000 per year would be taken from Colorado counties to
contribute to the Escalante Monument project; and
Whereas, cutting money from the PILT program violates the
original agreement between the federal government and our
nation's counties: Now, therefore, be it,
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate
concurring herein: That we, the members of the General
Assembly, support full funding of the federal PILT program as
authorized by the passage of S. 455 in 1994 and urge the
Colorado Congressional Delegation to advocate for the full
funding level; be it further
Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the
President of the United States, the United States Secretary
of Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and
members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation.
____
POM-176. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the
State of Alaska; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
Resolution No. 12
Whereas the Tongass National Forest has been chosen by the
Clinton Administration to provide Christmas trees to decorate
the nation's Capitol and congressional offices; and
Whereas the grace and beauty of Alaska's native tree
species are well suited for such a distinct purpose; and
Whereas Alaskans are a generous people, and their State's
resources a tremendous asset that if carefully managed by the
people most closely affected can be the backbone of a strong
economy; and
Whereas trees harvested for the economic benefit of the
people of the Tongass are subject to full public comment and
environmental review; and
Whereas, under normal conditions, the Alaska Legislature
would regard the opportunity to provide federal offices with
Christmas trees from our national forest as the highest
compliment and honor; and
Whereas conditions are not normal, as one of Alaska's two
pulp mills and the state's largest sawmill have shut down
while Alaska's remaining pulp mill has announced it will
close in March at a cost of thousands of jobs; and
Whereas, even with the recent signing of a three-year
contract to supply wood to Southeast Alaska's two largest
sawmills, consistent supply remains a concern for their
continued existence; and
Whereas over 60 percent of Southeast Alaska's timber-
related jobs have been eliminated since 1990; and
Whereas the Clinton Administration has ignored the efforts
of the Alaska congressional delegation and the Alaska State
Legislature to secure the livelihoods of the workers, their
families, and the timber dependent communities of Southeast
Alaska; and
Whereas the Alaska State Legislature deems it inappropriate
to harvest trees for decorative purposes, and ask Southeast
Alaskans to incur the cost, while Southeast Alaska timber
jobs are being extinguished, depressing the area's economy;
and
Whereas what should be an honor is instead an affront as it
carries the message that careful harvesting of our trees is
acceptable to decorate the nation's Capitol and the halls of
Congress, yet not acceptable to provide jobs for the people
of Southeast Alaska; be it
Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature recognizes
harvesting of Alaska's trees to provide pleasure for those
far removed is symbolic of a failed national policy which has
cost Southeast Alaska communities thousands of year-round,
family supporting jobs and caused untold personal suffering;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Alaska Legislature opposes the
harvesting of Christmas trees for the nation's Capitol and
other federal and congressional offices from the Tongass
National Forest and urges that it not be done without full
public comment and a comprehensive Environmental Impact
Statement; and be it further
Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature requests the
Clinton Administration to find another source for the 1998
White House Christmas tree festivities in light of the social
and economic hardship forced upon the unemployed timber
workers, their families, and the timber dependent communities
of the Tongass.
____
POM-177. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of
the State of Nevada; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
Senate Joint Resolution No. 11
Whereas, by section 8 of chapter 262, 14 Statutes 253
(former 43 U.S.C. Sec. 932), enacted in 1866, the right of
way was granted for the construction of highways over public
lands not reserved for other public uses; and
Whereas, the placement of that section in an act primarily
devoted to the encouragement of mining upon the public lands
suggests that an important purpose of the grant was to
provide access to mining claims, but its operation was
extended by section 17 of the Placer Law of 1870, which also
affected other patents, pre-emptions and homesteads, so that
the right of access was extended broadly to private property;
and
Whereas, when section 8 of chapter 262 of the Statutes of
1866 was repealed in 1976 by section 706 of Public Law 94-
579, section 701 of Public Law 94-579 also provided:
``Nothing in this Act * * * shall be construed as terminating
any valid * * * right-of-way [sic], or other land use right
or authorization existing on the date of approval of this
Act''; and
Whereas, this legislature in its 67th Session enacted
Assembly Bill No. 176 and Senate Bill No. 235 and adopted
Senate Joint Resolution No. 12, which recognized the
acceptance of rights of way across public land by private use
as accessory roads, dispensed with public maintenance but
declared all such roads open to public use, and urged the
Federal Government to recognize the rights so acquired: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of Nevada,
jointly, That the Nevada Legislature, speaking on behalf of
all its residents, calls upon the Congress of the United
States to continue to ensure the permanent rights existing in
those roads over public land that serve private property; and
be it further
Resolved, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges the
Secretary of the Interior to allow for the identification of
rights of way over public land in the State of Nevada through
an administrative process; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and
transmit a copy of this resolution to the Vice President of
the United States as presiding officer of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, each member of the
Nevada Congressional Delegation and the Secretary of the
Interior; and be it further
Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon
passage and approval.
____________________