[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 68 (Monday, June 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5515-S5516]
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--441. A resolution adopted by the Board of Directors of 
     the Pacific Service Federal Credit Union relative to credit 
     unions; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
     Affairs.
       POM-442. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Oklahoma relative to swine and poultry 
     growers; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry.
       POM-443. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                       ``House Resolution No. 143

       ``Whereas, In an amazingly short time, the Internet has 
     become a key means of communicating in this country. It is 
     already a prominent vehicle for doing business through 
     selling goods and services and providing information leading 
     to commercial transactions. The business value of selling 
     access to the Internet is in itself a multi-billion dollar 
     enterprise. The growth projections for the Internet and for 
     its impact on commerce are very high; and
       ``Whereas, As with any new aspect of commerce, there are 
     numerous tax implications associated with the Internet. The 
     new technology and capabilities can be used to avoid local 
     taxes. Numerous transactions involve automatic transfers of 
     money for goods and services. Borders and jurisdictions have 
     become far less significant in this new marketplace; and
       ``Whereas, With the rise of the Internet, state and local 
     policymakers have suggested various ways to tax this 
     activity. Some states have explored telecommunications taxes 
     and taxes on Internet service providers. Industry observers 
     are concerned that implementing a ``modem tax'' could disrupt 
     the development of a new tool for commerce and economic 
     development; and
       ``Whereas, With the complexity of issues involved and the 
     constant changes in this new technology as it takes shape, 
     imposing taxes specific to the Internet would likely be 
     harmful. Any possible gains in revenues would be more than 
     offset by long-term changes in the evolution of the Internet. 
     Greed should not drive policy or taxation decisions; now, 
     therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we 
     memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact 
     legislation to create a moratorium on new national, state, 
     and local taxes on the Internet; 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, and the members 
     of the Michigan congressional delegation.''
                                  ____

       POM-444. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                 ``Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 278

       ``Whereas, In a five-to-four decision on April 18, 1990, 
     the United States Supreme Court extended the power of the 
     judicial branch of government beyond any defensible bounds. 
     In Missouri v. Jenkins (495 U.S.33, 110 S.Ct. 1691 (1990)), 
     the court held that a federal court had the power to order an 
     increase in state and local taxes; and
       ``Whereas, The unprecedented decision by the court in 
     Missouri v. Jenkins violated a fundamental tenet of the 
     separation of power. No members of the federal judiciary, who 
     serve for life and are answerable to no one, should have 
     control over the power of the purse; and
       ``Whereas, Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution of 
     the United States vests with the legislative branch of 
     government alone the extraordinary power to ``. . . lay and 
     collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts 
     and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the 
     United States''; and
       ``Whereas, The court's actions are an intrusion into a 
     legitimate political debate over state spending priorities 
     and not a response to a constitutional directive. Justice 
     Kennedy observed in his dissent in Missouri v. Jenkins that 
     ``This assertion of judicial power in one of the most 
     sensitive of policy areas, that involving taxation, begins a 
     process that over time could threaten fundamental alteration 
     of the form of government our Constitution embodies''; and
       ``Whereas, It is a well-established maxim that whosoever 
     controls the purse strings ultimately controls power, the 
     ability of government to function, and the direction it shall 
     go; and
       ``Whereas, Since 1990, when the Supreme Court declared in 
     Missouri v. Jenkins that the federal courts have the 
     authority and power to levy and increase taxes, Congress has 
     chosen not to intercede on behalf of the people to protect 
     the democratic process that has been corrupted by the 
     unconstitutional authority and power to tax which the federal 
     courts have exercised; and
       ``Whereas, The time has come for the people of this great 
     nation and their duly elected representatives in state 
     government to reaffirm, in no uncertain terms, that the 
     authority to tax under the Constitution of the United States 
     is retained by the people who, by their consent alone, do 
     delegate such power to tax explicitly to those duly elected 
     representatives in the legislative branch of government who 
     they choose, such representatives being directly responsible 
     and accountable to those who have elected them; now, 
     therefore be it
       ``Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That pursuant to Article V of the United States 
     Constitution, we memorialize the Congress of the United 
     States to pass and submit to the states for ratification an 
     amendment to the constitution of the United States to read 
     substantially as follows:
       ``Neither the Supreme Court nor any inferior court of the 
     United States shall have the power to instruct or order a 
     state or political subdivision thereof, or an official of 
     such state or political subdivision, to levy or increase 
     taxes; and be it further
       ``Resolved, That this legislative body requests the 
     legislatures of the other states comprising the union to make 
     similar applications to Congress for the purpose of proposing 
     such an amendment to the United States Constitution; 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, each house of the 
     legislatures of the other states comprising the union, and 
     members of the Michigan congressional delegation.''
                                  ____

       POM-445. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Iowa; to the Committee on Labor and Human 
     Resources.

                 ``Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 115

       ``Whereas, a Concurrent Resolution has been introduced in 
     the United States House of Representatives to encourage the 
     United States Railroad Retirement Board to modify the 
     guaranteed minimum benefit for widows and widowers to provide 
     adequate annuities; and
       ``Whereas, for years, many in the railroad industry have 
     argued that annuities paid to widows and widowers under the 
     federal Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 are inadequate; and
       ``Whereas, during the lifetime of a railroad employee and 
     the employee's spouse, the employee receives a full annuity 
     and so does the spouse; and
       ``Whereas, however, after the employee's death, only a 
     widow's or widower's annuity is payable, which under current 
     law is no less than that widow or widower received as a 
     spouse in the month before the employee's death; and

[[Page S5516]]

       ``Whereas, the widow's or widower's annuity is often found 
     inadequate and leaves the survivor with less than the amount 
     of income needed to meet ordinary and necessary living 
     expenses; and
       ``Whereas, no outside contributions from taxpayers are 
     needed, and any changes will be paid for from within the 
     railroad industry itself, including a full share by active 
     employees; now therefore,
       Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives, 
     concurring, That the General Assembly urges the United States 
     Congress to support U.S. House of Representatives Concurrent 
     Resolution 52 that calls for the Congress of the United 
     States to recognize the concern of many in the railroad 
     industry that the spousal annuity under the current system is 
     inadequate and often leaves the survivor with less than the 
     amount of income needed to meet ordinary and necessary living 
     expenses and that a process of dialogue must take place among 
     all parties of the railroad community, including rail labor, 
     management, and retiree organizations, before railroad 
     annuity legislation can be enacted; and
       ``Be it further resolved, That the General Assembly 
     supports adoption of the federal Congressional resolution 
     which urges and exhorts all parties of the railroad 
     community, including rail labor, management, and retiree 
     organizations, to find a suitable way to fund an amendment 
     that would improve the survivor benefits component to the 
     Railroad Retirement Act of 1974; and
       ``Be it further resolved, That copies of this Resolution be 
     sent by the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, all 
     members of the Iowa Congressional delegation, and the members 
     of the United States Railroad Retirement Board.''
                                  ____

       POM-446. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Environment and 
     Public Works.

                     House Joint Resolution 98-1017

       Whereas, a safe and efficient highway system is essential 
     to the nation's international competitiveness, key to 
     domestic productivity, and vital to our quality of life; and
       Whereas, Colorado has critical highway investment needs 
     that cannot be addressed with current financial resources as 
     exhibited by the fact that the Federal Highway Administration 
     rates forty-six percent of nine thousand six hundred twenty-
     five miles of Colorado's most important roads in either poor 
     or mediocre condition and considers twenty-one percent of 
     Colorado's bridges to be deficient; and
       Whereas, the current level of federal funding for the 
     nation's highway system is inadequate to meet rehabilitation 
     needs, maintain the safety of the traveling public, begin 
     solving congestion and rural access problems, conduct 
     adequate transportation research, and keep the United States 
     competitive in a global economy; and
       Whereas, the federal highway program is financed by 
     dedicated user fees that are collected from motorists to 
     improve the highway system and deposited in the federal 
     highway trust fund; and
       Whereas, the federal ``Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997'' 
     transferred all federal motor fuel taxes into the federal 
     highway trust fund but provided no mechanism to ensure that 
     such funds are spent; and
       Whereas, the 1998 congressional budget would constrain 
     federal highway spending well below the level of tax receipts 
     credited to the federal highway trust fund, allowing the 
     trust fund's cash balance to grow from just over twenty-two 
     billion dollars to more than seventy billion dollars by the 
     year 2003; and
       Whereas, Colorado and other states will be prohibited from 
     obligating any federal highway funds after April 30, 1998, 
     unless the United States Congress and the President enact new 
     highway legislation by that date; and
       Whereas, without federal highway funds, many states will be 
     forced to delay life-saving safety improvements, congestion 
     relief projects, and other road and bridge improvements; 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 United States Congress should enact legislation 
     reauthorizing the federal highway program by May 1, 1998.
       Be it further resolved, That the reauthorization 
     legislation should fund the federal highway program at the 
     highest level that the revenues in the user-financed federal 
     highway trust fund will support.
       Be it further resolved, That copies of this Joint 
     Resolution be sent to the United States House of 
     Representatives, the United States Senate, the President of 
     the United States, and to each member of the Colorado 
     Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-447. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Wisconsin; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                    1997 Senate Joint Resolution 11

       Whereas, under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 [42 USC 
     10222(a)(5)], the federal government entered into contracts 
     with electric utilities, including electric utilities in 
     Wisconsin, that provide that following the commencement of 
     operation of a permanent federal repository for the disposal 
     of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, the 
     U.S. Secretary of Energy shall take title to spent nuclear 
     fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors as expeditiously as 
     practicable upon request of the fuel's owner and, beginning 
     no later than January 31, 1998, will dispose of the spent 
     nuclear fuel in return for payment of fees to the nuclear 
     waste fund; and
       Whereas, electric utilities owning nuclear power plants in 
     Wisconsin have collected over $240,000,000 to date from 
     Wisconsin ratepayers for the required payment of fees to the 
     nuclear waste fund; and
       Whereas, the federal department of energy has repeatedly 
     delayed the projected opening date for the federal nuclear 
     waste repository and is now projecting that the date will be 
     after the year 2010 under the most optimistic assumptions; 
     and
       Whereas, delays in the development of the federal 
     repository have necessitated that one Wisconsin utility spend 
     over $10,000,000 for additional, temporary on-site storage of 
     its spent nuclear fuel and the utilities owning the other 
     nuclear power plant in Wisconsin are facing similar 
     prospects, and these costs would not be necessary if the 
     federal government had upheld its commitment to develop in a 
     timely manner, a single government-owned and government-
     operated permanent nuclear waste repository; now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the 
     members of the legislature of the state of Wisconsin urge 
     President Clinton and the U.S. Congress to uphold the federal 
     government's commitment to accept and take title to civilian 
     spent nuclear fuel on January 31, 1998, through enactment of 
     appropriate funding resolutions and legislation that 
     authorize and fund the development of a federal centralized, 
     temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel that will 
     accept spent nuclear fuel between January 31, 1998, and the 
     beginning of commercial operation of the permanent federal 
     nuclear waste repository; to use funds in the nuclear waste 
     fund to provide adequate funding for the expedient 
     development of the permanent federal nuclear waste 
     repository; and to not increase the fee for the nuclear waste 
     fund; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide a copy 
     of this joint resolution to the President of the United 
     States, to the president of the U.S. Senate, to the speaker 
     of the U.S. House of Representatives and to each member of 
     the U.S. Congressional delegation from this state.
                                  ____

       POM-448. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Wisconsin; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.

                    1997 Senate Joint Resolution 33

       Whereas, the Republic of Poland is a free, democratic and 
     independent nation with a long and proud history; and
       Whereas, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is 
     dedicated to the preservation of the freedom and security of 
     its member nations; and
       Whereas, the Republic of Poland desires to share in both 
     the benefits and obligations of NATO in pursuing the 
     development, growth and promotion of democratic institutions 
     and ensuring free market economic development; and
       Whereas, Poland recognizes its responsibilities as a 
     democratic nation and wishes to exercise those 
     responsibilities in concert with members of NATO; and
       Whereas, the Republic of Poland desires to become part of 
     NATO's effort to prevent the extremes of nationalism; and
       Whereas, the security of the United States is dependent 
     upon the stability of central Europe; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the 
     members of the legislature of the state of Wisconsin 
     respectfully urge the United States Senate to support the 
     Republic of Poland's petition for admission to the North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the members of the legislature of the state 
     of Wisconsin respectfully urge the United States Senate to 
     support the establishment of a timetable for the admission of 
     the Republic of Poland to the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide copies 
     of this joint resolution to be forwarded to the president of 
     the United States, the president of the U.S. Senate, this 
     state's senators and the ambassador of the Republic of 
     Poland.

                          ____________________