[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 71 (Monday, May 17, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5422-S5424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following peititions and memorials were laid before the Senate 
and were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-113. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Hawaii relative to child labor; 
     to the Committee on Finance.

                          House Resolution 118

       Whereas, many children in developing countries, or in 
     countries that are in transition to a market economy, are 
     employed in the export sector, especially plantations and the 
     textile, garment, footwear, and sporting goods industries; 
     and
       Whereas, many of these child workers are subject to 
     inhumane and hazardous working conditions, including slavery, 
     debt bondage, child prostitution and sexual abuse and are 
     usually badly paid, if at all; and
       Whereas, the International Labor Organization has developed 
     and tested a survey methodology which estimates that a total 
     of 250 million children worldwide are working: half of these 
     children between the ages of five and fourteen are working 
     full time and at least one-third are performing dangerous 
     work; and
       Whereas, according to International Labor Organization 
     statistics, 61 percent of all working children or nearly 153 
     million are found in Asia, 32 percent or 80 million are in 
     Africa, and 7 percent or 17.5 million live in Latin America; 
     and
       Whereas, even though Asia has the largest total number of 
     child workers, Africa has the highest proportion of its 
     minors working--40 percent of the children between the ages 
     of 5 and 14; and
       Whereas, although poverty is the most important reason for 
     child labor, followed by lack of schooling and illiteracy, 
     oftentimes social traditions explain the persistence of child 
     labor; and
       Whereas, furthermore, because of different cultural and 
     economic traditions among nations, there is not a generally 
     accepted minimum age for work, and even the concept of 
     ``work'' is defined or interpreted differently among 
     countries; and
       Whereas, for example, not all work done by children can be 
     defined as child labor: in many societies, children who work 
     along with their parents are viewed as learning to live in 
     society; and apprenticeships are seen as part of a young 
     person's education and preparation for a livelihood; and
       Whereas, work by children clearly becomes child labor, 
     however, if the work being performed is ``harmful to [a 
     child's] physical or mental health, safety, and 
     development''; and
       Whereas, several international organizations have made 
     eradication of child labor a priority; and
       Whereas, in 1989, the United Nations approved the 
     Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely 
     subscribed international convention in history, which 
     includes general restrictions on child labor; and
       Whereas, Article 32 of the Convention recognized ``the 
     right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation 
     and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous 
     or to interfere with the child's education or to be harmful 
     to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, 
     or social development''; and
       Whereas, the International Labor Organization, has adopted 
     a number of conventions restricting the work of minors, 
     including Convention No. 138 (1973), entitled ``Minimum Age 
     for Admission to Employment,'' which sets the following 
     minimum age requirements: age 15 or not less than the age of 
     completion of compulsory schooling, if higher than 15, for 
     admission to employment of work; and age 18 for hazardous 
     work; and
       Whereas, these age limits are written into the national 
     legislation of countries that formally agree on the Minimum 
     Age Convention; and
       Whereas, despite these efforts, the problem of child labor 
     persists; and

[[Page S5423]]

       Whereas, more needs to be done to fight child labor, 
     including a firm expression of political will at the highest 
     level: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Twentieth 
     Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, 
     That the President and the Congress of the United States are 
     urged to:
       (1) Enact laws to prohibit American companies from 
     manufacturing goods using child labor or from purchasing 
     goods from manufacturers in foreign countries that exploit 
     child labor; and
       (2) Promote the education of these child laborers who will 
     be consequently unemployed; and be it further
       Resolved, That certified copies of this 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, and the members of 
     Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States.
                                  ____

       POM-114. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Maine relative to Social Security account 
     numbers; to the Committee on Finance.

                            Joint Resolution

       Whereas, as technology becomes more advanced, the privacy 
     of the individual becomes increasingly difficult to protect; 
     and
       Whereas, Congress originally required social security 
     account numbers for the proper administration of the Social 
     Security Act; and
       Whereas, Congress has provided that it is the policy of the 
     United States for states and political subdivisions to use 
     social security account numbers to establish identification 
     for purposes of tax and welfare administration, motor vehicle 
     registration and driver's licenses; and
       Whereas, states, political subdivisions and private 
     entities have increasingly required social security account 
     numbers for purposes other than identification for tax and 
     welfare administration, motor vehicle registration and 
     drivers licenses; and
       Whereas, the requirement to provide a social security 
     account number for purposes other than receiving public 
     assistance, paying social security taxes and receiving social 
     security payments and refunds increase the potential for 
     invasion of privacy; and
       Whereas, the dissemination of an individual's social 
     security number for other than very limited purposes 
     increases the likelihood that the number will be misused or 
     disclosed to unauthorized 3rd parties and threatens the 
     privacy of the individual; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That We, your Memorialists, respectfully urge and 
     request that the Congress of the United States enact 
     legislation to limit the use of social security account 
     numbers for only the purposes of receiving public assistance 
     benefits, paying social security taxes and receiving social 
     security payments and refunds; and be it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this Memorial duly 
     authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to 
     the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United 
     States, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 
     House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States 
     and to each Member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-115. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Virginia relative to George 
     Washington's Birthday; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                    Senate Joint Resolution No. 543

       Whereas, from 1885 when President Chester Arthur signed a 
     measure making George Washington's Birthday a federal holiday 
     until 1968 when President Lyndon Johnson approved the Monday 
     Holiday Law, the nation celebrated February 22 as the 
     birthday of a great Virginian and the ``father of his 
     country''; and
       Whereas, since 1968 when the observance was moved from 
     February 22 to the third Monday in February, the holiday has 
     increasingly, but inaccurately, come to be called 
     ``Presidents Day''; and
       Whereas, in line with the common misperception that 
     Congress changed the holiday from George Washington's 
     Birthday to ``Presidents Day,'' a misguided effort is under 
     way to honor both Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano 
     Roosevelt on this spurious ``Presidents Day''; and
       Whereas, both Lincoln and Roosevelt were indisputably great 
     presidents, and it is not an insult to the memory of either 
     of them to suggest that the George Washington's Birthday 
     holiday should honor only George Washington; and
       Whereas, it was George Washington who termed liberty 
     mankind's ``noblest cause''; it was George Washington of whom 
     Jefferson wrote, ``his name will triumph over time and will 
     in future ages assume its just station among the most 
     celebrated worthies of the world''; and it was George 
     Washington whom Light Horse Harry Lee eulogized as ``first in 
     war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his 
     countrymen''; and
       Whereas, at any time but especially in this 200th 
     anniversary of George Washington's death at Mount Vernon, 
     rendering George Washington's Birthday but another vague, 
     generic Monday holiday is to dilute the memory of the 
     nation's first and greatest leader, with no concomitant 
     benefit to either President Lincoln or President Roosevelt; 
     and
       Whereas, it is entirely proper that the nation annually 
     honor its first president, and the most effective manner of 
     doing so is to retain George Washington's Birthday as a 
     national holiday: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the senate, the house of delegates concurring, 
     That the Congress of the United States be urged (i) to 
     reemphasize to the American people that the third Monday in 
     February is to be celebrated as a national holiday called 
     George Washington's Birthday and (ii) to resist efforts to 
     degrade George Washington's Birthday into an amorphous and 
     ultimately meaningless ``Presidents Day'' holiday; and, be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and the members of the Congressional 
     Delegation of Virginia so that they may be apprised of the 
     sense of the General Assembly of Virginia.
                                  ____

       POM-116. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Virginia relative to federal impact 
     aid relief for public schools; to the Committee on 
     Appropriations.

                    Senate Joint Resolution No. 488

       Whereas, federal impact aid, which was signed into law by 
     President Harry S. Truman in 1950, was designed to directly 
     reimburse public school districts for the loss of traditional 
     revenue sources, such as property, sales, and personal income 
     taxes, and vehicle license fees, because of exempt property 
     due to federal presence or federal activity; and
       Whereas, the Federal Impact Aid Program is currently funded 
     at about 45 percent of the full funding; and
       Whereas, Virginia, home to the Navy's Third Fleet and many 
     other military installations, and personnel, is among the 
     states most impacted by the presence of the military, 
     federally impacted school divisions, schools operated by the 
     United States Government, and several schools attended 
     primarily by First Americans; and
       Whereas, federally impacted school divisions in Virginia 
     enroll children from a variety of categories of eligible 
     students, including children who reside on Indian tribal 
     lands, military dependent children residing both on base and 
     off base, children residing in federally subsidized low-rent 
     housing units, and children whose parents are civilian 
     employees of the federal government; and
       Whereas, federal funds received pursuant to the Federal 
     Impact Aid Program are significantly less than the average 
     cost to educate a child in Virginia, leaving a deficit that 
     the state and localities must assume; and
       Whereas, the local and state taxpayers in Virginia are 
     subsidizing the educational services for federally connected 
     children which should be an obligation of the federal 
     government; and
       Whereas, public schools make up the basic foundation of a 
     healthy society and economy; and
       Whereas, approximately 1,600 school districts throughout 
     the United States educate about 1.4 million federally 
     connected children; and
       Whereas, Virginia and other federally impacted states 
     should receive full funding for the educational services 
     provided federally connected children: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the senate, the house of delegates concurring, 
     That the Congress of the United States be urged to enact laws 
     to provide federal impact aid relief for Virginia public 
     schools and public schools throughout the United States; and, 
     be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a 
     copy of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States 
     House of Representatives, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the President of the United States, and the Virginia 
     Congressional Delegation so that they may be apprised of the 
     sense of the General Assembly in this matter.
                                  ____

       POM-117. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Virginia relative to patient 
     protection with respect to self-funded, employer-based health 
     plans; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
     Pensions.

                    Senate Joint Resolution No. 487

       Whereas, the McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed by the U.S. 
     Congress in 1945, established a statutory framework whereby 
     responsibility for regulating the insurance industry was left 
     largely to the states; and
       Whereas, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
     (ERISA) of 1974 significantly altered this concept by 
     creating a federal framework for regulating employer-based 
     health, pension and welfare-benefit plans; and
       Whereas, the provisions of ERISA prevent states from 
     directly regulating most employer-based health plans that are 
     not deemed to be ``insurance'' for purposes of federal laws; 
     and
       Whereas, available data suggests that self-funding of 
     employer-based health plans is increasing at a significant 
     rate, among both large and small businesses; and
       Whereas, between 1989 and 1993, the General Accounting 
     Office estimates that the number of self-funded plan 
     enrollees increased by about six million; and
       Whereas, approximately 40-50 percent of the employer-based 
     health plans are presently self-funded by employers, who 
     retain

[[Page S5424]]

     most or all of the financial risk for their respective health 
     plans; and
       Whereas, as self-funding of health plans has grown, states 
     have lost regulatory oversight of this growing portion of the 
     health insurance market; and
       Whereas, the federal government has been slow to enact 
     meaningful patient protections such as mechanisms for the 
     recovery of benefits due plan participants, recovery of 
     compensatory damages from the fiduciary caused by its failure 
     to pay benefits due under the plan, enforcement of the plan-
     participant's rights under the terms of the plan, assurance 
     of timely payment, and clarification of the plan-
     participant's rights to future benefits under the terms of 
     the plan; and
       Whereas, in the absence of federal patient protections, 
     state-level action is needed: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the senate, the house of delegates concurring, 
     That the Congress of the United States be urged to either 
     enact meaningful patient protections at the federal level 
     with respect to employer self-funded plans or, in the absence 
     of such federal action, amend the Employment Retirement 
     Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 to grant authority to all 
     individual states to monitor and regulate self-funded, 
     employer-based health plans; and, be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States 
     of House Representatives, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the President of the United States, the Secretary of 
     the United States Department of Labor, the Congressional 
     Delegation of Virginia, and to the presiding officer of each 
     house of each state's legislative body so that they may be 
     apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in 
     this matter.
                                  ____

       POM-118. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan relative to ``Know Your 
     Customer'' banking regulations and policies; to the Committee 
     on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

                        House Resolution No. 30

       Whereas, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 
     the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the 
     Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of 
     Thrift Supervision have been considering a proposed rule 
     known as the ``Know Your Customer'' regulation. Although 
     currently withdrawn from formal consideration through the 
     federal regulatory process, this proposed measure would 
     require banks and savings institutions to develop and enforce 
     programs to monitor banking transactions to identify those 
     that may be connected to certain illegal activities; and
       Whereas, The ``Know Your Customer'' concept is a response 
     to concerns over activities such as money laundering, drug 
     trafficking, tax evasions, and fraud. The regulation places 
     an enormous burden of responsibility on banks, while ignoring 
     the fact that provisions already exist to help deal with 
     suspicious banking activities; and
       Whereas, In addition to the proposed rule, which prompted 
     overwhelming objections during the public comment period, 
     federal banking officials already require banks to have 
     ``Know Your Customer'' guidelines and procedures in place to 
     identify suspicious activities. The Federal Reserve Bank's 
     Secrecy Act compliance manual specifies this policy and 
     directs bank examiners to look for compliance with this 
     practice; and
       Whereas, The ``Know Your Customer'' concept represents a 
     serious threat to the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Giving 
     the banks the duty of monitoring all banking transactions--
     without probable cause and appropriate search warrants--is a 
     clear threat and likely violation of the Fourth Amendment, 
     which states, in part, the right of the people to be secure 
     in their papers and effects against unreasonable searches and 
     seizures. The ``Know Your Customer'' concept ignores 
     constitutional protections of personal privacy; and
       Whereas, There is legislation currently pending in Congress 
     to prohibit ``Know Your Customer'' transaction screening 
     policies. This type of legislation, to protect personal 
     privacy under the Fourth Amendment, is most appropriate. Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That without 
     hindering the pursuit of money laundering, drug trafficking, 
     tax evasion, and fraud, we oppose ``Know Your Customer'' 
     banking regulations and policies and memorialize the Congress 
     of the United States to enact legislation to prohibit banking 
     transaction screening practices that threaten personal 
     privacy; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of 
     Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the 
     Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift 
     Supervision, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and 
     the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
       Adopted by the House of Representatives, April 29, 1999.

                          ____________________