[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8263-S8266]
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-238. A resolution adopted by the Military Order of the 
     World Wars relative to increasing defense budgets and 
     restoring the strength and credibility of our Armed Forces; 
     to the Committee on Appropriations.
       POM-239. A resolution by the Military Order of the World 
     Wars relative to halting nuclear proliferation; to the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations.
       POM-240. A resolution adopted by the Military Order of the 
     World Wars relative to Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile 
     defense; to the Committee on Armed Services.
       POM-241. A resolution adopted by the Military Order of the 
     World Wars relative to funding and resources to combat 
     nuclear, chemical, biological, computer cyberspace and other 
     threats in the 21st Century; to the Committee on 
     Appropriations.
       POM-242. A resolution adopted by the Military Order of the 
     World Wars relative to Panama and the Panama Canal; to the 
     Committee on Armed Services.
       POM-243. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Nevada relative to regulation of insurance 
     providers; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
     Affairs.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 22

       Whereas, Congress is currently considering the enactment of 
     H.R. 10 and S. 900 in an effort to reform certain outdated 
     federal laws governing providers of financial services; and
       Whereas, The reformation of those federal laws, many of 
     which were enacted in response to the Great Depression, is 
     necessary and appropriate to ensure that providers of 
     financial services in this country can maintain their 
     prominence in the modern domestic and global markets; and
       Whereas, The provisions of H.R. 10 and S. 900, both of 
     which provide for the facilitation of affiliation among 
     banks, securities firms and insurance companies, could 
     preempt the jurisdiction of this state:
       1. To ensure the solvency and to regulate the trade 
     practices of various providers of insurance in this state; 
     and
       2. To provide adequate protection to the residents of this 
     state who purchase insurance from those providers, without 
     establishing an effective mechanism for the federal exercise 
     of that authority; and
       Whereas, The purposes of H.R. 10 and S. 900 can be 
     accomplished without preempting the authority of this state 
     to regulate providers of insurance for the protection of its 
     residents; and
       Whereas, This state currently has an effective system of 
     laws to monitor and ensure the financial stability of 
     providers of insurance and to protect the residents of this 
     state from unfair trade practices: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of Nevada, 
     Jointly, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges Congress to 
     ensure that the provisions of H.R. 10 S. 900 and any similar 
     federal legislation do not interfere with the jurisdiction of 
     this state to regulate providers of insurance for the 
     protection of its residents; 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-244. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Illinois relative to reauthorization of the 
     Older Americans Act; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
     Labor, and Pensions.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 39

       Whereas, The Older Americans Act promotes the dignity and 
     value of every older person age 60 and over (numbering 
     2,000,000 in Illinois) through an Aging Network led by the 
     Illinois Department on Aging, 13 area agencies on aging, 233 
     community-based senior service agencies, and 63 nutrition 
     services agencies throughout Illinois; and
       Whereas, The Older Americans Act is a successful federal 
     program, with the U.S. Administration on Aging offering 
     leadership in

[[Page S8264]]

     Washington, D.C., the Illinois Department on Aging (the first 
     state department on aging in the nation) at the State level, 
     the area agencies on aging in 13 regions designated by the 
     State covering all of Illinois, and community-based senior 
     service agencies providing services in every community; and
       Whereas, The Older Americans Act programs target resources 
     and services to those in greatest economic and social need, 
     promote the dignity and contributions of our senior citizens, 
     support transportation services, provide home care, assist 
     families and individuals with case management, guide those 
     challenged by the legal system through legal assistance, 
     provide for senior community service employment, offer 
     information and assistance, establish multi-purpose senior 
     centers as focal points on aging, serve congregate luncheon 
     and home-delivered meals, provide health promotion and 
     disease prevention activities, involve older persons in 
     nutrition education, reach out to families with respite 
     services for caregivers and small repair and home 
     modifications, provide opportunities, education, and 
     services, connect people in shared housing, and advocate to 
     public and private policy makers on the issues of importance 
     to older persons; and
       Whereas, The success of this aging network over the past 31 
     years is marked by the delivery of significant service to 
     older persons in their own homes and community with the 
     following services examples of that success:
       (1) 374,538 recipients of access services, including 
     235,148 Information and Assistance Services clients and 
     68,493 recipients of Case Management Services;
       (2) 53,450 recipients of in-home services, including 
     6,460,533 home-delivered meals to 41,305 elders;
       (3) 185,520 recipients of community services, including 
     3,636,855 meals to 79,012 congregate meal participants at 647 
     nutrition sites and services delivered from 170 Senior 
     Centers;
       (4) 760 recipients of employment services, including 760 
     senior community service employment program participants; and
       (5) 98,600 recipients of nursing home ombudsman services; 
     and
       Whereas, The organizations serving older persons employ 
     professionals dedicated to offering the highest level of 
     service and caring workers who every day provide in-home 
     care, rides, educational and social activities, shopping 
     assistance, advice, and hope to those in greatest isolation 
     and need; and
       Whereas, The organizations serving older persons involve a 
     multi-generational corps of volunteers who contribute to the 
     governance, planning, and delivery of services to older 
     persons in their own communities through participation on 
     boards and advisory councils and in the provision of clerical 
     support, programming, and direct delivery of service to 
     seniors; and
       Whereas, The Older Americans Act programs in Illinois 
     leverage local funding for aging services and encourage 
     contributions from older persons; and
       Whereas, The Older Americans Act programs are the 
     foundation for the Illinois Community Care Program which 
     reaches out to those with the lowest incomes and greatest 
     frailty to provide alternatives to long-term care, and the 
     Illinois Elder Abuse and Neglect Interventions Program which 
     assists families in the most difficult of domestic situations 
     with investigation and practical interventions; and
       Whereas, The Congress of the United States has not 
     reauthorized the Older Americans Act since 1995 and only 
     extends the program each year through level appropriations; 
     and
       Whereas, Expansion of the Older Americans Act is proposed 
     in reauthorization legislation this year to offer family 
     caregiver support, increased numbers of home-delivered meals, 
     improved promotion of elder rights, consolidation of several 
     programs and sub-titles of the law: Therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate of the Ninety-first General 
     Assembly of the State of Illinois, the House of 
     Representatives concurring herein, That we urge the Congress 
     of the United States of America to reauthorize the Older 
     Americans Act this year; and be it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
     delivered to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, 
     the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and each 
     member of the Illinois congressional delegation.
       Adopted by the Senate, May 26, 1999.
                                  ____

       POM-245. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Maryland relative to state regulation of 
     self-funded employer-based health plans; to the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                       Senate Joint Resolution 7

       Whereas, The McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed by the U.S. 
     Congress in 1945, established a statutory framework whereby 
     responsibility for regulating insurance and the insurance 
     industry was left largely to the states; and
       Whereas, The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
     1974 (ERISA) significantly altered this concept by creating a 
     federal framework for regulating employer-based pension and 
     welfare benefit plans, including health plans; and
       Whereas, ERISA effectively prohibits states from directly 
     regulating many employer-based health plans because ERISA 
     preempts state regulation of self-insured plans; and
       Whereas, Available data suggests that self-funding of 
     employer-based health plans is increasing at a significant 
     rate among both small and large businesses; and
       Whereas, Between 1989 and 1993, the United States General 
     Accounting Office estimates that the number of self-funded 
     plan enrollees increased by about 6,000,000 individuals; and
       Whereas, Approximately 40% to 50% of employer-based health 
     plans are presently self-funded by employers that retain most 
     or all of the financial risk for their respective health 
     plans; and
       Whereas, With the growth in the self-funding of health 
     plans, states have lost regulatory oversight over a growing 
     portion of the health market; and
       Whereas, Recent federal court decisions have struck down 
     state laws regulating insured health plans by expanding 
     ERISA's current preemption of state laws regulating self-
     insured plans to laws relating to ensured plans; and
       Whereas, As these phenomena continue, state governments are 
     losing their ability to mange their health care markets; and
       Whereas, Many state legislatures, such as the Maryland 
     General Assembly, have taken significant actions to increase 
     access to care, to control costs, and to regulate against 
     abuses by health plans; and
       Whereas, ERISA preemption is a significant obstacle to the 
     states adopting a wide range of health care reform and 
     consumer protection strategies; and
       Whereas, The states' inability to protect consumers 
     enrolled in self-funded health plans that fail to provide the 
     consumers' anticipated level of health care is gradually 
     eroding the public's confidence in the American health care 
     system because self-funded plans are afforded an unfair 
     advantage over traditional health insurance plans due to a 
     lack of adequate state or federal accountability, regulation, 
     or remedy for the ERISA plan members who are denied coverage; 
     and
       Whereas, Over the past 24 years, state governments have 
     gradually realized that ERISA is an impediment to ensuring 
     adequate consumer protection for all individuals with 
     employer-based health care coverage and to enacting 
     administrative simplification and cost reduction reforms that 
     could improve the efficiency and equity of their health care 
     markets; and
       Whereas, ERISA plan participants, their dependents, and 
     their treating physicians believe that they have been denied 
     coverage for medically necessary procedures because ERISA's 
     remedy provisions have been narrowly interpreted and ERISA's 
     preemption provisions have been broadly interpreted, thereby 
     creating substantial economic incentives, with few 
     disincentives for plan administrators to deny medically 
     necessary benefits legitimately covered under ERISA plans; 
     and
       Whereas, The time has now come for the states to 
     aggressively seek changes in ERISA to give them more 
     flexibility in regulating health plans at the state level, to 
     increase access to health care, and to lower health care 
     costs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That this 
     General Assembly hereby requests the U.S. Congress to amend 
     the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) 
     to authorize each state to monitor and to regulate self-
     funded employer-based health plans in the interests of 
     providing greater consumer protection and effecting 
     significant health care reforms at the state level through 
     the offices of the various insurance commissioners and 
     states' attorneys general. Additionally, the United States 
     Department of Labor should cooperatively refer complaints to 
     the offices of the various insurance commissioners and 
     states' attorneys general; and be it further
       Resolved, That Sec. 502(a)(1)(B) of ERISA, which currently 
     reads: ``(B) to recover benefits due to him under the terms 
     of his plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the 
     plan, or to clarify his rights to future benefits under the 
     terms of the plan;'', be amended to read: ``(B) to recover 
     benefits due to him under the terms of his plan, to recover 
     from the fiduciary compensatory damages caused by the 
     fiduciary's failure to pay benefits due under the terms of 
     the plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the plan, 
     or to timely authorize assurance of payment and clarify his 
     rights to future benefits under the terms of the plans;''; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, This this General Assembly most fervently urges 
     and encourages each state legislative body in the nation to 
     enact this resolution, or one similar in context and form, as 
     a show of solidarity in petitioning the federal government 
     for greater state authority and responsibility in regulating 
     self-funded employer-based health plans; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the Honorable 
     Parris N. Glendening, Governor of Maryland; The Honorable 
     Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., President of the Senate of 
     Maryland; and the Honorable Casper R. Taylor, Jr., Speaker of 
     the House of Delegates; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the National 
     Conference of State Legislatures, 444 North Capitol Street, 
     NW., Suite 515, Washington, DC 20001; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the President of 
     the United States; the Secretary of the United States

[[Page S8265]]

     Department of Labor; the Speaker and the Clerk of the United 
     States House of Representatives; the President and the 
     Secretary of the United States Senate; and to the presiding 
     officer of each chamber of each state legislature in the 
     nation; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the Maryland 
     Congressional Delegation: Senators Paul S. Sarbanes and 
     Barbara A. Mikulski, Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 
     20510; and Representatives Wayne T. Gilchrest, Robert L. 
     Ehrlich, Jr., Benjamin L. Cardin, Albert R. Wynn, Steny 
     Hamilton Hoyer, Roscoe G. Bartlett, Elijah E. Cummings, and 
     Constance A. Morella, House Office Building, Washington, DC 
     20515.
                                  ____

       POM-246. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Maryland relative to state regulation of 
     self-funded employer-based health plans; to the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                        House Joint Resolution 8

       Whereas, The McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed by the U.S. 
     Congress in 1945, established a statutory framework whereby 
     responsibility for regulating insurance and the insurance 
     industry was left largely to the states; and
       Whereas, The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
     1974 (ERISA) significantly altered this concept by creating a 
     federal framework for regulating employer-based pension and 
     welfare benefit plans, including health plans; and
       Whereas, ERISA effectively prohibits states from directly 
     regulating many employer-based health plans because ERISA 
     preempts state regulation of self-insured plans; and
       Whereas, Available data suggests that self-funding or 
     employer-based health plans in increasing at a significant 
     rate among both small and large businesses; and
       Whereas, Between 1989 and 1993, the United States General 
     Accounting Office estimates that the number of self-funded 
     plan enrollees increase by about 6,000,000 individuals; and
       Whereas, Approximately 40% to 50% of employer-based health 
     plans are presently self-funded by employers that retain most 
     or all of the financial risk for their respective health 
     plans; and
       Whereas, With the growth in the self-funding of health 
     plans, states have lost regulatory oversight over a growing 
     portion of the health market; and
       Whereas, Recent federal court decisions have struck down 
     state laws regulating insured health plans by expanding 
     ERISA's current preemption of state laws regulating self-
     insured plans to laws relating to insured plans; and
       Whereas, As these phenomena, continue, state governments 
     are losing their ability to manage their health care markets; 
     and
       Whereas, Many state legislatures, such as the Maryland 
     General Assembly, have taken significant actions to increase 
     access to care, to control costs, and to regulate against 
     abuses by health plans; and
       Whereas, ERISA preemption is a significant obstacle to the 
     states adopting a wide range of health care reform and 
     consumer protection strategies; and
       Whereas, The states' inability to protect consumers 
     enrolled in self-funded health plans that fail to provide the 
     consumers' anticipated level of health care is gradually 
     eroding the public's confidence in the American health care 
     system because self-funded plans are afforded an unfair 
     advantage over traditional health insurance plans due to a 
     lack of adequate state or federal accountability, regulation, 
     or remedy for the ERISA plan members who are denied coverage; 
     and
       Whereas, Over the past 24 years, state governments have 
     gradually realized that ERISA is an impediment to ensuring 
     adequate consumer protection for all individuals with 
     employer-based health care coverage and to enacting 
     administrative simplification and cost reduction reforms that 
     could improve the efficiency and equity of their health care 
     markets; and
       Whereas, ERISA plan participants, their dependents, and 
     their treating physicians believe that they have been denied 
     coverage for medically necessary procedures because ERISA's 
     remedy provisions have been narrowly interpreted and ERISA's 
     preemption provisions have been broadly interpreted, thereby 
     creating substantial economic incentives, with few 
     disincentives for plan administrators to deny medically 
     necessary benefits legitimately covered under ERISA plans; 
     and
       Whereas, The time has now come for the states to 
     aggressively seek changes in ERISA to give them more 
     flexibility in regulating health plans at the state level, to 
     increase access to health care, and to lower health care 
     costs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That this 
     General Assembly hereby requests the U.S. Congress to amend 
     the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) 
     to authorize each state to monitor and to regulate self-
     funded employer-based health plans in the interests of 
     providing greater consumer protection and effecting 
     significant health care reforms at the state level through 
     the offices of the various insurance commissioners and 
     states' attorneys general. Additionally, the United States 
     Department of Labor should cooperatively refer complaints 
     to the offices of the various insurance commissioners and 
     states' attorneys general; and be it further
       Resolved, That Sec. 502(a)(1)(B) of ERISA, which currently 
     reads: ``(B) to recover benefits due to him under the terms 
     of his plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the 
     plan, or to clarify his rights to future benefits under the 
     terms of the plan;'', be amended to read: ``(B) to recover 
     benefits due to him under the terms of his plan, to recover 
     from the fiduciary compensatory damages caused by the 
     fiduciary's failure to pay benefits due under the terms of 
     the plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the plan, 
     or to timely authorize assurance of payment and clarify his 
     rights to future benefits under the terms of the plans;''; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That this General Assembly most fervently urges 
     and encourages each state legislative body in the nation to 
     enact this resolution, or one similar in context and form, as 
     a show of solidarity in petitioning the federal government 
     for greater state authority and responsibility in regulating 
     self-funded employer-based health plans; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the Honorable 
     Parris N. Glendening, Governor of Maryland; The Honorable 
     Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., President of the Senate of 
     Maryland; and the Honorable Casper R. Taylor, Jr., Speaker of 
     the House of Delegates; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the National 
     Conference of State Legislatures, 444 North Capitol Street, 
     N.W., Suite 515, Washington, D.C. 20001; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the President of 
     the United States; the Secretary of the United States 
     Department of Labor; the Speaker and the Clerk of the United 
     States House of Representatives; the President and the 
     Secretary of the United States Senate; and to the presiding 
     officer of each chamber of each state legislature in the 
     nation; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by 
     the Department of Legislative Services to the Maryland 
     Congressional Delegation: Senators Paul S. Sarbanes and 
     Barbara A. Mikulski, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 
     20510; and Representatives Wayne T. Gilchrest, Robert L. 
     Ehrlich, Jr., Benjamin L. Cardin, Albert R. Wynn, Steny 
     Hamilton Hoyer, Roscoe G. Bartlett, Elijah E. Cummings, and 
     Constance A. Morella, House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 
     20515.
                                  ____

       POM-217. A joint resolution adopted by the Assembly of the 
     State of Nevada relative to amending the Wild Free-Roaming 
     Horses and Burros Act; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                    Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2

       Whereas, On December 15, 1971, Congress enacted the 
     provisions of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, 16 
     U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1331 et seq.; and
       Whereas, The purpose of the Act is to preserve the wild 
     horses and burros living on the public lands managed by the 
     Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest 
     Service and to protect those wild horses and burros from 
     capture, branding, harassment and death; and
       Whereas, Since 1971, the population of wild horses living 
     on the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management 
     and the United States Forest Service has increased 
     dramatically, particularly in Nevada where the largest 
     population of those wild horses exists; and
       Whereas, the Act requires the Secretary of the Interior and 
     the Secretary of Agriculture to manage the wild horses living 
     on the public lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
     Management and the United States Forest Service in a manner 
     that will achieve and maintain a natural ecological balance 
     on those public lands; and
       Whereas, Pursuant to that Act, if the Secretary of the 
     Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture determines that an 
     overpopulation of wild horses exists in an area of the public 
     lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the United 
     States Forest Service, the secretary must remove the excess 
     wild horses from those areas to achieve an appropriate level 
     of management for the wild horses; and
       Whereas, Although the provisions of the Act address the 
     issue of overpopulation of wild horses, the Act does not 
     require that the population of wild horses be maintained at a 
     particular level, thereby allowing the population of wild 
     horses to expand far beyond the level envisioned by Congress 
     in 1971; and
       Whereas, Allowing an excessive number of wild horses to 
     live on the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land 
     Management and the United States Forest Service causes those 
     public lands to deteriorate from overuse and contravenes the 
     purposes of the Taylor Grazing Act, 43 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 315 
     et seq., and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
     1976, 43 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1701 et seq., which are intended to 
     protect those public lands from deterioration and overuse; 
     and
       Whereas, Requiring the Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of Agriculture to maintain the population of wild 
     horses living on the public lands managed by the Bureau of 
     Land Management and the United States Forest Service at the 
     level established for those wild horses in 1975 will:

[[Page S8266]]

       1. Improve the condition of the ranges used by the wild 
     horses;
       2. Increase the population and improve the habitat of deer, 
     antelope and other species of wildlife living on those public 
     lands;
       3. Allow an increased use of the public lands and the 
     development of native flora and vegetation;
       4. Improve conditions for hunting and other outdoor sports;
       5. Reduce the amount of money required to shelter, feed and 
     prepare wild horses for adoption; and
       6. Reduce the risk of deaths of wild horses because of 
     freezing, starvation and drought: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of Nevada, 
     Jointly, That the Nevada Legislature urges Congress to amend 
     the provisions of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act 
     to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
     Agriculture to establish the necessary regulations and 
     procedures whereby horses and burros in excess of the 
     appropriate management levels are gathered in a timely 
     fashion, and unadoptable horses and burros are made available 
     for sale at open market; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Nevada Legislature urges Congress to 
     include provisions in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros 
     Act directing that the proceeds of sales of unadoptable 
     horses and burros be granted to the state director of the 
     federal land management agency responsible for the horses and 
     burros which were gathered off public lands, prior to sale, 
     and that these proceeds be used to augment wild horse and 
     burro management programs in the state; and be it further
       Resolved, That the establishment of the appropriate 
     management levels should be based on sound scientific and 
     locally-collected resource information that incorporates and 
     fully acknowledges other existing multiple uses of the land, 
     such as the needs of other wildlife and livestock living on 
     the land; and be it further
       Resolved, That the establishment of the appropriate 
     management levels should be concluded by the end of the 
     federal fiscal year 2002, and maintained thereafter, 
     irrespective of the outlet capacity of the federal horse 
     adoption programs; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly 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, each member of the 
     Nevada Congressional Delegation and each legislature of the 
     other 49 states; and be it further
       Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon 
     passage and approval.

                          ____________________