[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5693-S5694]
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-73. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Nevada relative to the approval of national 
     monuments; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 2

       Whereas, The provisions of 16 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 431, 432, 
     and 433, commonly referred to as the Antiquities Act of 1906, 
     authorize the President of the United States to designate 
     national monuments without the approval of Congress or any 
     state or local government in which the national monument is 
     located; and
       Whereas, As part of designating a national monument 
     pursuant to those provisions, the President of the United 
     States may reserve parcels of public land to ensure the 
     appropriate care and management of the national monument, and 
     the reservation of that public land must be confined to the 
     smallest area compatible with that care and management; and
       Whereas, The designation of a national monument is often a 
     subject of controversy because the public lands that are 
     included within the designation are withdrawn from the public 
     domain, thereby restricting activities such as mining, 
     ranching and recreation which provide an economic benefit to 
     state and local governments in which the national monument is 
     located; and
       Whereas, Decisions concerning the use and management of 
     public lands within a state should be decided by the 
     residents of that state acting through their state and local 
     representatives; and
       Whereas, The unilateral designation of a national monument 
     by the President of the United States does not create 
     beneficial partnerships between states and the Federal 
     Government concerning the management of public lands within 
     those states, instead, such a designation serves to create 
     enmity and to limit the ability of a state to manage its 
     water resources and the ability of state and local 
     governments to develop plans for conservation or otherwise 
     participate in managing those public lands; 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 
     opposes the designation of a national monument by the 
     President of the United States without obtaining the approval 
     of each state and local government in which the national 
     monument is located; and be it further
       Resolved, That the President of the United States is hereby 
     urged to refrain from designating a national monument or from 
     withdrawing public lands from the public domain to create a 
     national monument without obtaining such approval; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and 
     transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the 
     United States, 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.
                                  ____

       POM-74. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Nevada relative to the delegation of a National 
     Historic Trail; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 14

       Whereas, The Old Spanish Trail, which ran between Santa Fe, 
     New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California, was the first non-
     Native American trail to cross Nevada and remains the least 
     known trail; and
       Whereas, Traders, couriers and emigrants en route between 
     Santa Fe and Los Angeles followed Indian trails in blazing 
     the Spanish Trail through Clark County; and
       Whereas, The journey of Antonio Armijo, a trader from New 
     Mexico, through Nevada in 1829 and 1830 linked the historic 
     1776 routes of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition through 
     Utah and the Garces' exploration into Southern California and 
     used a portion of the 1826 and 1827 routes of Jedediah Smith 
     to California; and
       Whereas, Antonio Armijo was the first to link the interior 
     of the southwest with the California coast successfully, thus 
     opening a commercial trade route, approximately 1,121 miles 
     long, that functioned between 1829 and 1848 as the main 
     artery connecting the interior to the coast which later 
     became known as the Old Spanish Trail and is so named in 
     modern literature; and
       Whereas, Captain John C. Fremont of the United States Corps 
     of Topographic Engineers was commissioned in 1843 by the War 
     Department to find and map the Oregon Trail, an assignment 
     which he completed successfully; and
       Whereas, After documenting the Oregon Trail, Captain 
     Fremont, in an effort to expand his government's knowledge 
     about California, pushed south through Northern Nevada into 
     California; and
       Whereas, In 1844, Fremont sought the Spanish Trail to guide 
     his party eastward from California and followed the trail 
     through California and Nevada to his point of departure from 
     Utah Lake the previous year; and
       Whereas, The route of the trail Fremont followed from 
     California, which he named the Spanish Trail in the report of 
     his expedition that he filed with the War Department, led him 
     across Southern Nevada from Stump Spring to the Virgin River 
     via Mountain Springs Pass, Blue Diamond, Las Vegas Springs 
     and the Muddy River; and
       Whereas, This route was previously pioneered by traders 
     from New Mexico who spoke Spanish, a fact used by Captain 
     Fremont in designating the ``Camino de California'' or 
     ``Camino de Nuevo Mexico'' as the Spanish Trail; and
       Whereas, Fremont's report and map were so important to the 
     plans of the United States for Western expansion that the 
     United States Senate and House of Representatives each 
     printed 10,000 copies of the report and map; and
       Whereas, Copies of the report and map were available to 
     thousands of emigrants heading westward to California who 
     came to know the route they followed as Fremont's Spanish 
     Trail; and
       Whereas, The pioneers who used Fremont's route became 
     familiar with the promising potential of Southern Nevada for 
     settlement which led specifically to the founding of Las 
     Vegas or ``The Meadows,'' whose name reflects its importance 
     as a major camp site along the Spanish Trail; and
       Whereas, The Old Spanish Trail is the foundation of 
     succeeding routes of transport and travel through Southern 
     Nevada including the Mormon Road, portions of the routes of 
     the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad and the 
     Union Pacific Railroad which succeeded it, and the Arrowhead 
     Trail Highway and its successors U.S. Highway No. 91 and 
     Interstate Highway No. 15; and
       Whereas, This historic route for travelers facilitated 
     expansion of the boundaries of the United States to include 
     New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California; 
     and
       Whereas, The Spanish Trail was preferred by Kit Carson when 
     carrying military dispatches in 1848 to Washington, D.C., 
     which first brought news of gold at Sutter's Fort and 
     resulted in the Gold Rush of 1849; and
       Whereas, Information about this ancient route of trade and 
     commerce is still limited, and much more can be learned about 
     the Old Spanish Trail; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of Nevada, 
     Jointly, That the members of

[[Page S5694]]

     the Nevada Legislature do hereby urge the Congress of the 
     United States to adopt legislation that dedicates the Old 
     Spanish Trail and the Antonio Armijo Route of the Old Spanish 
     Trail as a National Historic Trail; and be it further
       Resolved, That such a designation would help ensure the 
     protection and interpretation of the Old Spanish Trail in a 
     more consistent and coordinated manner, would encourage 
     tourists to visit the communities, landscape features and 
     other resources along the trail, would help visitors gain a 
     better understanding of how a journey along the trail might 
     have been more than 100 years ago, and would enhance and 
     promote knowledge concerning the early settlers and explorers 
     who emigrated and led expeditions to the Western United 
     States; 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.
                                  ____

       POM-75. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Nevada relative to increasing federal funding 
     for special education; to the Committee on Appropriations.

                    Assembly Joint Resolution No. 1

       Whereas, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 
     1975, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (IDEA), was enacted by the Congress of the 
     United States to ensure that all children with disabilities 
     have available to them a free and appropriate public 
     education; and
       Whereas, In 1975, Congress promised state and local 
     governments that it would fund 40 percent of the costs of 
     providing special education and related services to children 
     with disabilities; and
       Whereas, Congress has never appropriated funds equivalent 
     to the authorized level, has never exceeded the 15 percent 
     level and has usually appropriated funding at only about the 
     8 percent level; and
       Whereas, The State of Nevada is committed to providing a 
     free and appropriate public education to children with 
     disabilities to meet their unique needs; and
       Whereas, The costs associated with serving children with 
     disabilities continue to rise, and meeting those substantial 
     costs requires a strong partnership between local, state and 
     federal governmental agencies; and
       Whereas, The failure of Congress to fund special education 
     programs as it promised has forced the states to utilize 
     funding from other necessary local and state programs to 
     attempt to provide these special educational services; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of Nevada, 
     Jointly, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges the 
     President and Congress of the United States to increase 
     federal funding for special education to the 40 percent level 
     authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
     so that the State of Nevada and other states can fully meet 
     the needs of children with disabilities; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and 
     transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the 
     United States, 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 the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 
     the State of Nevada; and be it further
       Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon 
     passage.
                                  ____

       POM-76. A concurrent resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Missouri relative to establishing 
     a federal energy policy; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, the recent dramatic increase in utility rates for 
     utility companies providing heating fuels has had a 
     devastating financial effect on many middle and low income 
     Missourians who cannot afford to pay utility bills which have 
     more than doubled in recent months; and
       Whereas, many Missourians on fixed and limited incomes may 
     be forced to eliminate other essential purchases, such as 
     food and medicines, from their limited budgets in order to 
     pay the exorbitant utility bills; and
       Whereas, due to the extraordinary circumstances in which 
     Missourians find themselves, members of Congress should 
     consider taking extraordinary steps to protect the interests 
     of all of the people of the United States: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the members of the House of Representatives 
     of the Ninety-first General Assembly, First Regular Session, 
     the Senate concurring therein, hereby request that the United 
     States Congress consider establishing a strong remedial 
     federal energy policy that delegates emergency powers to 
     individual states; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of 
     Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed 
     copies of this resolution for the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives and each member of the Missouri Congressional 
     delegation.

                          ____________________