[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8908-S8910]
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-177. A resolution adopted by the House of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relative to the 
     conflict between the United States Navy and the citizens of 
     Vieques, Puerto Rico; to the Committee on Armed Services.

                        House Resolution No. 11

       Whereas, Tensions continue to rise in Puerto Rico over the 
     Navy's presence in Vieques; and
       Whereas, Many residents object to the Navy using an 
     inhabited part of the island for target practice with live 
     munitions since 1941; and
       Whereas, Demonstrations against the military's presence in 
     Vieques spread throughout Puerto Rico in April 1999 when a 
     United States Marine Corps jet dropped two 500-pound bombs 
     off target, killing a civilian guard working on the bombing 
     range; and
       Whereas, A part between the former Puerto Rican Governor 
     and the White House to delay withdrawal of the Navy until 
     2003 is not in accord with the general consensus in Puerto 
     Rico; and
       Whereas, A special commission appointed by former Governor 
     Pedro Rosello concluded that the military training had caused 
     disastrous economic and environmental damage to the island; 
     and
       Whereas, The commission also concluded the human and 
     constitutional rights of more than 9,300 residents of Vieques 
     had been violated; and
       Whereas, Continued training exercises have made residents 
     anxious about their safety, stifled the island's fledgling 
     tourism and lowered the general quality of life; and
       Whereas, News reports last February reported an accidental 
     firing of 263 shells tipped with depleted uranium and raised 
     health concerns among people already reeling from unexplained 
     high rates of cancer; therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania call for a repudiation of the 
     agreement reached last year to allow the Navy to resume 
     firing training on the island of Vieques; and be it further
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives request that 
     the President issue an executive order for the immediate 
     cessation of bombing on the island range; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President, the presiding officers of each house of 
     Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-178. A resolution adopted by the House of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relative to a 
     national missile defense system; to the Committee on 
     Appropriations.

[[Page S8909]]

                        House Resolution No. 238

       Whereas, The ballistic missile threat to the United States 
     has been declared by the President, the Secretary of Defense, 
     the Congress of the United States, the bipartisan Commission 
     to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States 
     (known as the Rumsfeld Commission) and the United States 
     intelligence community to be a clear, present and growing 
     danger to the United States; and
       Whereas, The United States currently cannot stop even one 
     missile launched with malice or by accident by any number of 
     foreign states or terrorist organizations; and
       Whereas, It is immoral to intentionally leave the American 
     people, our troops and overseas allies and the nation's 
     children vulnerable to attack by nuclear, chemical or 
     biological weapons delivered by ballistic missiles; and
       Whereas, The citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
     and the United States remain exposed to missile attack; 
     therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize the Congress to 
     fully fund and deploy as soon as technologically possible an 
     effective, affordable global missile defense system, 
     including a sea-based system to intercept theater and long-
     range missiles, space-based sensors and ground-based 
     interceptors and radar, to protect all Americans, United 
     States troops stationed abroad and our nation's allies from 
     ballistic missile attack; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, to the presiding officers 
     of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from 
     Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-179. A resolution adopted by the House of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relative to 
     money earmarked for abandoned mine reclamation; to the 
     Committee on Appropriations.

                        House Resolution No. 230

       Whereas, The biggest water pollution problem facing the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania today is polluted water draining 
     from abandoned coal mines; and
       Whereas, Over half the streams that do not meet water 
     quality standards in this Commonwealth are affected by mine 
     drainage; and
       Whereas, This Commonwealth has more abandoned mine lands 
     than any other state in the nation, with more than 250,000 
     acres of abandoned mine lands, refuse banks and old mine 
     shafts in 45 of the 67 counties; and
       Whereas, The Department of Environmental Protection 
     estimates it will cost more than $15 billion to reclaim and 
     restore abandoned mine lands; and
       Whereas, The Commonwealth now receives about $20 million a 
     year from the Federal Government for reclamation projects; 
     and
       Whereas, There is now a $1.5 billion balance in the Federal 
     Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund that is set aside by 
     law to take care of pollution and safety problems caused by 
     old coal mines; and
       Whereas, Pennsylvania is the fourth largest coal-producing 
     state in the nation and coal operators contribute 
     significantly to the fund by paying a special fee for each 
     ton of coal they mine; and
       Whereas, The Department of Environmental Protection and 39 
     county conservation districts through the Western and Eastern 
     Pennsylvania Coalitions for Abandoned Mine Reclamation have 
     worked as partners to improve the effectiveness of mine 
     reclamation programs; and
       Whereas, The Commonwealth does not seek to rely on the 
     Federal appropriation to solve the abandoned mine lands 
     problem in this State and has enacted the Growing Greener 
     program which has provided additional money for mine 
     reclamation activities; and
       Whereas, The Commonwealth has been working with the 
     Interstate Mining Compact Commission, the National 
     Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs and other states 
     to free more of these funds to clean up abandoned mine lands; 
     and
       Whereas, Making more funds available to states for 
     abandoned mine reclamation should preserve the interest 
     revenues now being made available for the United Mine Workers 
     Combined Benefit Fund; and
       Whereas, The Federal Office of Surface Mining, the United 
     States Environmental Protection Agency and the Congress of 
     the United States have not agreed to make more funds 
     available to states for abandoned mine reclamation; therefore 
     be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and Congress 
     of the United States to make the $1.5 billion of Federal 
     moneys already earmarked for abandoned mine land reclamation 
     available to states to clean up and make safe abandoned mine 
     lands; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, to the presiding officers 
     of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from 
     Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-180. A resolution adopted by the House of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relative to the 
     individuals with Disabilities Education Act to the Committee 
     on Appropriations.

                        House Resolution No. 214

       Whereas, In 1975 the Congress of the United States enacted 
     the Education of the Handicapped Act, now known as the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 91-
     230, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), to ensure that all 
     children with disabilities in the United States have 
     available to them a free and appropriate public education 
     that emphasizes special education and related services 
     designed to meet their unique needs, to ensure that the 
     rights of children with disabilities and their parents or 
     guardians are protected, to assist states and localities in 
     providing for the education of all children with disabilities 
     and to assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to 
     educate children with disabilities; and
       Whereas, Since 1975, Federal law has authorized Congress to 
     provide 40% of the average per pupil expenditure; and
       Whereas, Congress continued the 40% funding authority in 
     the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 
     1997 (Public Law 105-17, 111 Stat. 37); and
       Whereas, Congress has never appropriated funds equivalent 
     to the authorized level, has never exceeded the 15% funding 
     level and has usually appropriated funding at approximately 
     the 10% level; and
       Whereas, The Lack of an adequate and appropriate Federal 
     fiscal commitment leaves State and local taxpayers bearing a 
     disproportionate share of the costs to comply with these 
     Federal mandates; therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and Congress 
     to fully fund its obligations under the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President, the presiding officers of each house of 
     Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-181. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relative to 
     Israel; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, The State of Israel and the City of Tel Aviv 
     suffered a vicious terrorist attack on Friday, June 1, 2001, 
     which terrorist attack took the lives of 20 innocent young 
     people; and
       Whereas, The State of Israel is under continuing violent 
     attacks against its people; and
       Whereas, It is necessary to put an unconditional end to the 
     use of terrorism and violence in order to enable the parties 
     to secure peace in the region; and
       Whereas, It is incumbent upon the Federal Government to 
     support the State of Israel and assist in the peace process; 
     therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania urge the President and Congress of the United 
     States to:
       (1) Offer condolences to the people of the State of Israel 
     and especially to the families of those victims who suffered 
     losses in the terrorist attack of June 1, 2001, in Tel Aviv.
       (2) Strongly condemn that attack and any use of terrorism 
     in order to achieve political gains or for any other reason.
       (3) Reaffirm the desire of the people of the United States 
     to assist the parties in their efforts to achieve a full and 
     lasting peace; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, to the Presiding Officers 
     of each House of Congress and to each Member of Congress from 
     Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-182. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Senate of 
     the Legislature of the State of Missouri relative to the 
     Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement Act of 2000; to 
     the Committee on Finance.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 10

       Whereas, The Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement 
     Act of 2000 was approved in a bipartisan effort by 391 
     members of the United States House of Representatives in the 
     106th Congress, including the entire Missouri delegation to 
     Congress; and
       Whereas, more than 83 United States Senators, including 
     both Missouri Senator Kit Bond and then Missouri Senator John 
     Ashcroft, signed letters of support for this legislation in 
     2000; and
       Whereas, the bill now before the 107th Congress modernizes 
     the Railroad Retirement System for its 690,000 beneficiaries 
     nationwide, including over 23,100 in Missouri; and
       Whereas, railroad management, labor and retiree 
     organizations have agreed to support this legislation; and
       Whereas, this legislation provides tax relief to freight 
     railroads, Amtrak and commuter lines; and
       Whereas, this legislation provides benefit improvements for 
     surviving spouses of rail workers, who currently suffer deep 
     cuts in income when the rail retiree dies; and
       Whereas, no outside contributions from taxpayers are needed 
     to implement the changes called for in this legislation; and
       Whereas, all changes will be paid for from within the 
     railroad industry, including a full share by active 
     employees: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Missouri Senate, Ninety-first General 
     Assembly, First Regular Session, the House of Representatives 
     concurring therein, That the United States Congress are urged 
     to support the Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement 
     Act in the 107th

[[Page S8910]]

     Congress; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of 
     the Missouri Senate be instructed to prepare properly 
     inscribed copies of this resolution for the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and 
     all Missouri members of the Missouri Congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-183. A concurrent resolution adopted by the House of 
     the Legislature of the Sate of Missouri relative to the 
     Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement Act of 2000; to 
     the Committee on Finance.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, the Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement 
     Act of 2000 was approved in a bipartisan effort by 391 
     members of the United States House of Representatives of the 
     106th Congress, including the entire Missouri delegation to 
     the United States House of Representatives; and
       Whereas, more than 83 United States Senators, including 
     both Missouri Senator Kit Bond and then Missouri Senator John 
     Ashcroft, signed letters of support for this legislation in 
     2000; and
       Whereas, the bill now before the 107th Congress modernizes 
     the Railroad Retirement System for its 690,000 beneficiaries 
     nationwide, including over 23,100 in Missouri; and
       Whereas, railroad management, labor and retiree 
     organizations have agreed to support this legislation; and
       Whereas, this legislation provides tax relief to freight 
     railroads, Amtrak and commuter lines; and
       Whereas, this legislation provides benefit improvements for 
     surviving spouses of rail workers, who currently suffer deep 
     cuts in income when the rail retiree dies; and
       Whereas, no outside contributions from taxpayers are needed 
     to implement the changes called for in this legislation; and
       Whereas, all changes will be paid for from within the 
     railroad industry, including a full share of active 
     employees: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the members of the Missouri House of 
     Representatives of the Ninety-first General Assembly, First 
     Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge 
     the United States Congress to support the Railroad Retirement 
     and Survivors Improvement Act introduced in the 107th 
     Congress; 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, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.

                          ____________________