[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 59 (Monday, May 15, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S4553]
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-319. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth 
     of Kentucky relative to urging support for the ``25 by 25'' 
     initiative promoting agricultural-based renewable energy; to 
     the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, having an affordable, reliable, and plentiful 
     energy supply is crucial to our economy, as well as our 
     national and international food supply; and
       Whereas, current and future risks to U.S. energy security 
     are mounting, while domestic and global energy demands are 
     escalating; and
       Whereas, the Commonwealth of Kentucky has tremendous 
     renewable energy resources; and
       Whereas, the development of renewable energy sources, 
     including wind power, biodiesel, biomass, methane digesters, 
     ethanol, and solar, benefits the environment and will have a 
     direct economic benefit to agricultural landowners and rural 
     communities; and
       Whereas, agricultural communities and their partners will 
     experience multiple benefits, including establishing 
     additional markets for agricultural commodities; increasing 
     farm income; creating added-value uses for crops, livestock, 
     and their byproducts; and creating new job opportunities; and
       Whereas, American agriculture is well positioned to play an 
     expanded role in the development and implementation of new 
     energy solutions; and
       Whereas, America's farms and ranches can become the 
     factories that produce a new generation of fuels to help meet 
     the nation's energy needs; and
       Whereas, ``25 by 25'' is an agriculturally led initiative 
     that envisions America's farms and ranches producing 25 
     percent of America's energy demand by the year 2025, while 
     continuing to produce abundant, safe, and affordable food and 
     fiber; and
       Whereas, agriculture's role as an energy producer will have 
     a positive effect on national security and trade imbalances, 
     and will serve as a catalyst for rural development in the 
     Commonwealth of Kentucky; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
       Section 1. We, the members of the Kentucky House of 
     Representatives, support and endorse the vision of ``25 by 
     25'' whereby agriculture will provide 25 percent of the total 
     energy consumed in the United States by the year 2025, while 
     continuing to produce abundant, safe, and affordable food and 
     fiber.
       Section 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives is 
     directed to send copies of this Resolution to President 
     George W. Bush, each member of the Kentucky delegation to the 
     Congress of the United States, the Clerk of the United States 
     Senate, the Clerk of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the Secretary of the United States 
     Department of Energy, and the Secretary of the United States 
     Department of Agriculture.
                                  ____

       POM-320. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Senate of 
     the Legislature of the State of Louisiana relative to taking 
     such actions as are necessary to continue funding and 
     operation of the United States Department of Agriculture's 
     Agriculture Research Service located in Baton Rouge, 
     Louisiana; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry.

                          S. Con. Res. No. 35

       Whereas, the unit of the United States Department of 
     Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) based at 
     Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is 
     carrying out scientific work of critical importance to the 
     state, its economy, and environment; and
       Whereas, this research includes work on improvements of 
     agricultural best management practices and drainage systems 
     that will help farmers to improve efficiency of water use and 
     contribute to improving water quality in streams, rivers, and 
     lakes; and
       Whereas, a portion of this research is focused on Cabin 
     Teele watershed in Madison Parish, which has been selected as 
     a focus watershed by the United States Department of 
     Agriculture's Conservation Effects Assessment Project and by 
     the Lower Mississippi River Sub-basin Committee on Hypoxia; 
     and
       Whereas, this work is also significant on a national level, 
     since this ARS unit has played a leadership role in the 
     formation of the Agricultural Drainage Management Task Force 
     that involves key states and industries in the Midwestern 
     United States; and
       Whereas, the work of the Agricultural Drainage Management 
     Task Force is making a critical contribution to reducing 
     nutrient loading to the Mississippi River and its tributaries 
     that fuels the growth of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, the 
     spread of which is endangering Louisiana's coastal fisheries; 
     and
       Whereas, this ARS unit continues to collaborate with the 
     university's students, faculty, and researchers, as well as 
     agricultural producers and other stakeholder groups on 
     projects of mutual benefit; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions 
     as are necessary to continue funding and operation of the 
     United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural 
     Research Service located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, that a copy of this Resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the secretary of the United States Senate and 
     the clerk of the United States House of Representatives; to 
     each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation; and to 
     the secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture.

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