[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 16 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S541-S542]
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-277. A resolution adopted by the Columbus City Council 
     in the State of Ohio relative to the foreclosure crisis; to 
     the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
                                  ____

       POM-278. A resolution adopted by the Board of County 
     Commissioners of Miami-Dade County of the State of Florida 
     urging the Florida Legislature to pass legislation allowing 
     for local licensing of tour guides; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
                                  ____

       POM-279. A joint resolution adopted by the Alaska State 
     Legislature urging Congress to take action to honor the 
     sovereignty of individual states to regulate and command the 
     National Guard of the states; to the Committee on Armed 
     Services.

                       Legislative Resolve No. 6

       Whereas the National Guard is the oldest component of the 
     armed forces of the United States and one of the nation's 
     longest-enduring institutions; and
       Whereas the National Guard traces its history back to the 
     earliest English colonies in North America, who were 
     responsible for their own defense and, as such, organized 
     their able-bodied male citizens into militias; and
       Whereas the authors of the United States Constitution 
     empowered the United States Congress to provide for 
     organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and, to 
     recognize the militia's state role, the founding fathers 
     reserved the appointment of officers and training of the 
     militia to the states; and
       Whereas the federal government's preemption of the 
     authority of the state or governor in natural and manmade 
     disasters is opposed by all of the nation's governors; and
       Whereas the role of the National Guard in the states and in 
     the nation as a whole is too important to have major policy 
     decisions made without full debate and input from governors 
     through the policy process; be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature exhorts the 
     United States Congress and the federal administration to 
     understand the significant effect on Alaska and all the 
     states by the expansion of presidential authority over the 
     National Guard during natural and manmade disasters; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges federal 
     action to honor the sovereignty of the individual states to 
     regulate and command National Guard troops during emergencies 
     and disasters, and to take whatever actions are necessary to 
     correct the encroachment of constitutional authority to 
     protect the citizens of each state.
                                  ____

       POM-280. A joint resolution adopted by the Alaska State 
     Legislature opposing any international designation of land in 
     the state without the consent of the affected local 
     governments; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                       Legislative Resolve No. 18

       Whereas the United Nations has designated over 60 sites in 
     the United States as ``world heritage sites'' or ``biosphere 
     reserves,'' which altogether are equal in size to the State 
     of Colorado, the eighth largest state; and
       Whereas art. IV, sec. 3, United States Constitution, 
     provides that the United States Congress shall make all 
     needed rules and regulations respecting the territory or 
     other property belonging to the United States and nothing in 
     the constitution shall be construed to prejudice any claims 
     of the United States or of any state; and
       Whereas many of the United Nations' designations include 
     private property inholdings and contemplate buffer zones of 
     adjacent land; and
       Whereas some international land designations, such as those 
     under the United States Biosphere Reserve Program and the Man 
     and Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, 
     Scientific, and Cultural Organization, operate under 
     independent national committees such as the United States Man 
     and Biosphere National Committee that have no legislative 
     directives or authorization from the United States Congress; 
     and
       Whereas local citizens and public officials concerned about 
     job creation and resource-based economies usually have no say 
     in the designation of land near their homes for inclusion in 
     an international land use program; and
       Whereas these international designations are an open 
     invitation to the international community to interfere in 
     domestic economies and land use decisions; and
       Whereas environmental groups and the United States 
     Department of the Interior, National Park Service, have been 
     working to establish an international park, a world heritage 
     site, and a marine biosphere reserve called Beringia covering 
     parts of western Alaska, eastern Russia, and the Bering Sea, 
     and in Glacier Bay National Park; and
       Whereas foreign companies and countries could use these 
     international designations in western Alaska to block or 
     inhibit economic development that they perceive as 
     competition; and
       Whereas animal rights activists could use these 
     international designations to generate pressure to harass or 
     block harvesting of marine mammals by Alaska Natives; and
       Whereas international designations may be used to harass or 
     block industrial development in the state, including projects 
     related to fishing, mining, timber harvesting, railroads, 
     power transmission lines, pipelines, and other oil and gas 
     development; and
       Whereas the subsistence and recreational use of fish and 
     game resources in the state could be severely and negatively 
     affected by international land use designations; and
       Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 
     Cultural Organization, with the collaboration of the United 
     States Department of the Interior, has recognized the Kluane/
     Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek World 
     Heritage Site in Alaska, and has listed the Aleutian Islands 
     Unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Arctic 
     National Wildlife Refuge,

[[Page S542]]

     Cape Krusenstern Archaeological District, Denali National 
     Park, Gates of the Arctic National Park, and Katmai National 
     Park on the Tentative List of areas nominated for full 
     status; and
       Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 
     Cultural Organization's Man and the Biosphere Programme has 
     identified the Glacier Bay--Admiralty Island, Noatak, Denali, 
     and Aleutian Islands Biosphere Reserves in Alaska; and
       Whereas, under current law, the United States Secretary of 
     the Interior can nominate world heritage sites, and the 
     United States Secretary of State can nominate biosphere 
     reserves, both without approval by the Congress; be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature recognizes and 
     reaffirms the constitutional authority of the United States 
     Congress as the elected representatives of the people over 
     the federally owned land of the United States; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature objects to the 
     nomination or designation of any site in Alaska as a world 
     heritage site, biosphere reserve, or any other type of 
     international designation without the prior consent of the 
     Alaska State Legislature and affected local governments; and 
     be it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the 
     United States Congress to pass and the President to sign 
     legislation that will require approval by an Act of Congress 
     before any area in the United States or its territories can 
     be studied as a potential, or nominated to be a, world 
     heritage site, biosphere reserve, or any other type of 
     international designation.
       Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     George W. Bush, President of the United States; the Honorable 
     Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States and 
     President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, 
     United States Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable 
     Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State; the 
     Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of 
     Representatives; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of 
     the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority 
     Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Steny Hoyer, 
     Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 
     Honorable John Boehner, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of 
     Representatives; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable 
     Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 
     U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in 
     Congress; and all members of the 110th United States Congress 
     by electronic transmission.
                                  ____

       POM-281. A joint resolution adopted by the Alaska State 
     Legislature urging Coeur Alaska, Inc., to pursue all legal 
     options to resolve the issues present in a court case it is 
     involved with; to the Committee on Environment and Public 
     Works.

                       Legislative Resolve No. 19

       Whereas the state is rich in natural resources and is 
     dependent on the development of those resources for its well-
     being; and
       Whereas the policy of the federal government expressed in 
     30 U.S.C. 21a is to foster and encourage private enterprise 
     in the development of economically sound and stable domestic 
     mining, minerals, metal, and mineral reclamation industries; 
     and
       Whereas the United States District Court for the District 
     of Alaska found that the decision of the United States Army 
     Corps of Engineers to allow the disposal of tailings from the 
     proposed Kensington Mine into Lower Slate Lake is consistent 
     with the requirements of the Clean Water Act; and
       Whereas the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
     Circuit stated in an order issued in Southeast Alaska 
     Conservation Council v. United States Army Corps of 
     Engineers, Case No. 06-35679, that the court intends to 
     reverse and vacate the Record of Decision authorizing the use 
     of Lower Slate Lake as a disposal facility, and remand the 
     case to the district court with instructions to enter summary 
     judgment in favor of Southeast Alaska Conservation Council; 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature encourages 
     Coeur Alaska, Inc., to pursue all legal options, including an 
     appeal to the United States Supreme Court, to resolve the 
     issues presented in Southeast Alaska Conservation Council v. 
     United States Army Corps of Engineers, Case No. 06-35679, on 
     behalf of itself and consistent with the state's efforts to 
     enforce its rights as a state over its resources.
                                  ____

       POM-282. A joint resolution adopted by the Alaska State 
     Legislature urging Congress to defeat H.R. 39; to the 
     Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                       Legislative Resolve No. 21

       Whereas H.R. 39, titled ``To preserve the Arctic coastal 
     plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as 
     wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary natural 
     ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future 
     generations of Americans,'' has been introduced in the United 
     States House of Representatives; and
       Whereas the oil industry, the state, and the United States 
     Department of the Interior consider the Arctic coastal plain 
     to have the highest potential for discovery of very large oil 
     and gas accumulations on the continent of North America, 
     estimated to be as much as 10,000,000,000 barrels of 
     recoverable oil; and
       Whereas oil and gas exploration and development of the 
     Arctic coastal plain of the refuge and adjacent land could 
     result in major discoveries that would reduce our nation's 
     future need for imported oil, help balance the nation's trade 
     deficit, and significantly increase the nation's security; 
     and
       Whereas, in 16 U.S.C. 3142 (sec. 1002 of the Alaska 
     National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA)), the 
     United States Congress reserved the right to permit further 
     oil and gas exploration, development, and production within 
     the coastal plain; and
       Whereas enhancements in technology can be used in a manner 
     that minimizes the area within the refuge that is used for 
     exploration and development, while providing the nation with 
     a needed supply of oil and gas; and
       Whereas the oil industry is using innovative technology and 
     environmental practices that are directly applicable to 
     operating on the Arctic coastal plain and that enhance 
     environmental protection beyond traditionally high standards; 
     and
       Whereas the state will strive to ensure the protection of 
     the land, water, and wildlife resources during the 
     exploration and development of the Arctic coastal plain; and
       Whereas 8,900,000 of the 19,000,000 acres of the refuge 
     have already been set aside as wilderness; be it
       Resolved, That the Twenty-Fifth Alaska State Legislature 
     urges the United States Congress to defeat H.R. 39.
                                  ____

       POM-283. A resolution adopted by the California State Lands 
     Commission expressing its support for the United Nations 
     Convention on the Law of the Sea; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, California's 1,100 mile coastline, with its 
     beautiful beaches, wild cliffs, abundant fish stocks and 
     fragile environment is a national treasure and a valuable 
     state resource, which is at the heart of a tourist industry 
     that generates nearly five billion dollars in state and local 
     taxes each year; and is central to the state's $46 billion 
     ocean economy; and
       Whereas, the California State Lands Commission has 
     jurisdiction over the state- owned tide and submerged lands 
     below the mean high tide line out to three miles from the 
     coast as well as the lands underlying California's bays and 
     rivers; and
       Whereas, the Commission is charged with managing these 
     lands pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine, a common law 
     that requires these lands to be used for commerce, fishing, 
     navigation, recreation and environmental protection; and
       Whereas, protecting and improving the environmental 
     integrity of the Pacific Ocean affects the public trust 
     values of the lands under the Commission's jurisdiction and 
     the utility of these lands to the public and the environment; 
     and
       Whereas, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
     Sea (UNCLOS) is an international treaty ratified by more than 
     150 countries; and
       Whereas, UNCLOS secures a member country's sovereign rights 
     over the waters and natural resources off its shores, while 
     also obligating the member country to protect the marine 
     environment within its territorial seas, along its 
     continental shelf, and on the high seas; and
       Whereas, specifically, UNCLOS's marine environmental 
     protections address marine pollution, dumping, fisheries, 
     living resources, mining, oil and gas exploration, and 
     scientific research; and
       Whereas, UNCLOS provides a general governance framework 
     that establishes a means to address future marine 
     environmental problems not specifically addressed in the 
     convention; and
       Whereas, the United States has not ratified UNCLOS despite 
     the fact that there is strong bipartisan support for 
     ratification; the treaty is supported by all major 
     environmental groups, shipping and oil interests, and current 
     and former political figures across the ideological spectrum; 
     and
       Whereas, if the United States ratifies UNCLOS, it could, 
     among other things, enforce its environmental laws in its 
     exclusive economic zone. Moreover, the United States will be 
     in a position to lead in the future application and 
     development of UNCLOS, and develop regional and international 
     cooperation to protect and preserve the marine environment; 
     and Therefore be it
       Resolved by the California State Lands Commission, That it 
     supports the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 
     which would promote the United States' interest in the 
     environmental health of the oceans, secure sovereign rights 
     over extensive marine areas, and protect national security 
     interests; and, be it further
       Resolved, that the Commission's Executive Officer transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President 
     of the United States, to the Governor of California, to the 
     Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, to 
     the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from 
     California in the Congress of the United States. 

                          ____________________