[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 23, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7147-S7148]
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-420. A concurrent resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to 
     extend the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 bonus 
     depreciation benefit to all parishes in the Gulf Opportunity 
     Zone; to the Committee on Finance.

[[Page S7148]]

                  House Concurrent Resolution No. 177

       Whereas, on December 16, 2005, the United States Congress 
     passed the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, commonly 
     referred to as the ``GO Zone Act'', which was signed by the 
     president of the United States on December 21, 2005, and 
     which establishes tax incentives and bond provisions to 
     rebuild the local and regional economies devastated by 
     Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and
       Whereas, the GO Zone Act permits businesses to claim an 
     additional first-year depreciation deduction equal to fifty 
     percent of the cost of qualified new property investments 
     made in the GO Zone; this depreciation allowance applies to 
     software, leasehold improvements, and certain equipment and 
     real estate expenditures; all depreciation deductions are 
     exempt from alternative minimum taxes, and this tax incentive 
     applies to property placed in service through December 31, 
     2007, or December 31, 2008, in the case of real property; and
       Whereas, in Louisiana, the Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane 
     Rita GO Zones are made up of thirty-seven parishes, namely: 
     Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Beauregard, Calcasieu, 
     Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, 
     Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, 
     Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, 
     Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. 
     John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. 
     Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, 
     Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana; and
       Whereas, on December 9, 2006, the United States Congress 
     passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which was 
     signed by the president of the United States on December 20, 
     2006, which extends for two years the deadlines for 
     benefitting from the bonus depreciation under the GO Zone Act 
     in order to give additional time for reconstruction and 
     rehabilitation efforts; and
       Whereas, the extension of the GO Zone bonus depreciation 
     benefit only applies in certain highly damaged areas in 
     Louisiana, namely the parishes of Calcasieu, Cameron, 
     Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, and 
     Washington; and
       Whereas, the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is 
     not limited to the ``highly damaged areas'' in Louisiana but 
     is prevalent in all of the parishes in the Hurricanes Katrina 
     and Rita GO Zones; and
       Whereas, there is a critical need for more time to rebuild 
     in all of the GO Zone areas, not just in the seven parishes 
     deemed to be the ``highly damaged areas''. Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes 
     the Congress of the United States to extend the deadline for 
     benefitting from the bonus depreciation until December 31, 
     2010, for all parishes in Louisiana which are included in the 
     Katrina and Rita GO Zones. Be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the clerk of the United States House of Representatives and 
     the secretary of the United States Senate and to each member 
     of the Louisiana congressional delegation to the United 
     States Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-421. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging Congress to 
     reauthorize the DNA backlog program; to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary.

                        House Resolution No. 281

       Whereas, the Debbie Smith DNA backlog grant program was 
     part of the Justice for All Act of 2004, Public Law No. 108-
     405. This legislation assists in the reduction of DNA 
     backlogs and improvement of the utilization of DNA in the 
     criminal justice system in the state of Michigan and every 
     state throughout the nation; and
       Whereas, DNA technology is increasingly vital to ensuring 
     accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system. 
     Thousands of law enforcement investigations have been aided 
     nationwide because of DNA matches made through the FBI's 
     Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), bringing justice to 
     victims and removing criminals from the streets. Also, the 
     Innocence Project has used DNA in over 200 cases to exonerate 
     persons who were wrongfully convicted of crimes; and
       Whereas, the state of Michigan and other states throughout 
     the nation have significantly expanded their DNA programs to 
     include a growing number of convicted or arrested felons to 
     match against unsolved crimes; and
       Whereas, the demand for DNA testing in both violent and 
     nonviolent crimes has continued to increase as the 
     reliability of this evidence is proven. Many laboratories 
     still maintain DNA backlogs of six months or longer and are 
     unable to meet the growing demand for DNA testing despite 
     funding commitments from state and local governments; and
       Whereas, the Debbie Smith DNA backlog grant program has 
     permitted state and local governments an opportunity to begin 
     to maximize the full potential of forensic DNA through 
     backlog reduction, but much work remains to be done: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we 
     memorialize the United States Congress to reauthorize the DNA 
     backlog program; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.

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