[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5698-S5699]
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-20. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington relative to the United States Fish and 
     Wildlife Service working cooperatively with the state's 
     regulatory agencies and energy producers; to the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources.

                       Senate Joint Memorial 8001

       Whereas, in 2006 the voters passed Initiative No. 937, 
     targets for energy conservation and the use of eligible 
     resources, including wind, by the state's large utilities; 
     and
       Whereas, in 2007 the Legislature adopted the goals of 
     reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, 
     reducing emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2035, 
     and reducing emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 
     2050; and
       Whereas, during this time of economic uncertainty, the 
     construction and operation of wind and other alternative 
     energy sites presents an opportunity to bring new jobs and 
     valuable economic opportunities to Washington communities; 
     and
       Whereas, the increased use of wind and other alternative 
     energy resources produced in Washington will help move the 
     state towards energy independence, and help to decrease the 
     billions of dollars Washingtonians currently pay each year 
     for imported fuel; and
       Whereas, the federal endangered species act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 
     1531 et seq.) can pose significant challenges, including 
     regulatory uncertainty, for those seeking to develop wind and 
     other alternative energy projects in locations that could 
     potentially impact any wildlife listed as threatened or 
     endangered; and
       Whereas, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
     housed within the United States Department of the Interior, 
     is the agency with primary responsibility for implementing 
     and enforcing the federal endangered species act;
       Now, Therefore, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that 
     the United States Fish and Wildlife Service work 
     cooperatively with the state's regulatory agencies and energy 
     producers to resolve these federal endangered species act 
     issues in a manner that allows the continued development of 
     Washington's wind and other alternative energy resources 
     while at the same time protecting threatened and endangered 
     wildlife.
       Be it resolved, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the 
     United States, the Secretary of the Department of the 
     Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of 
     Congress from the State of Washington.
                                  ____

       POM-21. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington relative to urging the enactment of 
     legislation to eliminate the 24 month Medicare waiting period 
     for participants in Social Security Disability Insurance; to 
     the Committee on Finance.

                       Senate Joint Memorial 8013

       Whereas, created in 1965, the federal Medicare program 
     provides health insurance coverage for more than 40 million 
     Americans; although most of those enrolled are senior 
     citizens, approximately 6 million enrollees under the age of 
     65 have qualified because of permanent and severe 
     disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, multiple 
     sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other illness 
     or disorder; and
       Whereas, despite the physical and financial hardships 
     wrought by these conditions and the fact that Social Security 
     Disability Insurance (SSDI) is designed for individuals with 
     a work history who paid into the social security system 
     before the onset of their disability, federal law mandates a 
     24 month waiting period from the time a disabled individual 
     first receives SSDI benefits to the time Medicare coverage 
     begins; a prerequisite to Medicare, the SSDI program itself 
     delays benefits for 5 months while the person's disability is 
     determined, effectively creating a 29 month waiting period 
     for Medicare; and
       Whereas, this restriction affects a significant number of 
     Americans in need; as of January 2002, there were 
     approximately 1.2 million disabled persons who qualified for 
     SSDI and were awaiting Medicare coverage, many of whom were 
     unemployed because of their disability; consequently, under 
     these conditions, by the time Medicare began, an estimated 77 
     percent of those individuals would be poor or nearly poor, 45 
     percent would have incomes below the federal poverty line, 
     and close to 40 percent would be enrolled in state Medicaid 
     programs; and
       Whereas, furthermore, it has been estimated that as many as 
     one-third of the individuals currently awaiting coverage may 
     be uninsured and likely to incur significant medical expenses 
     during the 2 year waiting period, often with devastating 
     consequences; studies indicate that the uninsured are likely 
     to delay or forgo needed care, leading to worsening health 
     and even premature death, and the American Medical 
     Association has determined that death rates among SSDI 
     recipients are the highest in the first 24 months of 
     enrollment; and
       Whereas, eliminating the 24 month waiting period not only 
     would prevent worsening illness and disability for SSDI 
     beneficiaries, thereby reducing more costly future medical 
     needs and potential longterm reliance on public health care 
     programs, but could also save the Medicaid program as much as 
     4.3 billion dollars at 2002 program levels, including nearly 
     1.8 billion dollars in savings to states and 2.5 billion 
     dollars in federal savings that would help offset a 
     substantial portion of the accompanying increase in Medicare 
     expenditures; and
       Whereas, recognizing the consequences of the waiting period 
     to those suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 
     or Lou Gehrig's disease, the 106th Congress passed H.R. 5661 
     in 2000 and eliminated the requirement for enrollees 
     diagnosed with the disease; in passing H.R. 5661, the 
     congress acknowledged the enormous difficulties faced by 
     those diagnosed with severe disabilities and established 
     precedent for the exception to be extended to all the 
     disabled on the Medicare waiting list;
       Now, therefore, your Memorialists respectfully urge the 
     United States Congress to enact legislation to eliminate the 
     24 month Medicare waiting period for participants in Social 
     Security Disability Insurance.
       Be it resolved, that copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of 
     Congress from the State of Washington.
                                  ____

       POM-22. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington relative to the United Nations Convention 
     on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against 
     Women; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                       Senate Joint Memorial 8012

       Whereas, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
     Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the United 
     Nations General Assembly on December 18, 1979, became an 
     international treaty on September 3, 1981, and by August 
     2006, one hundred eighty-five nations including all of the 
     industrialized world, except the United States, have agreed 
     to pursue the Convention's goals; and
       Whereas, the United States supports and has a position of 
     leadership in the United Nations, was an active participant 
     in the drafting of the Convention and signed the Convention 
     in 1980, but to date has not ratified it; and
       Whereas, the spirit of the Convention is to affirm faith in 
     fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of each 
     person, and in the goal of equal rights, opportunities, and 
     protections for women and girls; and
       Whereas, the Convention provides a comprehensive framework 
     for advancing the rights, opportunities, and protections for 
     women and girls, half the world's population, which framework 
     is implemented by individual countries in ways appropriate to 
     their own countries; and
       Whereas, much research has found that discrimination based 
     on sex results in less education for girls and women, fewer 
     job opportunities and lower pay for women, slower national 
     economic productivity and growth, and retards the ability of 
     developing countries to grow their economies and contribute 
     to global economic recovery; and
       Whereas, women in every country play fundamentally 
     important economic roles in their economies and frequently 
     constitute the major economic support for their families; and
       Whereas, although women in many parts of the world have 
     made major gains in struggles for equality in social, 
     business, political, legal, education, and other fields, much 
     more needs to be accomplished; and
       Whereas, through its active support and moral leadership, 
     the United States can help create a world where women and 
     girls have equal legal protections, human rights, education 
     and economic opportunities, personal safety, health care, and 
     more;
       Now, therefore, your Memorialists respectfully pray that 
     President Obama and Secretary Clinton place the United 
     Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
     Discrimination Against Women in the highest category of 
     priority in order to accelerate the treaty's passage through 
     the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the full United 
     States Senate with the goal of ratification by the United 
     States; and that the Washington State Legislature urge the 
     Senate Foreign Relations Committee to pass this treaty 
     favorably out of Committee and recommend it be approved by 
     the full United States Senate: Be it
       Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the 
     United States, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, Hilda 
     Solis, Secretary of Labor, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each

[[Page S5699]]

     member of Congress from the State of Washington.
                                  ____

       POM-23. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington relative to electronic medical and health 
     records; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
     Pensions.

                       Senate Joint Memorial 8003

       Whereas, expanded health information technology has the 
     potential to revolutionize the delivery of health care in the 
     United States by enabling continuity of care, improving cost 
     efficiency, lowering rates of medical malpractice, decreasing 
     duplicative care, providing better care management for 
     patients, and producing better health outcomes; and
       Whereas, major investments in the hardware and software 
     infrastructure required to facilitate the expansion of health 
     information technology are being made now by health care 
     providers; and
       Whereas, the health information systems currently being 
     constructed are often incapable of communicating with each 
     other; and
       Whereas, the costs to providers of maintaining incompatible 
     systems in the name of proprietary licensing will grow 
     exponentially with every delay in reaching a universal 
     standard of interoperability; and
       Whereas, the benefit from health information technology is 
     only derived from the ability of systems to communicate with 
     each other on a fully compatible platform; and
       Whereas, a national public-private partnership has recently 
     commenced with leadership from the United States department 
     of health and human services to define standards of 
     interoperability with the goal of implementing electronic 
     health records for all Americans by the year 2014;
       Now, therefore, your Memorialists respectfully pray that 
     Congress institute a date certain, no later than January 1, 
     2013, at which time all vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers 
     of health information technology must comply with a uniform 
     national standard of interoperability, such that all 
     electronic medical and health records can be readily shared 
     and accessed across all health care providers and 
     institutions while at the same time preserving the 
     proprietary nature of health information technology producers 
     that will encourage future innovation and competition: Be it
       Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the 
     United States, the Secretary of the United States Department 
     of Health and Human Services, the Governor of the State of 
     Washington, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of 
     Congress from the State of Washington.
                                  ____

       POM-24. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington relative to the issuance of a 
     commemorative stamp by the United States Postal Service; to 
     the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

                       House Joint Memorial 4005

       Whereas, the Nisei veterans of the Second World War 
     provided the avenue for Japanese-Americans to prove their 
     loyalty to the United States by serving as the ultimate 
     patriots in the Armed Forces; and
       Whereas, these veterans served in the 442nd Regimental 
     Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion, and the Military 
     Intelligence Service (MIS); and
       Whereas, the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental 
     Combat Team of the United States Army were comprised of 
     Japanese-Americans who fought in Europe during the Second 
     World War; and
       Whereas, the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental 
     Combat Team were members of the most highly decorated 
     military unit of its size in the history of the United States 
     Armed Forces, with twenty-one Medal of Honor recipients, 
     numerous Purple Hearts, and many other awards; and
       Whereas, tens of thousands of lives were saved because the 
     MIS used their knowledge of Japanese language and culture to 
     help the Allies end the Second World War quickly in the 
     Pacific; and
       Whereas, the Nisei veterans' proud American legacy 
     continues, however many Nisei veterans have passed away and 
     those still alive are now in their eighties and nineties; and
       Whereas, these Nisei veterans should be publicly 
     commemorated;
       Now, therefore, your Memorialists respectfully pray that 
     the United States Postal Service issue a postage stamp in 
     commemoration of the Nisei veterans' service in the United 
     States Armed Forces during the Second World War: Be it
       Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each Member of 
     Congress from the State of Washington.

                          ____________________