[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3267-S3274]
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-18. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Utah urging Congress to support and preserve the 
     Navajo Code Talkers' legacy and their substantial 
     contribution to the nation; to the Committee on Armed 
     Services.

                      House Joint Resolution No. 9

       Whereas, the few, living Navajo Code Talkers are 
     undertaking a multi-year project to build an educational, 
     historical, and humanitarian facility that will bring pride 
     to Native American and non-native American communities alike;
       Whereas, this project will educate both young and old and 
     conserve the instruments of freedom gifted to the American 
     people by an awe-inspiring group of young Navajo men who 
     served the country during World War II;
       Whereas, during World War II, these modest young Navajo men 
     fashioned from the Navajo language the only unbreakable code 
     ever recorded in military history;
       Whereas, these Navajo radio operators transmitted the code 
     throughout the dense jungles and exposed beachheads of the 
     Pacific Theater from 1942 to 1945, passing over 800 error-
     free messages in 48 hours at Iwo Jima alone;
       Whereas, the bravery and ingenuity of these young Navajo 
     men gave the United States and Allied Forces the upper hand 
     they so desperately needed in the Pacific, hastened the war's 
     end, and assured victory for the United States;
       Whereas, after being sworn to secrecy for 23 years after 
     World War II, these young Navajo men eventually came to be 
     known as Navajo Code Talkers and were honored by President 
     George W. Bush more than 50 years after the war with 
     congressional gold and silver medals in 2001;
       Whereas, the Navajo Code Talkers are now in their eighties 
     and, with fewer than 50 remaining from the original 400, the 
     urgency to capture and share their stories and memorabilia 
     from their service in World War II is critical;
       Whereas, these American treasures and revered elders of the 
     Navajo Nation have come together to tell their story, one 
     that has never been heard, from their own hearts and in their 
     own words;
       Whereas, the Navajo Code Talkers' heroic story of an 
     ancient language, valiant people, and a decisive victory that 
     changed the path of modern history is the greatest story 
     never told;
       Whereas, the Navajo Code Talkers ultimately envision a 
     lasting memorial, the Navajo Code Talkers' Museum and 
     Veterans Center, on donated private land;
       Whereas, the Navajo Code Talkers' mission is to create a 
     place where their service will inspire others to achieve 
     excellence and instill core values of pride, discipline, and 
     honor in all those who visit the Center; and
       Whereas, through the lead efforts of the Navajo Code 
     Talkers' Foundation and many partners and individuals, the 
     Navajo Code' Talkers' legacy, history, language, and code 
     will be preserved to benefit all future generations: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah urges 
     the United States Congress, the Department of the Interior, 
     the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services, the 
     Department of Agriculture, the State Department, and the 
     Department of Energy to support and preserve the Navajo Code 
     Talkers' remarkable legacy; be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be presented to 
     the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker 
     of the United States House of Representatives, the Secretary 
     of the Interior, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
     the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, the 
     Secretary of Energy, and to the members of Utah's 
     congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-19. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging Congress to implement policies 
     and programs to protect American children from employment 
     related identity theft; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
     and Urban Affairs.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 1

       Whereas, according to the Chief Actuary of the Social 
     Security Administration, millions of people pay payroll taxes 
     with fraudulent Social Security numbers;
       Whereas, pedophiles, criminals, deadbeat parents, and many 
     others obtain jobs by using fraudulent documents to hide 
     their true identities;
       Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission, 
     employment related identity theft accounts for 13% of total 
     identity theft cases in the United States;
       Whereas, investigations by the Utah Department of Workforce 
     Services, the Social Security Administration, and the Utah 
     Attorney General's Office have identified thousands of Utah 
     children under age 13 and on public assistance who have had 
     their Social Security numbers fraudulently used by others to 
     obtain jobs;
       Whereas, investigations by the Utah Department of Workforce 
     Services, the Social Security Administration, and the Utah 
     Attorney General's Office have identified 1,626 employers 
     paying wages to individuals with Social Security numbers of 
     children who are under 12;
       Whereas, these children suffer serious harm, including the 
     destruction of their good names and their credit histories;
       Whereas, these children are saddled with arrest records, 
     income tax liabilities on income earned under their stolen 
     Social Security numbers, and compromised medical records with 
     life threatening consequences;
       Whereas, current federal laws and regulations prohibit the 
     Department of Workforce Services from sharing information 
     with law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security 
     about individuals wrongfully using Social Security numbers 
     belonging to children and other American citizens and legal 
     residents;
       Whereas, the Social Security Administration does not inform 
     or assist Americans whose Social Security numbers are being 
     used unlawfully;
       Whereas, the Social Security Administration assigns numbers 
     being unlawfully used to newborn infants and other new 
     recipients of Social Security numbers; and
       Whereas, the Internal Revenue Service does not inform 
     Americans whose Social Security numbers are being used 
     unlawfully about this identity theft as long as taxes are 
     paid on the income earned under the fraudulently obtained 
     numbers: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, urges the United States Congress 
     to protect American children from employment related identity 
     theft by requiring federal agencies to report the fraudulent 
     use of these Social Security numbers to the victims, the 
     appropriate law enforcement agencies, and the Department of 
     Homeland Security; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor urge the 
     United States Congress to require federal agencies to assist 
     the victims of child identity theft in recovering their 
     identities, including issuing new Social Security numbers, 
     when appropriate; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor urge the 
     United States Congress to require federal agencies to 
     discontinue issuing Social Security numbers to children and 
     other individuals when those numbers are already being used 
     unlawfully; and be it further

[[Page S3268]]

       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, and to the 
     members of Utah's congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-20. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Utah urging Congress to lift the freeze on 
     longer combination vehicles, so that states may conduct test 
     programs to evaluate routes, configurations, and operating 
     conditions; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation.

                        Senate Joint Resolution

       Whereas, the American West encompasses a huge land mass of 
     approximately 2.4 million square miles, or over two-thirds of 
     the entire nation;
       Whereas, the vast distances across the West clearly 
     illustrate the need for efficient surface freight movement of 
     goods throughout this area;
       Whereas, one of the most significant ways to improve 
     freight system performance is through the use of more 
     efficient truck and truck combinations;
       Whereas, the efficiency of the United States' freight 
     transportation has fallen far behind other developed nations;
       Whereas, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union have 
     embraced up-to-date truck configurations;
       Whereas, operation of these more productive vehicles, more 
     commonly known as longer combination vehicles (LCVs), has 
     been frozen in the United States by federal law since 1991;
       Whereas, in a study requested by the Western Governor's 
     Association, the Federal Highway Administration found that 
     limited increase in the use of LCVs in 13 western states 
     would reduce heavy truck vehicle miles traveled in 2010 by 
     25%, reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 12%, save 
     shippers $2 billion a year, reduce pavement costs by as much 
     as 4% over 20 years, and reduce highway noise by 10%;
       Whereas, a recent study in Ontario found the widespread use 
     of LCVs there would eliminate 750,000 truck trips per year, 
     remove 2,800 trucks per day from the roads in and around 
     Toronto, and reduce greenhouse gases by 151 kilotons per 
     year;
       Whereas, a Canadian federal government study indicated that 
     LCVs have 60% fewer crashes than single trailer vehicles; and
       Whereas, the Western States provide an excellent test case 
     for size capacity increases since LCVs are already in use on 
     many western highways: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah 
     strongly urges the United States Congress to lift the freeze 
     on longer combination vehicles in the states of Colorado, 
     Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, 
     Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and 
     Wyoming, giving these states the flexibility to establish and 
     operate pilot test programs to evaluate longer combination 
     vehicle routes, configurations, and operating conditions; and 
     be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the United States Secretary 
     of Transportation, the United States Senate Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the United States 
     House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and to 
     the members of Utah's congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-21. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah recognizing Utah native Philo T. 
     Farnsworth as the inventor of television; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9

       Whereas, few inventors have impacted the world as much as 
     has Utah native Philo T. Farnsworth;
       Whereas, Philo T. Farnsworth has deep roots in Beaver, 
     Utah, where he was born August 19, 1906, in a log cabin;
       Whereas, when he was 12, Philo T. Farnsworth's family moved 
     to a farm in Rigby, Idaho, where he was fascinated by the 
     electricity that powered his new home;
       Whereas, Farnsworth was intrigued by mechanical and 
     electrical technology and managed to convert his mother's 
     hand-powered washing machine to an electric-powered 
     appliance;
       Whereas, as a youth living in Beaver, Utah, Farnsworth won 
     a national contest for a theft-proof car lock;
       Whereas, at the age of 14, Philo T. Farnsworth startled one 
     of his high school teachers by sharing with him a diagram of 
     an Electronic Image Dissector, a key component in his 
     eventual invention of television;
       Whereas, at age 16, Farnsworth's father died of pneumonia 
     and Farnsworth had to care for his mother and four siblings;
       Whereas, after spending a few years in the United States 
     Navy, Farnsworth was honorably discharged and once again 
     pursued his interest in electronics;
       Whereas, Farnsworth found investors who were not only 
     willing to help him pursue his work in electronics but also 
     provided a laboratory in Los Angeles where Farnsworth was 
     able to conduct important experiments;
       Whereas, before relocating to California, Farnsworth 
     married Elma ``Pem'' Gardner, the sister of a close friend of 
     his;
       Whereas, within a few months after arriving in California, 
     Farnsworth's success led him to apply for several patents for 
     his designs and models;
       Whereas, on September 7, 1927, at a laboratory in San 
     Francisco, Farnsworth's image dissector camera tube 
     transmitted its first image, a straight line;
       Whereas, in 1928, Farnsworth gave the first demonstration 
     of his television system to the press, and after several 
     improvements, gave his first demonstration to the public in 
     1934;
       Whereas, Farnsworth formed his own company, prevailed in 
     key patent lawsuits against competitors, and developed other 
     important inventions, including a process for sterilizing 
     milk using radio waves and a fog-penetrating beam for ships 
     and airplanes;
       Whereas, in 1938, Farnsworth established the Farnsworth 
     Television and Radio Corporation, which was in turn purchased 
     by International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) in 1951;
       Whereas, while in the employ of ITT, Farnsworth developed 
     many more inventions, including a defense early warning 
     signal, submarine detection devices, radar calibration 
     equipment, an infrared telescope, and a PPI Projector, which 
     allowed safe control of air traffic from the ground and was a 
     forerunner of today's air traffic control system;
       Whereas, later in life, the Farnsworths relocated to Utah, 
     where Philo passed away in 1971;
       Whereas, for many years after his death, Elma Farnsworth 
     worked hard to help her deceased husband retain his rightful 
     place in history;
       Whereas, crediting his wife's contribution to his life's 
     work, Farnsworth once stated, ``My wife and I started this 
     TV'';
       Whereas, in 1999, Time Magazine included Farnsworth in the 
     ``Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century'';
       Whereas, the log cabin where Philo T. Farnsworth was born 
     has been restored and can be visited by the public; and
       Whereas, a statue of Philo T. Farnsworth is one of two 
     statues representing the state of Utah in the National 
     Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, a 
     second statue of Farnsworth stands in the Utah State Capitol, 
     and a third statue stands in his hometown of Beaver: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, recognize the life and 
     contributions of Philo T. Farnsworth, Utah native, the 
     inventor of television and of many other inventions that have 
     benefitted millions of people around the world; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the members of Utah's 
     congressional delegation, the Farnsworth family, the Utah 
     Travel Council, AAA, the tourism directors of each county in 
     Utah, Beaver County, and Beaver City.
                                  ____

       POM-22. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging the federal government to protect 
     the communications spectrum that allows Utah's translator 
     system to provide free television access across the state; to 
     the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4

       Whereas, the President of the United States has directed 
     the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
     to consider removing channels 32 to 51 from the current FCC 
     channels 14 to 51 Television Broadcast Authorization;
       Whereas, this action would devastate off-air television 
     reception to urban areas and also cause disruption to off-air 
     viewers nationwide;
       Whereas, according to FCC records as listed in FCC MD 
     Docket No. 03-185 (FCC 10-172), page 26, dated September 17, 
     2010, 4,518 television translator stations, 567 Class A LPTV 
     stations, 2,227 LPTV stations, and 11 TV Booster stations are 
     now on file;
       Whereas, according to FCC records, over 4,500 television 
     translator stations presently provide free over-the-air 
     television to rural communities throughout the nation;
       Whereas, if this channel repacking were to become a 
     reality, many of these translator stations would no longer 
     remain in operation, requiring viewers to subscribe to either 
     cable or satellite programming;
       Whereas, Utah has 649 of these television translator 
     stations, and the state's rural viewers would be forced to 
     either pay for subscription television or have no television 
     reception;
       Whereas, after 40 years of analog broadcasting, the United 
     States Congress mandated the broadcasting industry to make a 
     conversion from analog to digital operation;
       Whereas, supplying the general public with free over-the-
     air digital television broadcast signals has been encouraged 
     by elected officials and the FCC;
       Whereas, since the mandate, all TV Translator and LPTV 
     licensees in the state of Utah have planned, acquired 
     necessary funding, provided engineering, labor, construction, 
     travel, new and upgraded buildings, air-conditioning, new 
     towers, crane services, and extensive FCC licensing to help 
     make the DTV transition possible;
       Whereas, through cooperation of the state's counties, the 
     University of Utah, the state of Utah, and the Federal 
     Communications Commission, the DTV transition has been made 
     possible;
       Whereas, the state of Utah has supported the DTV transition 
     through four CIB grants since 2005 in the amount of nearly 
     $9,000,000;
       Whereas, the University of Utah has supported the DTV 
     transition with a recent federal grant of approximately 
     $2,000,000;

[[Page S3269]]

       Whereas, Congress developed and funded the coupon program 
     at $1,500,000,000 for a digital to analog converter box 
     program;
       Whereas, the NTIA, a division of the federal government, 
     currently offers all TV translator and LPTV licensees a 
     reimbursement program for the digital to analog conversion;
       Whereas, small rural cable companies are beginning to use 
     digital TV translator signals for their systems free of 
     charge instead of paying for satellite feeds;
       Whereas, repacking would cause eight Salt Lake City primary 
     television stations to find new channels, causing 
     unaffordable consequences to both urban and rural communities 
     in the state of Utah;
       Whereas, it would be impossible to continue the ``Utah 
     Daisy Chain'' rural digital television translator services if 
     the proposed block of television channels were reclaimed by 
     the FCC, and this action would have a negative local economic 
     impact to the affected counties;
       Whereas, broadcasters are required by the FCC to 
     participate in the National Emergency Alert System and are 
     also required to make regular tests to assure their systems 
     are always ready to broadcast any local warnings, including 
     flood conditions, high wind warnings, and bad road 
     conditions, and these warnings are automatically 
     retransmitted through television translator stations to also 
     alert rural viewers;
       Whereas, closed captioning for the deaf is also a mandatory 
     requirement of primary broadcast stations and automatically 
     passes through television translators to rural viewers;
       Whereas, if these viewers do not have access to any local 
     free over-the-air broadcast signals, they proceed without 
     local warnings or closed captioning for the deaf;
       Whereas, counties in Utah are presently licensed with the 
     FCC for 649 digital television translators, or 35%, of the 
     nation's digital television translator licenses;
       Whereas, an additional 173 applications are waiting for 
     final approval at the FCC, and when they are awarded, 
     additional digital channels will be available to the 
     remaining few underserved rural Utah communities;
       Whereas, the FCC recently passed a rule to allow anyone to 
     operate unlicensed signals on unused channels within the 
     present television bands, while the FCC still requires 
     television translator stations to be licensed in these same 
     bands;
       Whereas, these unlicensed devices will cause interference 
     to existing digital television services nationwide, and many 
     television translator viewers will possibly be vulnerable 
     with unacceptable interference because they receive their 
     home signals far beyond the FCC protected contours; and
       Whereas, the federal government should ensure that rural 
     communities in Utah and throughout the nation are not forced 
     to either pay for subscription television service or go 
     without television: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, strongly urge the President of 
     the United States and the Federal Communications Commission 
     (FCC) to not remove channels 32 to 51 from the current 
     existing FCC channels 14 to 51 Television Broadcast 
     Authorization because of its negative impact on off-air 
     television reception in urban areas and to off-air viewers 
     nationwide, including rural viewers, who would be forced to 
     either pay for subscription television or go without 
     television service; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the Majority Leader of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, the Chairman of the Federal 
     Communications Commission and each commission member, and to 
     the members of Utah's congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-23. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Illinois urging Congress to 
     withhold funding to the Department of the Interior's Office 
     of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                        House Resolution No. 270

       Whereas, The Department of the Interior's Office of Surface 
     Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE) is considering 
     new sweeping regulations that would cut surface mining 
     production and jobs by 21-30%, cut underground coal mining 
     jobs up to 50%, and risk eliminating over 66,000 direct and 
     indirect jobs nationwide; and
       Whereas, Beginning in 2003, OSMRE conducted a 5-year 
     process, including public hearings, the submission of 
     thousands of public comments, and preparation of an 
     environmental impact statement, that culminated in final 
     regulations adding significant new environmental protections 
     regarding the placement of excess spoil and clarifying its 
     regulations relating to stream buffer zones pursuant to the 
     Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA); and
       Whereas, The Secretary of the Interior attempted to avoid a 
     public rulemaking process by asking a court to vacate the 
     2008 OSMRE stream buffer zone rule without public comment as 
     required under the Administrative Procedure Act, but was 
     rebuked by a federal court which ruled that the Secretary may 
     not repeal the stream buffer zone rule without going through 
     a rulemaking process that includes public notice and comment; 
     and
       Whereas, OSMRE, in its own words, admitted that before any 
     public comments were even received on its proposals, it had 
     ``already decided to change the (stream buffer zone) rule 
     following the change in administrations on January 20, 
     2009''; the Office is calling the new rule the ``stream 
     protection rule'', and it is much broader in scope than the 
     2008 stream buffer zone rule; and
       Whereas, OSMRE has failed to justify why a new stream 
     protection rule is necessary or to explain the problem that 
     the Office is attempting to fix, and such concerns have been 
     echoed by the Interstate Mining Compact Commission, an 
     organization representing state mining regulators with 
     substantial expertise in SMCRA regulation; and
       Whereas, OSMRE is inappropriately rushing to complete the 
     rulemaking because of a unilateral settlement agreement with 
     environmental groups, and is committing such flagrant 
     violations of the required National Environmental Policy Act 
     process that 8 of the state cooperating agencies have written 
     to the Office objecting to its quality, completeness and 
     accuracy, as well as calling the document ``nonsensical and 
     difficult to follow'', and ultimately threatening to pull out 
     of the process; and
       Whereas, The coal mining industry is critical to the 
     economic and social well being of the citizens of Illinois, 
     accounting for over 3,500 direct workers and another 24,500 
     indirect jobs that have an impact of over $1 billion on the 
     State's economy: Therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-
     Seventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, that we 
     express serious concern about the scope, justification, and 
     substance of the OSMRE's stream protection rule, as well as 
     about the procedure and process that have been used to adopt 
     that rule; and be it further
       Resolved, That we call upon OSMRE to immediately suspend 
     work on the environmental impact statement and the stream 
     protection rule until such time as the Office:
       (1) clearly and publicly articulates why the 2008 
     regulation has not been implemented and provides specific 
     details regarding each of its provisions and why the Office 
     believes that they are insufficient;
       (2) provides scientific data and other objective 
     information to justify each and every provision of the new 
     proposal;
       (3) explains why the Office is contradicting its own annual 
     state inspection reports which indicate good environmental 
     performance and refute the need for this new rule;
       (4) justifies why a more limited approach would not achieve 
     the objectives of the Office; and
       (5) surveys all of the state regulatory authorities to 
     determine whether they agree that such significant regulatory 
     changes are necessary; and be it further
       Resolved, That we also urge Congress to oppose this 
     unwarranted effort by the present Presidential Administration 
     by withholding any further funding for OSMRE for the stream 
     protection rule and environmental impact statement until such 
     time as the Office justifies the need for new rules; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be sent 
     to President Barack Obama, the President pro tempore of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, the Secretary of the Department of the 
     Interior, and each member of the Illinois congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-24. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging Congress to honor longstanding 
     commitments to multiple use public lands management; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 12

       Whereas, the wise multiple use of the public lands in Utah 
     and in the Western United States is necessary for economic 
     stability, is critical to the state's future, and is an 
     important part of Utah's culture and heritage;
       Whereas, prudent application of sustainable multiple use 
     principles allows the state's renewable and abundant natural 
     resources to be of value to all Americans, while protecting 
     the many unique and sensitive parts of the state;
       Whereas, the federal government controls two of every three 
     acres of the state of Utah, second only to Nevada among the 
     Contiguous 48 states;
       Whereas, the multiple use management of the lands held in 
     common in Utah has contributed to the well being of the state 
     and nation through energy development, mineral development, 
     production of food and fiber, and recreational opportunities;
       Whereas, the creation of new wealth is tied directly to the 
     land and the judicious development of the state's natural 
     resources;
       Whereas, ownership and private property rights are the 
     catalyst to increasing wealth and improving society's 
     standard of living, and is a belief central to capitalism and 
     a successful free enterprise system;
       Whereas, risk and investment capital seek market 
     opportunities that exhibit political and policy stability, 
     the hallmarks of Utah's business climate, but are adversely 
     affected by the political posturing and disregard for state 
     input related to management of 23,000,000 acres of land 
     administered by the United States Department of Interior's 
     Bureau of Land Management;
       Whereas, Revised Statute 2477, effective for more than 100 
     years and purposely protected in the Federal Land Policy 
     Management Act of 1976, provided for the development of 
     Utah's natural resources;

[[Page S3270]]

       Whereas, the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the 
     legal obligation and responsibility of the federal government 
     to safeguard livestock grazing rights as part of the cultural 
     and social fabric of the West, ultimately upheld as the 
     ``chiefly valuable for grazing doctrine'';
       Whereas, generations of economically viable livestock 
     grazing operations in Utah have been forged to families 
     combining private and public land resources that ultimately 
     contribute to local economies and are the catalyst for 
     preserving open space in many rapidly developing areas;
       Whereas, management of the unreserved federal lands 
     administered by the Interior Department are obligated under 
     the Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) to incorporate 
     into agency management plans ``consistency'' in 
     partnership with state and local planning;
       Whereas, a fundamental principle espoused by the nation's 
     Founders called for equality among the states and is referred 
     to as the ``Equal Footing Doctrine,'' a principle that calls 
     for each state to enter the Union equal in their sovereign 
     power;
       Whereas, the Interior Department's ``Treasured Landscapes'' 
     internal planning document reveals an agency bias, and 
     outside influences identified as much as 130,000,000 acres of 
     Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands for 
     special ``Wild Lands'' designation;
       Whereas, the ``Treasured Landscapes'' internal document 
     also recommends that the Secretary of the Interior circumvent 
     congressional mandates related to wilderness designations, 
     calling for wilderness protection through Presidential 
     Proclamations;
       Whereas, on December 23, 2010, the Secretary of the 
     Interior announced Secretarial Order 3310, calling for a re-
     inventory of Bureau of Land Management lands with 
     ``wilderness characteristics'' under a new Secretarial 
     definition of ``Wild Lands'' and diverting funds from 
     critical agency needs;
       Whereas, the BLM has inventoried lands with wilderness 
     characteristics, following the National Environmental Policy 
     Act requirements, as part of the agency's Resource Management 
     Planning process;
       Whereas, Secretarial Order 3310 seeks to establish new 
     wilderness study areas in Utah and throughout the West based 
     on the new Wild lands definition and BLM inventory guidance 
     providing the BLM broader authority to stop energy 
     development, livestock grazing; mineral extraction, and 
     recreational activities;
       Whereas, jobs generated through multiple use activities on 
     the public lands provide family sustaining, well paying jobs 
     to hundreds of thousands of Utahns and are the economic 
     backbone of Utah's rural communities;
       Whereas, in recent testimony before Congress's House 
     Natural Resources Committee, the Director of the BLM 
     indicated that he lacked the statutory authority to implement 
     the policies of Secretarial Order 3310; and
       Whereas, the Secretary of the Interior's decision to 
     withdraw from the 2003 Utah--Interior Settlement Agreement is 
     an insult to Utahns, and Secretarial Order 3310 is a 
     violation of the spirit and the letter of the Wilderness Act 
     of 1964, ultimately undermining the goodwill and 
     collaborative efforts currently underway in Utah to find 
     mutually agreeable land use solutions: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, urge the United States Secretary 
     of the Interior to honor the 2003 Settlement Agreement and 
     abandon the ``Wild Lands'' wilderness re-inventory; be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor urge the 
     United States Congress to honor the longstanding commitment 
     to multiple use management of public, lands in Utah and the 
     Western United States; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, the United States 
     Secretary of the Interior, the President of the United 
     States, and to the members of Utah's congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-25. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Utah urging Congress to relinquish to the state 
     of Utah all right, title, and jurisdiction in those lands 
     that were committed to the purposes of this state by terms of 
     its enabling act compact with them and that now reside within 
     the state as public lands managed by the Bureau of Land 
     Management that were reserved by Congress after the date of 
     Utah statehood; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                     House Joint Resolution No. 39

       Whereas, under the United States Constitution, the American 
     states reorganized to form a more perfect union, yielding up 
     certain portions of their sovereign powers to the elected 
     officers of the government of their union, yet retaining the 
     residuum of sovereignty for the purpose of independent 
     internal self-governance;
       Whereas, the aims of the Constitutional Convention provided 
     that state governments would clearly retain all the rights of 
     sovereignty and independence which they before had and which 
     were not exclusively delegated to the United States Congress;
       Whereas, among the rights of sovereignty held most 
     jealously by the states was the right of sovereignty over the 
     land within their respective borders;
       Whereas, in due time, the American states came to own vast 
     tracts of land as federal territories;
       Whereas, by compact between the original states, 
     territorial lands were divided into ``suitable extents of 
     territory'' and upon attaining a certain population, were to 
     be admitted into the union upon ``an equal footing'' as 
     members possessing ``the same rights of sovereignty, freedom 
     and independence'' as the original states;
       Whereas, the federal trust respecting public lands was 
     established eight years before the Constitution by the 
     Continental Congress and by the states which accepted the 
     terms of the trust;
       Whereas, the federal trust respecting public lands was 
     subsequently codified within the text of at least five 
     clauses of the Constitution and is the foundation upon which 
     the Constitution and the American union of states were 
     erected for the benefit of every state without prejudice;
       Whereas, the federal trust respecting public lands 
     obligates the United States, through their agent, Congress, 
     to extinguish both their governmental jurisdiction, and their 
     title on the public lands that are held in trust by the 
     United States for the states in which they are located;
       Whereas, for, as long as the United States retains title in 
     and jurisdiction over federal public lands in the state of 
     Utah, the state is denied the same complete and independent 
     sovereignty and jurisdiction that was expressly retained by 
     the original states, and its citizens are denied the 
     political right to establish or administer their own 
     republican self-governance as is their right, under the Equal 
     Footing Clause;
       Whereas, Utah, by terms of its enabling act compact, 
     disclaimed all right and title in the public lands within its 
     borders;
       Whereas, ``right and title'' are elements of 
     proprietorship, and ``right and title'' are neither 
     sovereignty nor jurisdiction;
       Whereas, Utah is entitled, under the Equal Footing 
     Doctrine, to the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and 
     independence as the original states;
       Whereas, Section 3 of Utah's Enabling Act, with respect to 
     disposition of public land, reads: ``And said Convention 
     shall provide by ordinance irrevocable with the consent, of 
     the United States and the people of said State . . . that 
     until the title (to the unappropriated public lands) have 
     been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and 
     remain subject to the disposition of the United States'';
       Whereas, by these words the United States may only shelter 
     public lands from the obligation of disposal by the consent 
     of the state of Utah;
       Whereas, with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, the United States shifted 
     from a policy of disposal of public lands and extinguishment 
     of the Federal title to one of retention of public lands and 
     their management in perpetuity through the United States 
     Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
       Whereas, the BLM now claims jurisdiction of over 22,600,000 
     acres of public land in Utah, which is nearly twice as much 
     land as the 11,512,000 acres of land in private ownership;
       Whereas, the BLM was directed to manage the public lands 
     for multiple use and sustained yield and to afford Utah and 
     other Western States a share of the revenues from the 
     production of the natural resources on public lands, 
     including revenues from timbering, oil and gas production, 
     and mining;
       Whereas, the state and federal partnership of public lands 
     management has been eroded by an oppressive and over-reaching 
     federal management agenda that has adversely impacted the 
     sovereignty and the economies of the state of Utah and local 
     governments;
       Whereas, Sections 6, 7, 8, and 12 of Utah's Enabling Act 
     provided for land grants to fund critical public functions 
     such as primary and secondary education, public buildings, 
     and water development;
       Whereas, federal courts, including the United States 
     Supreme Court, have recognized this land grant as the 
     establishment of a trust, even a ``solemn contract'' between 
     the United States and the state of Utah, with the United 
     States in the role as settlor of the trust and the state of 
     Utah in the role of trustee;
       Whereas, as settlor of the trust, the United States has an 
     obligation to pursue actions and policies that support the 
     trustee in its efforts to fulfill the purposes of the trust;
       Whereas, federal land-management actions, even when applied 
     exclusively to the federal lands, directly impact the ability 
     of the state of Utah to manage its trust lands in accordance 
     with the mandate of the Utah Enabling Act and to meet its 
     obligation to the beneficiaries of the trust;
       Whereas, the United States Department of the Interior has 
     arbitrarily and illegally affected private contracts by 
     cancelling duly awarded oil and gas leases at the time of 
     public auction, the validity of which were subsequently 
     upheld by a federal court of competent jurisdiction;
       Whereas, in October of 2008, the BLM completed six of its 
     fundamental documents for the allocation of resource use and 
     conservation on BLM lands, called Resource Management Plans, 
     after up to eight years of study, public participation, and 
     the expenditure of millions of dollars;
       Whereas, the BLM evaluated the allocation of all multiple-
     use activities in these plans, including the primary 
     multiple-uses of grazing, timber, minerals, recreation, and 
     conservation, and made definitive allocation decisions at the 
     conclusion of the process;

[[Page S3271]]

       Whereas, the BLM's failure to act affirmatively on these 
     definitive allocation decisions has created uncertainty in 
     the future of public land use in Utah and has caused capital 
     to flee the state;
       Whereas, during the process of finalizing the six Resource 
     Management Plans, the BLM refused to consider state and local 
     government acknowledgments of R.S. 2477 rights-of-way, or 
     other evidence of the existence of R.S. 2477 rights-of-way, 
     which led to the closure of many R.S. 2477 rights-of-way in 
     the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument;
       Whereas, the Congress of the United States recently passed 
     the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which 
     included the designation of lands as wilderness and national 
     conservation areas in Washington County, Utah, and released 
     all other lands to the general multiple-use mandate of the 
     BLM;
       Whereas, the United States Department of the Interior has 
     arbitrarily created a new category of lands, denominated 
     ``Wild Lands,'' and has superimposed these mandatory 
     protective management provisions upon BLM operations and 
     planning decisions in violation of the provisions of the 
     Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the provisions of 
     the Administrative Procedures Act, and Presidential 
     Executive Order 13563 concerning openness in policymaking;
       Whereas, the new Wild Lands provisions threaten to reopen 
     the issue of wilderness in Washington County, in violation of 
     the resolution of the issue through Congressional action;
       Whereas, the creation of a new Wild Lands category, and the 
     immediate effect of its mandatory restrictive provisions, has 
     arbitrarily undermined the effectiveness of the six recently 
     completed Resource Management Plans of the BLM in eastern and 
     southern Utah, is contrary to the multiple-use mandate 
     outlined by FLPMA and other federal law, and threatens to 
     derail efforts underway locally to seek certainty in land use 
     allocation decisions through Congressional actions, such as 
     that recently completed in Washington County;
       Whereas, other proposals to make use of the important 
     natural resources of the state, such as phosphate and 
     beneficial range improvement proposals, are how under threat 
     from these ill-conceived Wild. Lands provisions;
       Whereas, the United States Department of the Interior has 
     failed to enunciate a valid source of statutory or 
     constitutional authority for the imposition of the 
     restrictive Wild Lands provisions;
       Whereas, the cumulative effect of the Wild Lands 
     provisions, the illegal decision to withdraw validly granted 
     and gas leases, the duplicative Master Leasing Plan process, 
     and the United States Department of Interior's disdain for 
     the use of public review processes, has led to the demise of 
     a robust and viable oil and gas leasing program in Utah, 
     which negates an important revenue source to the state, and 
     eventually jobs for the citizens of Utah;
       Whereas, the BLM has demonstrated a chronic inability to 
     handle the proliferation of wild horses and burros on the 
     public lands, to the detriment of the rangeland resource;
       Whereas, the United States Department of Agriculture has 
     repeatedly tried to impose severe restrictive management 
     provisions on lands defined as inventoried roadless areas, in 
     violation of Congressional authorities, as reviewed by a 
     federal court of competent jurisdiction.
       Whereas, the United States Army Corps of Engineers is 
     proposing to extend its jurisdiction to regulate the waters 
     of the United States to areas traditionally dry, except 
     during severe weather events, in violation of the common 
     definition of jurisdictional waters;
       Whereas, in 1996, the President of the United States abused 
     the intent of the Antiquities Act by the creation of the 
     Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument without any 
     consultation with state and local authorities or citizens;
       Whereas, the BLM's Resource Management Plan for the Kanab 
     Field Office eliminated the filming of movies and filming for 
     commercial purposes within the Grand Staircase-Escalante 
     National Monument, thereby eliminating a source of economic 
     opportunity for Kane County through the loss of use of its 
     iconic ``Little Hollywood'' film site and other locations;
       Whereas, bureaucrats within the United States Department of 
     the Interior are assembling information to prepare for 
     further designations without consultation;
       Whereas, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is 
     making decisions concerning various species on BLM lands 
     under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act without 
     serious consideration of state wildlife management activities 
     and protections designed to prevent the need for a listing, 
     or recognizing the ability to delist a species, thereby 
     affecting the economic vitality of the state and local 
     regions;
       Whereas, the BLM has not authorized all necessary rangeland 
     improvement projects involving the removal of pinyon-juniper 
     and other climax vegetation, thereby reducing the biological 
     diversity of the range, reducing riparian viability and water 
     quality, and reducing the availability of forage for both 
     livestock and wildlife;
       Whereas, differences of opinion about the appropriate use 
     of the public lands has created a massive logjam in the 
     advancement of any proposal for use of the public lands, 
     whether for energy production, recreation, conservation, 
     timber production, or similar uses;
       Whereas, the states have been instrumental in convening 
     groups of stakeholders to consider protection for and 
     responsible use of federal lands;
       Whereas, efforts in Washington County, Utah, the Owyhee 
     region of Idaho, and the Front Range region in Montana have 
     involved many various stakeholders, including 
     ranchers, energy officials, environmental groups, and 
     state and local government officials in an effort to 
     achieve agreement on proposals for wilderness and other 
     congressionally established conservation units, lands 
     available for local privatization of lands, and areas 
     available for traditional multiple-use;
       Whereas, these efforts led to congressional approval of a 
     jointly prepared proposal in Washington County, Utah, and to 
     other proposals currently pending before Congress;
       Whereas, the state is willing to sponsor, evaluate, and 
     advance these locally driven efforts in a more efficient 
     manner than the federal government, to the benefit of all 
     users, including recreation, conservation, and the 
     responsible development of energy, grazing, timber, and other 
     economic industries;
       Whereas, citizens of the state of Utah have a love of the 
     land and have demonstrated responsible stewardship of lands 
     within state jurisdiction;
       Whereas, the state of Utah has a proven regulatory 
     structure to manage public lands for multiple use and 
     sustained yield;
       Whereas, federal land management policies are eroding the 
     fundamental pillars of sovereignty, freedom, and independence 
     upon which all states and the state of Utah founded under the 
     Equal Footing clause;
       Whereas, by means provided under the Constitution, damaged 
     states may assert their rightful claim to the public lands 
     within their borders and restore the constitutional design 
     for the benefit of present and future generations; and
       Whereas, Utah fully reserves and asserts all sovereign and 
     constitutional claims to its public lands: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah calls 
     on the United States, through their agent, Congress, to 
     relinquish to the state of Utah all right, title, and 
     jurisdiction in those lands that were committed to the 
     purposes of this state by terms of its enabling act compact 
     with them and that now reside within the state as public 
     lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management that were 
     reserved by Congress after the date of Utah statehood; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Secretary of the United States Department of Interior, to the 
     United States Director of the Federal Bureau of Land 
     Management, to the Majority Leader of the United States 
     Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and to the members of Utah's Congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-26. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Utah urging Congress to adopt legislation 
     relative to public lands; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                     House Joint Resolution No. 21

       Whereas, for purposes of this resolution:
       (1) ``Federally owned land'' means all land held in the 
     name of the United States or any agency of the United States, 
     including land held in trust, United States military 
     reservations, Indian reservations, and any other land used 
     for federal purposes.
       (2) (a) ``Unappropriated public lands'' means all land 
     under the management and control of the Bureau of Land 
     Management or United States Forest Service.
       (b) ``Unappropriated public lands'' do not include lands 
     which are:
       (i) held in trust;
       (ii) located within a United States military reservation;
       (iii) a unit of the National Park System;
       (iv) a Wildlife Refuge;
       (v) a Wilderness Area designated by Congress; or
       (vi) a National Historic Site.
       (3) ``Western States'' means Alaska, Arizona, California, 
     Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, 
     Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
       Whereas, Western States, as a group, are falling behind in 
     education funding as measured from 1979 to 2007 by growth of 
     real per pupil expenditures of 56% compared to 92% in the 
     remaining states;
       Whereas, 11 of the 17 states with the lowest real growth in 
     per pupil expenditures are Western States;
       Whereas, one effect of less funding for public education in 
     the West is higher pupil-per-teacher ratios;
       Whereas, nine of the 12 states with the largest pupil-per-
     teacher ratios are Western States;
       Whereas, on average, the 13 Western States have 3.7 more 
     students per classroom than the remaining 37 states;
       Whereas, between 2012 and 2018, the rate of enrollment 
     growth in Western States is projected to increase 9%, while 
     the rate of enrollment growth in other states is projected to 
     increase by only 3.3%;
       Whereas, state and local taxes of Western States, as a 
     percentage of personal income, are as high as or higher than 
     other states;
       Whereas, despite the fact that Western States tax at a 
     comparable rate and allocate nearly as much of their budgets 
     to public

[[Page S3272]]

     education as other states, Western States have lower real 
     growth in per pupil expenditures and have higher pupil-per-
     teacher ratios;
       Whereas, the federal government is the source of and has 
     the potential to solve the problem because of the enormous 
     amount of federally owned land in Western States;
       Whereas, all states east of an imaginary vertical line from 
     Montana to New Mexico have, on average, 4.1% of their land 
     federally owned, while the Western States on average have 
     51.9% of their land federally owned;
       Whereas, many of the Acts enabling the people of American 
     West territories to form their constitutions and state 
     governments and providing for the admission of those states 
     into the Union on equal footing with the original states, 
     included a common provision of which the following example is 
     typical: ``That five per centum of the proceeds of the sales 
     of public land lying within said state, which shall be sold 
     by the United States subsequent to the admission of said 
     State into the Union, after deducting all the expenses 
     incident to the same, shall be paid to the said state, to be 
     used as a permanent fund, the interest of which only shall be 
     expended for the support of the common schools within said 
     state.'';
       Whereas, the plan language of these enabling acts proclaims 
     that the public land shall be sold by the United States 
     subsequent to the admission of the states into the Union;
       Whereas, the United States honored this language by selling 
     public land within the Western States until the passage of 
     the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, wherein 
     Congress declared that the policy of the United States was to 
     retain public land in federal ownership and management;
       Whereas, the United States has broken its solemn compact 
     with the Western States and breached its fiduciary duty to 
     the school children who are designated beneficiaries of the 
     sale of public land under the terms of the respective 
     enabling Acts of many Western States;
       Whereas, the current shortfall in funding public education 
     in the Western States requires immediate Congressional action 
     to remedy this discriminatory federal land policy and prevent 
     the further disadvantaging of the school children of the 
     Western States; and
       Whereas, the most efficient and cost effective remedy now 
     available to the United States is to grant to the Western 
     States 5% of the remaining federally owned land located 
     within each state and authorize each state to select land 
     from the unappropriated public land of the United States 
     within the boundaries of each state to satisfy the grant: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, that the Legislature of the state of Utah urges 
     Congress to adopt legislation that would include the 
     following provisions:
       (1) instead of receiving, for the support of the common 
     schools, 5% of the proceeds of the sales of federally owned 
     land lying within the Western States which have not been sold 
     by the United States, grants of land will be made to each 
     Western State in the amount of land equal to 5% of the number 
     of acres of federally owned land within the state;
       (2) each Western State shall select from the unappropriated 
     public lands within the borders of the, state in a manner 
     determined by the legislature of the state, land equal in 
     acreage to 5% of the federally owned land in the state;
       (3) selection and transfer of land to Western States, shall 
     not be considered a major federal action for the purposes of 
     section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
     1969;
       (4)(a) all mineral, oil, and gas rights to the land 
     selected by the Western States shall become the property of 
     that Western State unless the federal lessee of the selected 
     land is making royalty payments to the United States from 
     production of minerals, oil, or gas, in which case that 
     leasehold interest shall remain in the Ownership of the 
     United States until the leasehold interest terminates; and
       (b) after the leasehold interest described in Subsection 
     (4)(a) terminates, the mineral oil, and gas rights shall 
     become the property of the respective Western State;
       (5) all land selected by each of the Western States shall 
     be held in trust by a state educational agency empowered to 
     sell or lease the land, the proceeds of which shall be used 
     as a permanent fund, the interest of which shall be expended 
     only for the support of public education; and
       (6) Utah fully and unconditionally reserves all sovereign 
     and constitutional claims to its public lands; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, the President of 
     the United States, and Utah's Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-27. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Utah urging Congress to impose a moratorium on 
     the promulgation of any new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 
     regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency for a 
     period of at least two years, except for the need to directly 
     address an imminent health or environmental emergency; to the 
     Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                     House Joint Resolution No. 19

       Whereas, concern is growing that with the failure of cap-
     and-trade legislation in Congress the United States 
     Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting to reduce 
     greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the adoption and 
     implementation of regulations without Congressional approval;
       Whereas, the EPA is proposing numerous new rules to 
     regulate GHG emissions as pollutants through the Clean Air 
     Act;
       Whereas, the EPA has not performed any comprehensive study 
     of the environmental benefits; its GHG regulation in terms of 
     impacts on global climate;
       Whereas, the EPA's regulatory activity of GHG has numerous 
     and overlapping requirements that are likely to have major 
     effects on the nation's economy, jobs, and U.S. 
     competitiveness in worldwide markets;
       Whereas, neither the EPA nor the current administration has 
     undertaken any comprehensive study on the cumulative effect 
     that regulating GHGs will have on the nation's economy, jobs, 
     and U.S. competitiveness;
       Whereas, state agencies are routinely required to identify 
     the costs of their regulations and to justify those costs in 
     light of the benefits;
       Whereas, since the EPA has identified ``taking action on 
     climate change and improving air quality'' its first 
     strategic goal for the time frame of 2011-15, it should be 
     required to identify the specific actions it intends to take 
     to achieve these goals and to assess the cumulative effect of 
     these actions on public health, climate change, and on the 
     U.S. economy;
       Whereas, the primary goal of government at the present time 
     must be to promote economic, recovery and to foster a stable 
     and predictable business environment that will lead to the 
     creation of new jobs; and
       Whereas, the public's health and welfare will suffer 
     without significant new job creation and economic improvement 
     since environmental improvement is most successful in a 
     society that generates wealth: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah calls 
     on Congress to adopt legislation prohibiting the United 
     States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating 
     greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without Congressional 
     approval, including, if necessary, not funding EPA greenhouse 
     gas regulatory activities; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature calls on Congress to impose 
     a moratorium on, the promulgation of any new GHG regulation 
     by the EPA for a period of at least-two years, except for the 
     need to directly address an imminent health or environmental 
     emergency; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature calls on Congress to require 
     the Administration to carry out a study identifying all 
     regulatory activity that the EPA intends to undertake in 
     furtherance of its goal of ``taking action on climate change 
     and improving air quality'' and, provide an objective cost-
     benefit analysis and cumulative effect that EPA's current and 
     planned regulation will have on global climate, public 
     health, the U.S. economy, jobs, and economic competitiveness 
     in worldwide markets; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature expresses its support for 
     continuing improvements to the quality of the nation's air 
     and declares that such improvements can be made without 
     damaging the economy as long as there is a full understanding 
     of the costs and benefits of the regulations at issue; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, the President of 
     the United States, the governor of each state outside of 
     Utah, the Senate President or President pro tem and the 
     Speaker of the House of each state legislature outside of 
     Utah, and to the members of Utah's Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-28. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging Congress to take action to 
     maintain the integrity of the Endangered Species Act by 
     exempting wolves from the Act in every state and allowing 
     each state to protect its rural economies, game herds, 
     livestock, and pets; to the Committee on Environment and 
     Public Works.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 15

       Whereas, with a population of 60,000 in North America, 
     wolves are no longer an endangered species;
       Whereas, the agreed-upon recovery goals of 30 packs and 300 
     wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains has been exceeded 
     since 2002;
       Whereas, wolf populations currently exceed by more than 
     600% recovery goals agreed upon by all parties, yet extremist 
     groups and courts block management as all parties had 
     previously agreed upon;
       Whereas, excessive wolf populations are causing tremendous 
     negative impacts to game populations, livestock, and pets at 
     the cost of tens of millions of dollars each year to state 
     economies, and the problem is growing exponentially;
       Whereas, excessive wolf populations are costing rural 
     economies many jobs;
       Whereas, wolves are beginning to threaten and challenge 
     people;
       Whereas, the experiences of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and 
     Minnesota prove that the administrative and legal process is 
     broken and does not serve the people, private property, 
     wildlife, or rural economies;
       Whereas, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has 
     repeatedly failed to listen to

[[Page S3273]]

     Utah's entire elected body of Governors, Senators, and 
     bipartisan Congressman to include the entire state of Utah in 
     the Northern Rockies population;
       Whereas, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service only 
     included a small portion of northern Utah in the potential 
     delisting zone, leaving nearly the entire state of Utah as an 
     endangered species classification with no hope or promise of 
     a solution to the wolf problem for decades into the future;
       Whereas, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
     proposes to spend $25,000,000 to monitor and watch wolf 
     populations grow while they eliminate jobs and destroy game 
     populations, livestock, and pets;
       Whereas, the court system has failed to allow the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service to delist wolves in spite of 
     scientific data, costing over $40,000,000 to gather, 
     justifying delisting, with national experts inside and 
     outside the government providing sworn testimony that wolves 
     should be removed from the endangered species list;
       Whereas, 32 state wildlife agencies have requested wolves 
     to be removed from the Endangered Species Act through 
     congressional action;
       Whereas, state game and fish agencies are much better 
     prepared and capable of managing wolves than the federal 
     government;
       Whereas, western states face many habitat conservation 
     challenges, and the focus of investment of limited wildlife 
     funds should be to protect habitats and abundant herds that 
     provide hundreds of millions of dollars each year to rural 
     economies and food for tens of thousands of families; and
       Whereas, the state of Utah, in consultation with the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service, and based on extensive 
     professional wildlife management input and a two-year public 
     process, has adopted a wolf management plan: now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, urge the United States Congress 
     to take action to maintain the integrity of the Endangered 
     Species Act by exempting wolves from the Act in every state 
     and allowing each state to protect its rural economies, game 
     herds, livestock, and pets; and be it further
       Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, the Director of 
     the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the executive 
     director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the 
     United States Secretary of the Interior, members of Utah's 
     congressional delegation, and governors and presidents of the 
     Senate in all 50 states.
                                  ____

       POM-29. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging Congress to defend the democratic 
     right of the Iranian people; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 16

       Whereas, the American people recognize and support the 
     Iranian people in their century-long struggle for democracy, 
     freedom, justice, and human rights;
       Whereas, the government of the Islamic Republic's 
     crackdowns on democracy, support for terrorism, and pursuit 
     of nuclear weapons pose a grave threat to the Iranian people 
     as well as the security of the United States, Israel, and 
     their allies in the Persian Gulf;
       Whereas, since its establishment in 1979, the government of 
     the Islamic Republic of Iran has engaged in numerous criminal 
     and terrorist acts, including the arbitrary and unlawful 
     judicial murder of thousands of Iranian political and 
     religious dissidents as well as minors and juveniles;
       Whereas, the Islamic Republic has also established a system 
     of religious apartheid in which Iranian women are treated as 
     second class citizens, and Iran's minorities are persecuted 
     for exercising their freedom of religion;
       Whereas, in 2009, the government of the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran staged a presidential election that was marred by fraud 
     and violence in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed 
     millions of Iranian voters demanding free and fair elections 
     as ``dust and dirt'';
       Whereas, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, sanctified 
     the rigged election by equating the fundamentals of religion 
     with fraud, force, terrorism, and tyranny;
       Whereas, since the fraudulent elections, grieving mothers 
     and families searching for missing relatives and demanding 
     the release of political prisoners have been denied justice;
       Whereas, there has been a dramatic surge in death sentences 
     carried out by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran 
     despite United Nations' calls for a moratorium on executions;
       Whereas, there has been a systematic crackdown on students, 
     scholars, workers, teachers, clerics, and journalists for 
     exercising their freedoms of speech and assembly;
       Whereas, the American and Iranian people have been and 
     remain steadfast friends and allies;
       Whereas, over the past century, the American people's 
     support for Iran's political and economic independence 
     enabled the Iranian government to end the Soviet occupation 
     of Northern Iran and led to the peaceful withdrawal of the 
     Red Army from Iran in the aftermath of the Second World War;
       Whereas, the United States played a pivotal role in Iran's 
     economic development from 1946 to 1979, and American aid and 
     assistance helped the Iranian people's efforts to eradicate 
     poverty, famine, disease, and illiteracy;
       Whereas, Iranian-Americans have emerged as a vital and 
     vibrant force in American political, economic, and civic 
     life;
       Whereas, successive American presidents and statesmen have 
     stood by the Iranian people in their struggle for justice, 
     democracy, peace, and prosperity;
       Whereas, the Iranian people's call for democracy and 
     freedom has helped to light the torch of hope, liberty, 
     dignity, and justice not only in Iran but throughout the 
     Middle East and the Islamic world; and
       Whereas, the liberation of humankind from under the yoke of 
     fascism, communism, and other false ideologies that elevate 
     the state above the individual depends on the moral 
     conviction of free people everywhere to reject oppression, 
     slavery, tyranny, and terrorism: Now therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, declare that the people of Utah 
     stand with the people of Iran in their struggle for freedom, 
     justice, peace, and prosperity for Iran, and reaffirm the 
     bonds of friendship between the people of Utah and the people 
     of Iran; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor call on the 
     government of the United States, as well as the international 
     community and the Islamic world, to support the Iranian 
     people by defending the democratic right of the Iranian 
     people to choose their own government through free and fair 
     elections, demanding that Iran's supreme leader recognize and 
     respect the sovereignty of the Iranian people and that he 
     cease abusing his religious and political standing by rigging 
     elections and equating fraud and force with the fundamentals 
     of religion and democracy, to protect Iran's civil society by 
     demanding that the Iranian judiciary end the arbitrary 
     arrest, detention, torture, and execution of Iranian citizens 
     for defending the right to elect their own government, 
     determine their own destiny, and exercise their freedom of 
     religion, to prevent Iran's leaders from using proceeds from 
     the sale of oil to arm and finance private militias, 
     terrorist groups, and other extremists responsible for 
     committing acts of terrorism against the Iranian people as 
     well as the United States and its allies in the Middle East, 
     to deny Iran's leaders the capacity to hold the Iranian 
     people and the rest of the world hostage by developing 
     nuclear weapons and engaging in nuclear blackmail, and to 
     help facilitate the Iranian people's struggle to transform 
     Iran into a bastion of democracy, prosperity, and peace in 
     the region; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the United States Secretary 
     of State, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the 
     chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign 
     Relations, the chairman of the United States House of 
     Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, and to the 
     members of Utah's congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-30. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Utah urging Congress to take swift and decisive 
     action to resolve the many pressing immigration issues facing 
     the nation and the states; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 12

       Whereas, the national debate over immigration is creating 
     great controversy throughout the United States;
       Whereas, measures addressing immigration are also being 
     extensively debated in state legislatures across the nation;
       Whereas, since 1875, when the United States Supreme Court 
     stated that ``the passage of laws which concern the admission 
     of citizens and subjects of foreign nations to our shores 
     belongs to Congress, and not to the States'' (Chy Lung v. 
     Freeman, 92 U.S. 275), states have been severely restricted 
     in their authority to pass legislation governing those 
     individuals not lawfully present within their borders;
       Whereas, the expectation of Utah's voters is that, on a 
     subject like immigration, the state Legislature has front 
     line responsibility, and Utah should have an impact on 
     immigration policy within its own borders;
       Whereas, in recent years, opportunities for the United 
     States Congress to resolve many pressing immigration issues 
     have failed and left states bearing the brunt of these 
     problems as they impact the health, safety, and welfare of 
     their citizens with little or no authority to act;
       Whereas, Utah's congressional delegation should sponsor 
     legislation to resolve the immigration policy stalemate; and
       Whereas, if the United States Congress will not act 
     decisively to address the nation's immigration policy 
     challenges, it should grant the states the authority to 
     resolve their unique immigration issues within their borders: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah 
     recognizes that the United States Congress presently has 
     assumed authority to make immigration policy in the United 
     States; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah urges 
     Utah's congressional delegation to sponsor and support 
     legislation to resolve the immigration policy issues facing 
     the nation; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature strongly urges the United 
     States Congress to take

[[Page S3274]]

     swift and decisive action to resolve the many pressing 
     immigration issues facing the nation and the states; be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah urges 
     that if the United States Congress does not have the 
     collective will to resolve the immigration issues facing the 
     nation and the states, that Congress should act to grant 
     authority to the states to resolve the immigration policy 
     challenges within their own borders; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah calls 
     upon its congressional delegation to advance legislation 
     giving the state of Utah the authority to manage immigration 
     policy and actions within its borders; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, to the members of 
     Utah's congressional delegation, and all states.
                                  ____

       POM-31. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging Congress to pass an amendment to 
     the United States Constitution by October 1, 2011, requiring 
     a balanced budget and send it to the states for ratification; 
     to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 3

       Whereas, for many years a persistent political issue facing 
     Congress has been whether to require that the budget of the 
     United States to be in balance;
       Whereas, although a balanced federal budget has long been 
     held as a political ideal, the accumulation of alarming 
     deficits in recent years has heightened concern that 
     immediate action to require a balance between revenues and 
     expenditures at the national level is necessary if not 
     critical to the financial well being of the United States;
       Whereas, while financial and social ills are aggravated by 
     ever increasing personal and family debt, spiraling national 
     debt aggravates ills that may not be immediately felt but are 
     equally harmful to society;
       Whereas, the national debt, which is approximately 14 
     trillion dollars, has increased by over 3 trillion dollars in 
     the last two years alone;
       Whereas, out of control deficits and the massive federal 
     debt suggest that tough decisions lie ahead if the United 
     States is to have control of its financial destiny;
       Whereas, the leaders of this nation must be held 
     accountable for the financial decisions they make and not be 
     allowed to spend the nation into financial oblivion; and
       Whereas, ratifying a proposed constitutional amendment 
     requiring a balanced budget would clearly communicate to the 
     federal government that the states, on behalf of their 
     citizens, insist that their tax money be spent in a manner 
     that demonstrates fiscal responsibility: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, strongly urge the United States 
     Congress to pass an amendment to the United States 
     Constitution by October 1, 2011, requiring a balanced budget 
     and send it to the states for ratification; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor urge that 
     the United States Congress approve debt only in the event of 
     a constitutional declaration of war; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of 
     the United States House of Representatives, and to the 
     members of Utah's congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-32. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah urging modification of the current 
     design of the state flag to accurately reflect the 
     description of the flag as approved by the Utah Legislature 
     in 1913; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 2

       Whereas, the first Utah state flag was created in 1903 at 
     the request of Governor Heber M. Wells;
       Whereas, the Governor's request came by way of an 
     invitation from the President of the St. Louis World's Fair 
     to have a delegation from Utah travel to St. Louis and 
     dedicate the site of the Utah Exhibit and have the state flag 
     flown in a parade of the 45 states at the World's Fair;
       Whereas, the Utah State Society of the Daughters of the 
     Revolution responded to the Governor's request to sponsor the 
     manufacture of the flag;
       Whereas, the flag was presented to the Governor by the 
     Society on March 31, 1903;
       Whereas, alterations were made to the flag so that its 
     appearance more closely reflected the official state seal 
     from which the design was taken;
       Whereas, the Society enlisted Utah artist H.L.A. Culmer to 
     help seamstress and flag maker Agnes Teudt Fernelius in 
     finalizing the design of the flag;
       Whereas, on May 1, 1903, the Utah delegation to the St. 
     Louis World's Fair marched proudly alongside the state's new 
     flag in the Parade of States;
       Whereas, the flag was formally referred to as the 
     Governor's flag or the Governor's regimental flag until 1911, 
     when the Legislature formally adopted its design as the 
     official state flag;
       Whereas, a second flag was finished in early 1913 and 
     presented by the state to the battleship U.S.S. Utah on June 
     25, 1913.
       Whereas, that same year, Representative Annie Wells Cannon 
     successfully introduced House Joint Resolution 1, which 
     established the current flag design reflected in statute;
       Whereas, Utah Code Section 63G-1-501 describes the flag as, 
     ``a flag of blue field, fringed, with gold borders, with the 
     following device worked in natural colors on the center of 
     the blue field:
       The Center is a shield; above the shield and thereon an 
     American eagle: with outstretched wings, the top of the 
     shield pierced with six arrow's arranged crosswise; upon the 
     shield under the arrows the word ``Industry'' and below the 
     word ``Industry'' on the center of the shield, a beehive; on 
     each side of the beehive, growing sego lilies; below the 
     beehive, and near the bottom of the shield, the word 
     ``Utah,'' and below the word ``Utah' and on the bottom of the 
     shield, the figures ``1847'', with the appearance of being 
     back of the shield there shall be two American flags on 
     flagstaffs placed crosswise with the flag so draped that they 
     will project beyond each side of the shield, the heads of the 
     flagstaffs appearing in front of the eagle's wings and the 
     bottom of each staff appearing over the face of the draped 
     flag below the shield; below the shield and flags and upon 
     the blue field, the figures ``1896''; around the entire 
     design, a narrow circle in gold'';
       Whereas, a third state flag was prepared in 1922 which 
     mistakenly has the year 1847 beneath the shield instead of on 
     the shield, and the error has been perpetuated to this day; 
     and
       Whereas, in the interest of accurately preserving a symbol 
     of the state's rich history, and to follow the wording of 
     Utah Code Section 63G-1-501, all new flags should be made to 
     reflect the statutory flag description and all Utah flags 
     currently in use or in stock should be utilized until 
     unserviceable: now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, recognize that Utah Code Section 
     63G-1-501 accurately reflects the 1913 description of the 
     official state flag of Utah; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor urge 
     manufacturers of the state flag to modify the current design 
     of the official flag of the state of Utah to accurately 
     reflect the description of the flag as approved by the Utah 
     Legislature in 1913; be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature and the Governor urge that 
     all Utah flags be prepared in honor of past generations and 
     for the benefit of present and future generations; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to 
     Colonial Flag, Annin & Company, C.F. Flag, J.C. Schultz 
     Enterprises, Inc./FlagSource, Valley Forge Flag, Flag Zone, 
     Quinn Flags, and to the Dixie Flag Manufacturing Company and 
     North American Vexillological Association.

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