[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 26, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4635-S4636]
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-102. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Alaska in support of 
     providing TRICARE program health care benefits to United 
     States Coast Guard and military retirees as promised; to the 
     Committee on Armed Services.

                          House Resolve No. 10

       Whereas recruiting and maintaining a high-quality, all-
     volunteer, effective military force to safeguard national 
     security is a primary goal of the United States Department of 
     Defense; and
       Whereas persons who volunteer for military service are at 
     risk of mortal harm throughout the time they serve; and
       Whereas the people of the state and nation rely on the men 
     and women who serve in the military to execute faithfully 
     that service; and
       Whereas it is reasonable for the men and women who serve in 
     the military to rely on promises made to them by the people 
     of the state and nation; and
       Whereas men and women who serve in the military and the 
     United States Coast Guard have been promised they will 
     receive military retiree health care benefits from the 
     TRICARE program of the United States Department of Defense 
     Military Health System (10 U.S.C. 55) after they perform 20 
     or more years of honorable military service; and
       Whereas breaking that promise would be dishonorable; be it
       Resolved that the House of Representatives supports 
     providing to military retirees who have kept their oaths of 
     office and served the people of the state and nation the 
     TRICARE program health care benefits they were promised in 
     exchange for that service without their being required to 
     participate in health care programs that are more expensive 
     to them than the TRICARE program and without their 
     eligibility for TRICARE program health care benefits being 
     made subject to means testing.
                                  ____

       POM-103. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Massachusetts supporting the inclusion of Taiwan in 
     international organizations and agreements; to the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, Taiwan, a beacon of freedom and democracy in the 
     Asia-Pacific region, held a successful general election on 
     January 14, 2012, during which it elected a president, vice-
     president and members of its legislature; and
       Whereas, the recently re-elected president Ma Ying-Jeou has 
     worked tirelessly to uphold democratic principles in Taiwan, 
     ensure the prosperity of the people of Taiwan, promote 
     Taiwan's international standing as a responsible member of 
     the international community, increase participation in 
     international organizations, dispatch humanitarian missions 
     abroad and further improve relations between the United 
     States and Taiwan; and
       Whereas, the commonwealth has enjoyed an especially close 
     relationship with Taiwan, marked by strong bilateral trade, 
     educational and cultural exchange and scientific and 
     technological development; and
       Whereas, on November 12, 2011, United States President 
     Barack Obama and the leaders of 8 Transpacific partnership 
     countries announced the establishment of broad outlines for a 
     21st century Transpacific partnership agreement to forge 
     close linkages among the partner countries' economies, 
     enhance competitiveness and benefit consumers; and
       Whereas, the latest data indicates that 8,797 companies 
     exported goods from Massachusetts in 2009, rendering the 
     Asia-Pacific market the Commonwealth's largest export market 
     in the world; and
       Whereas, thirteen billion dollars, or 50 per cent, of 
     Massachusetts' total exports went to markets in the Asia-
     Pacific region, supporting an estimated 134,000 jobs; and
       Whereas, the United Nations framework convention on climate 
     change is the world's leading response to global clmate 
     change and Taiwan has expressed a keen interest in being 
     included in the convention's work and in contributing to the 
     global effort addressing climate change; and
       Whereas, Taiwan serves as a critical air transport hub in 
     the Asia-Pacific region and the Taipei flight information 
     region under Taiwan's jurisdiction covers an area of 176,000 
     square nautical miles, through which 1.35 million controlled 
     flights pass each year; and
       Whereas, the travelling public would benefit from the 
     inclusion of Taiwan in the International Civil Aviation 
     Organization; now therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Massachusetts General Court hereby 
     congratulates the people of Taiwan on their recent elections 
     and further expresses its support for Taiwan's inclusion in 
     international organizations and agreements; and be it further
       Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be transmitted 
     forthwith by the clerk of the Senate to the President of the 
     United States, the presiding officer of each branch of 
     Congress and to the members thereof from the Commonwealth, to 
     the Honorable Deval Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth, to 
     the Honorable Ma Ying-Jeou, president of Taiwan and to Anne 
     Hung, Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural 
     Office in Boston.
                                  ____

       POM-104. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Arizona opposing sections of the National 
     Defense Authorization Act as being in violation of the limits 
     of federal power; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1011

       Whereas, the Congress of the United States passed the 
     National Defense Authorization Act, 2011 Public Law 112-81, 
     (``2012 NDAA'') for fiscal year 2012 on December 15, 2011; 
     and
       Whereas, the President of the United States signed the 2012 
     NDAA into law on December 31, 2011; and
       Whereas, section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA purports to 
     authorize, but does not require, the President of the United 
     States to use the armed forces of the United States to detain 
     persons the President suspects were part of, or substantially 
     supported, Al-Oaeda, the Taliban or associated forces; and
       Whereas, section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA purports to 
     authorize, but does not require, the President of the United 
     States, through the armed forces of the United States, to 
     dispose of such detained persons according to the Law of War, 
     which may include: (1) indefinite detention without charge or 
     trial until the end of hostilities authorized by the 2001 
     Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, 
     2001 Public Law 107-40:

[[Page S4636]]

     (2) prosecution through a military commission; or (3) 
     transfer to a foreign country or foreign entity; and
       Whereas, section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA seeks to preserve 
     existing law and authorities pertaining to the detention of 
     United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United 
     States and any other person captured in the United States, 
     but does not specify what such existing law or authorities 
     are; and
       Whereas, section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA purports to enlarge 
     the scope of the persons the Office of the President may 
     indefinitely detain beyond those responsible for the 
     September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and those who harbored 
     them, as purportedly authorized by the 2001 Authorization for 
     Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, to now include 
     ``[a] person who was a part of or substantially supported Al-
     Oaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in 
     hostilities against the United States or its coalition 
     partners, including any person who has committed a 
     belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in 
     aid of such enemy forces''; and
       Whereas, section 1022 of the 2012 NDAA requires the armed 
     forces of the United States to detain, pending disposition 
     according to the Law of War, any person involved in, or who 
     provided substantial support to, terrorism or belligerent 
     acts against the United States, and who is a member of Al-
     Qaeda or an associated force; and
       Whereas, the exemption for citizens of the United States in 
     section 1022 of the 2012 NDAA only exempts them from a 
     requirement to detain and reads as follows, ``The requirement 
     to detain a person in military custody under this section 
     does not extend to citizens of the United States''; and
       Whereas, unlike section 1022 of the 2012 NDAA, section 1021 
     makes no specific exclusion for United States citizens and 
     lawful resident aliens for conduct occurring within the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, the specific exclusion of application to United 
     States citizens and lawful resident aliens contained in 
     section 1022 of the 2012 NDAA, and the absence of such an 
     exclusion in section 1021 of the NDAA, strongly implies that 
     the provisions of section 1021 are intended to apply to all 
     people, including United States citizens and lawful resident 
     aliens. whether or not they are captured in the United 
     States; and
       Whereas, the Office of the President of the United States, 
     under the administrations of both George W. Bush and Barack 
     Obama, has asserted that the 2001 Authorization for the Use 
     of Military Force Against Terrorists allows the Office of the 
     President to indefinitely detain without charge persons, 
     including United States citizens and lawful resident aliens, 
     who are captured in the United States; and
       Whereas, United States Senator Carl Levin declared on the 
     floor of the United States Senate that the original 2012 NDAA 
     provided that section 1021 (then section 1031 prior to final 
     drafting) specifically would not apply to United States 
     citizens, but that the Office of the President of the United 
     States had requested that such a restriction be removed from 
     the 2012 NDAA; and
       Whereas, during debate in the Senate and before the passage 
     of the 2012 NDAA, United States Senator Mark Udall introduced 
     an amendment intended to forbid the indefinite detention of 
     United States citizens, which was rejected by a vote of 38-
     60; and
       Whereas, United States Senator John McCain and United 
     States Senator Lindsey Graham declared on the floor of the 
     United States Senate that section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA 
     authorized the indefinite detention of United States citizens 
     captured within the United States by the armed forces of the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, United States Senator Lindsey Graham declared on 
     the floor of the United States Senate that the United States 
     homeland is now part of ``the battlefield''; and
       Whereas, policing the United States by the armed forces of 
     the United States, as purportedly authorized by the 2012 
     NDAA, overturns the posse comitatus doctrine and is repugnant 
     to a free society; and
       Whereas, sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA, as they 
     purport to authorize the detainment of persons captured 
     within the United States without charge or trial, military 
     tribunals for persons captured within the United States and 
     the transfer of persons captured within the United States to 
     foreign jurisdictions, violate the following rights enshrined 
     in the Constitution of the United States:
       Article I, section 9, clause 2 right to seek a writ of 
     habeas corpus.
       The First Amendment right to petition the government for a 
     redress of grievances.
       The Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable 
     searches and seizures.
       The Fifth Amendment right to be free from charge for an 
     infamous or capitol crime until presentment or indictment by 
     a grand jury.
       The Fifth Amendment right to be free from deprivation of 
     life, liberty or property without due process of law.
       The Sixth Amendment right in criminal prosecutions to enjoy 
     a speedy trial by an impartial jury in the state and district 
     where the crime was allegedly committed.
       The Sixth Amendment right to be informed of the nature and 
     cause of the accusation.
       The Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses.
       The Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
       The Eighth Amendment right to be free from excessive bail 
     and fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
       The Fourteenth Amendment right to be free from deprivation 
     of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
       Whereas, the members of the Legislature of Arizona have 
     taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States 
     and the Constitution of the State of Arizona; and
       Whereas, this Legislature opposes any and all rules, laws, 
     regulations, bill language or executive orders that amount to 
     an overreach of the federal government and that effectively 
     take away civil liberties; and
       Whereas, it is indisputable that the threat of terrorism is 
     real and that the full force of appropriate and 
     constitutional law must be used to defeat this threat, yet 
     winning the war against terror cannot come at the great 
     expense of mitigating basic, fundamental constitutional 
     rights; and
       Whereas, undermining our own constitutional rights serves 
     only to concede to the terrorists' demands of changing the 
     fabric of what made the United States of America a country of 
     freedom, liberty and opportunity; therefore be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House 
     of Representatives concurring: 
       1. That the Members of the Legislature condemn sections 
     1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA as they purport to repeal 
     posse comitatus and authorize the President of the United 
     States to use the armed forces of the United States to police 
     American citizens, to indefinitely detain persons captured 
     within the United States without charge until the end of 
     hostilities as purportedly authorized by the 2001 
     Authorization for Use of Military Force, to subject persons 
     captured within the United States to military tribunals, and 
     to transfer persons captured within the United States to a 
     foreign country or foreign entity.
       2. That the Members of the Legislature find that the 
     enactment into law by the United States Congress of sections 
     1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 
     2012 is inimical to the liberty, security and well-being of 
     the people of Arizona and that those sections were adopted by 
     Congress in violation of the limits of federal power in the 
     United States Constitution.
       3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Resolution to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-105. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     Rockland County, New York, urging Algonquin Gas Transmission 
     Corporation to prepare and submit to the Federal Energy 
     Regulatory Commission (FERC) an additional means of access to 
     the pipeline and facilities operating in and through Kakiat 
     Park, and urging FERC to reject any application for expansion 
     or modification of Algonquin's facilities absent a plan for 
     emergency access; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                          ____________________