[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 135 (Thursday, October 3, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7168-S7170]
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-150. A resolution adopted by the City Council of South 
     Bend, Indiana petitioning for use of the Vice-Presidential 
     Seal; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
       POM-151. A resolution adopted by the House of Delegates of 
     the State of West Virginia urging the United States Congress 
     to protect the Social Security benefits that aid our most 
     vulnerable citizens; to the Committee on Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 21

       Whereas, Social Security cost of living adjustments are 
     currently based on the Consumer Price Index released annually 
     by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The United 
     States Congress is considering changing the annual cost of 
     living adjustments calculated for Social Security recipients; 
     and
       Whereas, The Chained Consumer Price Index finds smaller 
     increases in consumer prices than the traditional Consumer 
     Price Index by estimating how consumers may change their 
     buying habits as prices change; and
       Whereas, According to the Center for Economic and Policy 
     Research, changing to the Chained Consumer Price Index would 
     result in significant cuts to Social Security benefits: a cut 
     of roughly three percent after 10 years, about six percent 
     after 20 years, and close to nine percent over 30 years. For 
     the average worker retiring at age 65, this would mean a cut 
     of about $650 each year by age 75 and a cut of roughly $1,130 
     each year at age 85; and
       Whereas, AARP estimates that this change would cut Social 
     Security benefits by $112 billion over the next 10 years, 
     leaving seniors struggling to keep up with the rising cost of 
     utilities, health care and prescription drugs. Cuts would 
     start now and get bigger every year; and
       Whereas, The AARP estimates that ninety-two percent of West 
     Virginians 65 or older, approximately 277,734 people, receive 
     Social Security benefits. The average annual benefit is 
     $13,500. Social Security makes up 70 percent of the annual 
     income for a typical older West Virginian and 77 percent of 
     annual incomes for low- and middle-income seniors: Now 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the West Virginia House of Delegates, That the 
     West Virginia House of Delegates urges the United States 
     Congress to protect the Social Security benefits that aid our 
     most vulnerable citizens; and be it further
       Resolved, That the West Virginia House of Delegates 
     requests that the West Virginia Congressional Delegation 
     support protecting Social Security for West Virginia seniors 
     and vulnerable residents by voting against any legislation 
     that would base cost of living adjustments to the Chained 
     Consumer Price Index; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the West Virginia House of 
     Delegates mail a copy of this resolution to the Vice 
     President of the United States and the President pro tempore 
     of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority and Minority Leaders of both 
     Houses of Congress, and to each United States Senator and 
     Member of the House of Representatives from West Virginia.
                                  ____

       POM-152. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Representatives of the State of Arkansas memorializing 
     opposition to any action that would limit the right to keep 
     and bear arms; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                       House Resolution No. 1003

       Whereas, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States reads as follows, ``A well regulated militia, 
     being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of 
     the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed''; 
     and
       Whereas, the right to keep and bear arms has benefited the 
     State of Arkansas, its economy, and its citizens; and
       Whereas, generations of Arkansans have enjoyed and 
     benefited from the lifestyle fostered by the freedoms and 
     protection granted by the Second Amendment; and
       Whereas, the right to keep and bear arms should not be 
     abridged, infringed upon, or in any way limited by the action 
     of any branch of the federal government or a state or local 
     government: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-
     Ninth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, That the 
     House of Representatives encourages all branches of federal, 
     state, and local government to respect and preserve the 
     rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United 
     States Constitution, and opposes any action that would 
     abridge, infringe upon, or limit the right to keep and bear 
     arms; and be it further
       Resolved, That the chief clerk of the House of 
     Representatives distribute a copy of this resolution to the 
     President of the United States, the Vice President of the 
     United States, the President Pro Tempore of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the chief executive officer of each 
     legislative chamber for each of the fifty (50) state 
     legislatures within the United States, and each member of the 
     Arkansas Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-153. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Representatives of the State of Arkansas memorializing its 
     support for traditional marriage; to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary.

                       House Resolution No. 1049

       Whereas, marriage is a fundamental social institution that 
     has been tested and reaffirmed over thousands of years; and

[[Page S7169]]

       Whereas, historically marriage has been reflected in our 
     law and the law of all Jurisdictions in the United States as 
     the union of a man and a woman, and the everyday meaning of 
     marriage and the legal meaning of marriage has always been 
     defined as the legal union of a man and a woman as husband 
     and wife; and
       Whereas, families consisting of the legal union of one man 
     and one woman for the purpose of bearing and raising children 
     remains the basic unit of our civil society; and
       Whereas, in 1996, Congress overwhelmingly passed, and 
     President Bill Clinton signed, the Defense of Marriage Act 
     under which Congress exercised its rights under the effects 
     clause of Section 1 of Article IV of the United States 
     Constitution; and
       Whereas, Section 2(a) of the Defense of Marriage Act 
     clearly spells out that ``No State, territory, or possession 
     of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to 
     give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding 
     of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe 
     respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex 
     that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other 
     State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim 
     arising from such relationship.''; and
       Whereas, Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, defining 
     marriage, states that ``the word `marriage' means only a 
     legal union between one man and one woman as husband and 
     wife, and the word `spouse' refers only to a person of the 
     opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.''; and
       Whereas, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear 
     oral arguments in U.S. v. Windsor on March 27, 2013, asking 
     whether the Defense of Marriage Act--passed under the effects 
     clause of Section 1 of Article IV of the United States 
     Constitution--violates the Fifth Amendment of the United 
     States Constitution; and
       Whereas, in February, the Justice Department of President 
     Barack Obama filed a brief with the Supreme court of the 
     United States, asking the Supreme Court to invalidate Section 
     3 of the Defense of Marriage Act; and
       Whereas, on November 2, 2004, 753,770 Arkansans voted to 
     pass Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 to the 
     Constitution of the State of Arkansas, representing 74.95% of 
     the votes cast; and
       Whereas, the total amount of votes cast in favor of 
     Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 was higher than the 
     total amount of votes cast for the re-election of President 
     George W. Bush; and
       Whereas, Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 became 
     Amendment 83 to the Constitution of the State of Arkansas; 
     and
       Whereas, Section 1 of Amendment 83 reads, ``Marriage 
     consists only of the union of one man and one woman.''; and
       Whereas, Section 2 of Amendment 83 reads, ``Legal status 
     for unmarried persons which is identical or substantially 
     similar to marital status shall not be valid or recognized in 
     Arkansas, except that the legislature may recognize a common 
     law marriage from another state between a man and a woman.'': 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-
     Ninth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, That the 
     House of Representatives reaffirms its support for 
     traditional marriage as the union of one man and one woman, 
     as expressed in Amendment 83 of the Constitution of the State 
     of Arkansas and the Defense of Marriage Act; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the chief clerk of the House of 
     Representatives distribute a copy of this resolution to the 
     President of the United States, the Vice President of the 
     United States, the President Pro Tempore of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of 
     the United States Supreme Court, the chief executive officer 
     of each legislative chamber for each of the fifty (50) state 
     legislatures within the United States, and each member of the 
     Arkansas Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-154. A resolution adopted by the House of Delegates of 
     the State of West Virginia urging the United States Congress 
     to preserve and protect the Second Amendment rights of all 
     law abiding Americans; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                        House Resolution No. 18

       Whereas, Our nation has recently suffered from various acts 
     of mass murder, most notably the tragedy of December 14, 2012 
     at Sandy Hook Elementary School; and,
       Whereas, Law abiding citizens are not an issue; and
       Whereas, Millions of Americans own firearms and do so 
     safely, responsibly and legally; and
       Whereas, Law abiding citizens should not be punished for 
     the crimes of evil people; and
       Whereas, The investigative research of these tragic events 
     most often leads us to the underlying cause being linked to 
     mental illness and not law abiding gun ownership; and
       Whereas, The real issue, the real threat, is dangerous 
     criminals and the seriously men tally ill who need 
     supervision and treatment; and
       Whereas, Violent behavior by individuals suffering from 
     various forms of mental illness is the true issue that 
     warrants the focus of our nation's President and Congress; 
     and
       Whereas, West Virginia is a slate that strongly supports 
     the Second Amendment rights of the United State's 
     Constitution and the rights found in Article Three, Section 
     Twenty-two of its own Constitution, and believes that all 
     efforts should be undertaken to preserve such rights to the 
     fullest: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Delegates, That the West Virginia 
     House of Delegates conveys to the Congress of the United 
     States that it supports efforts to preserve and protect: our 
     freedoms especially preserving the Second Amendment rights of 
     all law abiding Americans; and be it further
       Resolved, That the West Virginia House of Delegates urges 
     the United States Congress to focus on strengthening the 
     areas of mental health diagnosis and treatment; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the West Virginia House of Delegates 
     requests that the West Virginia Congressional Delegation 
     support actions that preserve Second Amendment Rights and 
     efforts to address mental health diagnosis and treatment in 
     the hope that our nation will never again experience these 
     senseless acts of mass murder, and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the West Virginia House of 
     Delegates deliver a copy of this resolution to the Vice 
     President of the United States and the President pro tempore 
     of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the 
     both Houses of Congress, and the each United States Senator 
     and Member of the House of Representatives from West 
     Virginia.
                                  ____

       POM-155. A resolution adopted by the House of Delegates of 
     the State of West Virginia memorializing support for an 
     amendment to the United States Constitution to establish that 
     corporations and unions are not entitled to the same rights 
     and protection as natural persons under the Constitution; to 
     the Committee on the Judiciary.

                         House Resolution No. 9

       Whereas, In 2010, the United States Supreme Court issued 
     its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 
     that enabled corporations and unions to spend unlimited 
     amounts of money to influence the outcome of our elections; 
     and
       Whereas, A subsequent ruling Speechnow.org v. Federal 
     Election Commission, opened the door for individual donors to 
     spend unlimited amounts as well; and
       Whereas, The use of so-called Super PACs by wealthy 
     individuals and special interests nationally has driven up 
     the cost of elections to over $6 billion in the federal 
     elections alone and reduced local voices in the democratic 
     process; and
       Whereas, In 2012, based upon Citizens United, the U.S. 
     Supreme Court struck down a century old long-standing Montana 
     campaign finance law, denying states the right to regulate 
     their elections in accordance with their experience of the 
     corrupting influence of money in politics; and
       Whereas, The people of West Virginia and all other states 
     should have the power to limit by law the influence of money 
     in their political systems; and
       Whereas, On Election Day, 2012, over six million voters 
     across the United States had the opportunity to vote on state 
     and local ballot measures, including the states of Montana 
     and Colorado, calling for a constitutional amendment to limit 
     money in politics, including the entire states of Montana and 
     Colorado, and all proposed resolutions passed with 
     overwhelming and bipartisan support, averaging seventy-five 
     percent of voters in favor: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Delegates, That the West Virginia 
     House of Delegates supports an amendment to the United States 
     Constitution to establish that corporations and unions are 
     not entitled to the same rights and protection as natural 
     persons under the Constitution; and be it further
       Resolved, That such an amendment should assure the power of 
     the federal, state, and local governments to limit, regulate, 
     and require disclosure of sources of all money spent to 
     influence elections; and be it further
       Resolved, That the West Virginia House of Delegates 
     requests that the West Virginia Congressional Delegation 
     support such an amendment, work diligently towards its 
     passage, and vote at all stages to advance such legislation 
     in the Congress; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the West Virginia House of 
     Delegates deliver a copy of this resolution to the Vice 
     President of the United States and the President pro tempore 
     of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority and Minority Leaders of both 
     Houses of Congress, and to each United States Senator and 
     Member of the House of Representatives from West Virginia.
                                  ____

       POM-156. A resolution adopted by the Mayor and City 
     Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida memorializing 
     support for the creation of a coalition in support of the 
     initiative to reduce gun violence and illegal firearms 
     trafficking; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-157. A resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees of 
     the Village of Albion, New York memorializing opposition to 
     any legislation which infringes upon the right of the people 
     to keep and bear arms; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-158. A resolution adopted by the Town Board of Sumner, 
     WI memorializing support of an amendment to the U.S. 
     Constitution stating that only human beings are endowed with 
     constitutional rights and money is not speech, and therefore 
     regulating political contributions and spending is

[[Page S7170]]

     not equivalent to limiting political speech; to the Committee 
     on the Judiciary.

                          ____________________