[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S597-S598]
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-188. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
     memorializing the Congress of the United States to support 
     the Forest Products Fairness Act of 2013; to the Committee on 
     Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

                        House Resolution No. 223

       Whereas, The Forest Products Fairness Act of 2013 proposes 
     to include forest products in the definition of ``biobased 
     product,'' as well as the USDA Biobased Markets Program; and
       Whereas, Including forest products in the USDA Biobased 
     Markets Program will provide the opportunity for forest 
     products to receive increased consumer attention and Federal 
     Government procurement preference; and
       Whereas, Forestry is a vital industry in this Commonwealth; 
     and
       Whereas, The timber and forest products industry provides 
     more than 100,000 jobs in Pennsylvania; and
       Whereas, The industry produces more than $5 billion worth 
     of products annually; and
       Whereas, Pennsylvania hardwood products are exported around 
     the globe and are famous for their beauty and quality; and
       Whereas, Forestry material, a biobased product, can be 
     utilized for recycling purposes: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize Congress to support 
     Congressman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania's efforts to add 
     to the Farm Bill or his efforts to introduce new legislation 
     known as the Forest Products Fairness Act of 2013; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each 
     member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-189. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan memorializing the 
     Congress of the United States to amend the Communications 
     Decency Act of 1996 to allow the prosecution by state and 
     local governments of individuals who promote prostitution and 
     child sex trafficking through online advertisements; to the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                        House Resolution NO. 244

       Whereas, As many as 2 million children are subjected to 
     prostitution in the global commercial sex trade. Websites 
     that promote prostitution and sex trafficking through 
     classified ads have become more commonplace, facilitating the 
     organized prostitution of children and providing a facade for 
     sex traffickers to hide behind; and
       Whereas, Websites involved in posting ads for prostitution, 
     involving both adults and children, claim protection under 
     the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 to avoid 
     prosecution. However, the Communications Decency Act was 
     passed to protect Internet Service Providers from defamatory 
     statements made by online users. It was not intended to 
     protect websites involved in criminal activity; and
       Whereas, State and local governments are currently unable 
     to take enforcement action against these sites. The state of 
     Washington enacted legislation that criminalizes aiding the 
     sale of sex with a child to force online prostitution sites 
     to verify ages or shut down their adult sections entirely. A 
     preliminary injunction has been issued against the law 
     stating, in part, that potential First Amendment issues may 
     be involved; and
       Whereas, Action at the federal level is needed. The 
     National Association of. Attorneys General has lobbied 
     Congress to amend the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to 
     allow regulation by state and local governments: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we 
     memorialize the Congress of the United States to amend the 
     Communications Decency Act of 1996 to allow the prosecution 
     by state and local governments of individuals who promote 
     prostitution and child sex trafficking through online 
     advertisements; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-190. A concurrent resolution adopted by the General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio memorializing the Congress of 
     the United

[[Page S598]]

     States to oppose any legislation that requires Social 
     Security coverage for members of any of Ohio's state 
     retirement systems; to the Committee on Finance.

                  House Concurrent Resolution No. 190

       Whereas, Ohio has a long history, predating the creation of 
     Social Security, of providing retirement, disability, and 
     survivor benefits to its state and local public employees 
     through its own state retirement systems; and
       Whereas, These state retirement systems, the Public 
     Employees Retirement System, Ohio Police and Fire Pension 
     Fund, State Teachers Retirement System, School Employees 
     Retirement System, and State Highway Patrol Retirement 
     System, have combined assets of over $165 billion and provide 
     retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to over 1.5 
     million members, retirees, and beneficiaries; and
       Whereas, The state retirement system plans are offered in 
     lieu of Social Security; and
       Whereas, Ohio's state retirement systems are required by 
     Ohio law to accumulate and maintain, through employer and 
     employee contributions and investments, the necessary funds 
     to pay all benefits promised by the Ohio General Assembly; 
     and
       Whereas, The state retirement systems are well-managed and 
     free of the financial problems facing Social Security; and
       Whereas, Any federal mandates that require Ohio public 
     employee participation in Social Security or other federal 
     pension programs would devastate Ohio's state retirement 
     systems, weaken the retirement security of its public 
     employees, and jeopardize their retirement benefits: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the 130th General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio, in adopting this resolution, 
     urge the Congress of the United States to oppose any 
     legislation containing provisions that would require Ohio's 
     public employees who are members of a state retirement system 
     to participate in Social Security or any federal pension 
     program; and be if further
       Resolved, That we, the members of the 130th General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio, either in whole or in part, 
     will meet with the members of the Ohio Congressional 
     delegation whenever feasible to express our opposition to any 
     federal legislation that would require Ohio's public 
     employees who are members of a state retirement system to 
     participate in Social Security or any federal pension 
     program; and be it further
       Resolved, That we, the members of the 130th General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio, encourage our fellow members 
     to personally meet with each Senator and Representative in 
     the Ohio Congressional delegation to further express our 
     opposition to any federal legislation that would require 
     Ohio's public employees who are members of a state retirement 
     system to participate in Social Security or any federal 
     pension program; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives 
     transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the 
     President of the United States, the President Pro Tempore and 
     Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk 
     of the United States House of Representatives, each member of 
     the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of 
     Ohio.
                                  ____

       POM-191. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
     memorializing the Congress of the United States to pass and 
     the President of the United States to sign the Marketplace 
     Fairness Act of 2013; to the Committee on Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 571

       Whereas, As the result of a series of United States Supreme 
     Court cases dealing with state taxation of mail order catalog 
     retailers, including Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 
     298 (1992) and National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of 
     Revenue of Illinois, 386 U.S. 753 (1967), a state is 
     generally unable to require a retailer without a physical 
     presence in that state to collect sales and use tax on its 
     behalf; and
       Whereas, Pennsylvania has long imposed a sales tax on each 
     sale at retail of tangible personal property or taxable 
     services within this Commonwealth, with the retailer required 
     to collect the tax from the purchaser and to remit the 
     collected tax to the Commonwealth; and
       Whereas, If the retailer does not collect the sales tax on 
     a taxable sale at retail, and the purchaser uses the 
     purchased item or service within this Commonwealth, the 
     purchaser is legally required to pay use tax directly to the 
     Commonwealth; and
       Whereas, The burden on individual purchasers or consumers 
     to track, calculate and remit the correct amount of use tax 
     is significant, resulting in low rates of compliance and 
     reduced state tax collections; and
       Whereas, A 2011 study by Robert Strauss, Professor of 
     Economics and Public Policy at the Heinz College, Carnegie 
     Mellon University, projected that Pennsylvania would lose 
     between $254 million and $410 million in sales and use taxes 
     in 2012 due to the inability to require retailers without a 
     physical presence in this Commonwealth to collect sales and 
     use taxes; and
       Whereas, The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has taken 
     measures to improve the collection of this tax, including the 
     addition of a section for the use tax on the standard 
     Pennsylvania tax return form (PA-40) and by clarifying the 
     nexus standard for retailers with physical presence in this 
     Commonwealth through a subsidiary, representative or agent; 
     and
       Whereas, While the recent measures by the Department of 
     Revenue to improve collections have resulted in increased 
     compliance, much remains uncollected; and
       Whereas, The inability to collect sales and use tax on 
     purchases made from retailers that do not have a physical 
     presence in this Commonwealth has created a disadvantage for 
     this Commonwealth's brick-and-mortar retailers that are 
     required to collect the sales and use tax; and
       Whereas, The 2011 study by Professor Strauss projected that 
     uniform collection of the sales and use tax across all 
     retailers would result in job growth by Pennsylvania-based 
     brick-and-mortar retailers of between 1,530 and 2,766 jobs, 
     which would generate between $66 million and $119 million in 
     wages; and
       Whereas, The growth of retail sales on the Internet has 
     exacerbated the problem for taxpayers and the Commonwealth 
     far beyond the circumstances considered when the Quill case 
     was decided; and
       Whereas, Congress is in the best position to standardize 
     the nationwide collection of sales and use taxes from 
     retailers that do not have a physical presence in the state 
     where the tax is due; and
       Whereas, The United States Supreme Court stated in Quill 
     that the problem ``is not only one that Congress may be 
     better qualified to resolve, but also one that Congress has 
     the ultimate power to resolve''; and
       Whereas, On May 6, 2013, the United States Senate passed 
     the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, which would provide 
     nationwide standards for the collection of sales and use 
     taxes from out-of-state retailers, by a vote of 69 to 27; and
       Whereas, The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 is currently 
     being considered by the Committee on the Judiciary in the 
     United States House of Representatives; and
       Whereas, On September 18, 2013, Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-
     Va.) and Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and 
     Antitrust Law Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) issued a 
     statement outlining the framework the committee will follow 
     when considering the legislation; and
       Whereas, The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 would simply 
     standardize the collection of existing taxes that are already 
     due; it would not expand an existing tax nor would it create 
     a new tax; and
       Whereas, The additional revenue that is already due to the 
     Commonwealth that would be collected under the Marketplace 
     Fairness Act of 2013 could be used to prevent future tax 
     increases and to provide tax relief to all Pennsylvanians; 
     and
       Whereas, A 2013 study by economists Arthur B. Laffer and 
     Donna Arduin projects that over the next ten years the 
     enactment of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 could 
     empower states to implement pro-growth tax policies that 
     would result in a nationwide increase in gross domestic 
     product (GDP) of $563.2 billion and add over 1.5 million new 
     jobs, with $15.1 billion in GDP growth and 43,000 new jobs in 
     Pennsylvania: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives memorialize the 
     Congress of the United States to pass and the President of 
     the United States to sign the Marketplace Fairness Act of 
     2013, or a similar act, to provide uniform measures for the 
     collection of states' sales and use taxes; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, to the presiding officers 
     of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from 
     Pennsylvania.
                                  ____

       POM-192. A resolution adopted by Washington Township, 
     Morris County, New Jersey urging Congress to dedicate 
     additional federal funds for highway maintenance and 
     infrastructure improvements; to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation.
       POM-193. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the Northern 
     Mariana Commonwealth Legislature petitioning the United 
     States Congress to amend the Radiation Exposure Act of 1990; 
     to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
       POM-194. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the Northern Mariana Commonwealth 
     Legislature requesting the United States Congress to 
     eliminate Section 2109 of S.744 and similar legislation which 
     will allow thousands of alien workers, their families, and 
     persons of other ethnic origin who are in the Commonwealth of 
     the Northern Mariana Islands to become permanent residents 
     and subsequently become U.S. citizens; to the Committee on 
     the Judiciary.

                          ____________________