[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 93 (Monday, June 16, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3685-S3686]
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-256. A House joint resolution adopted by the General 
     Assembly of the State of Colorado urging and requesting 
     members of Congress to increase the federal minimum wage and 
     thereafter tie it to inflation to help ensure that hard-
     working Americans can earn a fair wage and afford to care for 
     their families; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
     and Pensions.

                     House Joint Resolution 14-1012

       Whereas, The federal minimum wage was established through 
     the ``Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938'', in response to the 
     Great Depression, to ensure that workers earned enough to pay 
     for necessities and minimum monthly expenses; and
       Whereas, Since then, the cost of living has steadily 
     increased while the federal minimum wage has generally 
     remained stagnant; and
       Whereas, Congress has only raised the minimum wage twice in 
     the past 20 years; and
       Whereas, The federal minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, 
     has declined from its peak of $10.72 in 1968 to $7.25 today, 
     a 33% decrease in purchasing power; and
       Whereas, Under the current minimum wage, it is possible to 
     work full time and still be under the minimum federal poverty 
     line; and
       Whereas, It is virtually impossible for a minimum-wage 
     worker to afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state while 
     working a 40-hour week; and
       Whereas, Raising the federal minimum wage would decrease 
     American dependency on public assistance programs, such as 
     Section 8 housing vouchers and food stamps, in order to pay 
     for living expenses and raising families; and
       Whereas, The majority of those who would benefit from a 
     minimum wage increase are full-time workers who are 
     supporting their families in moderate- to low-income 
     households; and
       Whereas, For the vast majority of low-skilled or unskilled 
     workers, the minimum wage should be simply a starting salary 
     that gets them employed and gives them a chance to advance; 
     and
       Whereas, Increasing the minimum wage would immediately 
     boost the wages of about 15 million low-income workers; and
       Whereas, Raising the federal minimum wage is projected to 
     significantly boost the economy at large by increasing 
     purchasing power of workers, thereby increasing the United 
     States' gross domestic product; and
       Whereas, In 2006, Colorado voters decisively voted to 
     approve Initiative 42, which raised the state minimum wage 
     and tied it to inflation in order to preserve the purchasing 
     power of Colorado workers and help ensure that they can 
     support themselves and their families; and
       Whereas, Colorado raised the minimum wage in 2011 and 2012 
     over the federal minimum, which contributed to a decrease in 
     the unemployment rate from 8.73% to 7.2% during that two-year 
     period; and
       Whereas, Several other states have notably raised their 
     minimum wages during times of high unemployment, including 
     Washington, Oregon, Ohio, and Arizona, and those states all 
     experienced decreases of at least 1.5% in unemployment during 
     the same two-year period; and
       Whereas, Raising the minimum wage not only will stimulate 
     the economy but will also lift millions of Americans out of 
     poverty: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-ninth 
     General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate 
     concurring herein, That we, the Colorado General Assembly, 
     urge and request members of Congress to increase the federal 
     minimum wage and thereafter tie it to inflation to help 
     ensure that hard-working Americans can earn a fair wage and 
     afford to care for their families; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Joint Resolution be 
     transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice 
     President of the United States, the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of 
     the United States Senate, the Majority and Minority Leaders 
     of the United States House of Representatives and Senate, and 
     the Majority and Minority Whips of the United States House of 
     Representatives and Senate.
                                  ____

       POM-257. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the General 
     Assembly of the State of Illinois urging Congress and the 
     President of the United States to reauthorize the Terrorism 
     Risk Insurance Program; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
     and Urban Affairs.

                       Senate Resolution No. 1124

       Whereas, Insurance protects the United States economy from 
     the adverse effects of the risks inherent in economic growth 
     and development while also providing the resources necessary 
     to rebuild physical and economic infrastructure, offer 
     indemnification for business disruption, and provide coverage 
     for medical and liability costs from injuries and loss of 
     life in the event of catastrophic losses to persons or 
     property; and
       Whereas, The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, 
     produced insured losses larger than any natural or man-made 
     event in history; claims paid by insurers to their 
     policyholders eventually totaled some $32.5 billion, making 
     this the second-most costly insurance event in United States 
     history; and
       Wheres, The sheer enormity of the terrorist-induced loss, 
     combined with the possibility of future attacks, produced 
     financial shockwaves that shook insurance markets, causing 
     insurers and reinsurers to exclude coverage arising from acts 
     of terrorism from virtually all commercial property and 
     liability policies; and
       Whereas, The lack of terrorism risk insurance contributed 
     to a paralysis in the economy, especially in construction, 
     tourism, business travel, and real estate finance; and
       Whereas, The United States Congress originally passed the 
     Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-297 (TRIA), 
     in which the federal government agreed to provide terrorism 
     reinsurance to insurers and reauthorized this arrangement via 
     the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005, Pub. L. 
     109-144, and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program 
     Reauthorization Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-160 (TRIPRA); and
       Whereas, Under TRIPRA, the federal government provides such 
     reinsurance after industrywide losses attributable to annual 
     certified terrorism events exceed $100 million; and
       Whereas, Coverage under TRIPRA is provided to an individual 
     insurer after the insurer has incurred losses related to 
     terrorism equal to 20% of the insurer's previous year earned 
     premium for property-casualty lines; and
       Whereas, After an individual insurer has reached such a 
     threshold, the insurer pays 15% of residual losses and the 
     federal government pays the remaining 85%; and
       Whereas, The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program has an annual 
     cap of $100 billion of aggregate insured losses, beyond which 
     the federal program does not provide coverage; and

[[Page S3686]]

       Whereas, TRIPRA requires the federal government to recoup 
     100% of the benefits provided under the program via policy 
     holder surcharges to the extent the aggregate insured losses 
     are less than $27.5 billion and enables the government to 
     recoup expenditures beyond that mandatory recoupment amount; 
     and
       Whereas, Without question, TRIA and its successors are the 
     principal reason for the continued stability in the insurance 
     and reinsurance market for terrorism insurance to the benefit 
     of our overall economy; and
       Whereas, The presence of a robust private/public 
     partnership has provided stability and predictability and has 
     allowed insurers to actively participate in the market in a 
     meaningful way; and
       Whereas, Without a program such as TRIPRA, many citizens 
     who want and need terrorism coverage to operate their 
     businesses all across the nation would be either unable to 
     get insurance or unable to afford the limited coverage that 
     would be available; and
       Whereas, Without federally provided reinsurance, property 
     and casualty insurers will face less availability of 
     terrorism reinsurance and will therefore be severely 
     restricted in their ability to provide sufficient coverage 
     for acts of terrorism to support our economy; and
       Whereas, Unfortunately, despite the hard work and 
     dedication of this nation's counterterrorism agencies and the 
     bravery of the men and women in uniform who fought and 
     continue to fight battles abroad to keep us safe here at 
     home, the threat from terrorist attacks in the United States 
     is both real and substantial and will remain as such for the 
     foreseeable future: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate of the Ninety-eighth General 
     Assembly of the State of Illinois, That we urge Congress and 
     the President of the United States to reauthorize the 
     Terrorism Risk Insurance Program; and be it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
     delivered to the President of the United States, the Speaker 
     and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the 
     President Pro Tempore and the Secretary of the United States 
     Senate, and the members of the Illinois congressional 
     delegation.

                          ____________________