[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 138 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5991-S5992]
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-342. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the President 
     and Congress of the United States to encourage international 
     intervention on behalf of the Iraqi civilians in dire need of 
     protection from religious persecution; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                        House Resolution No. 402

       Whereas, Sunni Islamist insurgents and the terrorist group 
     known as the Islamic State or IS (also known as ISIS or ISIL) 
     have expanded control over areas in northwest and central 
     Iraq. IS has a stated mission of establishing an Islamic 
     state and is moving forward through extremist attacks on 
     Christians, Shiites, and other unprotected minorities in 
     certain parts of the region.

[[Page S5992]]

     Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people in the Nineveh Plain 
     face ethnic and religious cleansing, persecution, and 
     harassment due to attacks by the terrorists; and
       Whereas, Over two-thirds of the Christian population in 
     Iraq is made up of Chaldeans and Assyrians, with smaller 
     populations of Syriacs and Armenians. More than 500,000 
     people have been displaced by the current violence in Iraq, 
     with nearly 80% of Iraq's 1.5 million Christian population 
     having fled since 2003. These communities in Northwestern 
     Iraq have recently been given an ultimatum to convert, flee, 
     or be killed. Mosul's 1800-year-old Christian community no 
     longer exists. Many of these individuals have resettled in 
     the United States, including Michigan. Over 130,000 Chaldeans 
     currently reside in our state, the largest population outside 
     of Iraq. This community has, and continues to be, a strong 
     asset to our state, among other states in our union; and
       Whereas, The United States has provided over $73 million in 
     humanitarian assistance to Iraq's minority populations since 
     2003. Yet, the crisis currently gripping northwestern Iraq 
     has serious potential to undo all international efforts to 
     restore stability to Iraq. Action by the United States is 
     necessary to reaffirm our commitment to protecting minority 
     groups facing persecution: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     President and Congress of the United States to encourage 
     international intervention on behalf of the Iraqi civilians 
     in dire need of protection from religious persecution; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, 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-343. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Idaho urging the United States Congress to take 
     action forthwith to amend the United States Constitution; to 
     the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Memorial No. 106

       Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the United States 
     Constitution states that, ``The powers not delegated to the 
     United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to 
     the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
     the people''; and
       Whereas, the states primarily regulate today's health 
     insurance market and provide aggressive oversight of all 
     aspects of this market and enforce consumer protection as 
     well as ensure a local, responsive presence for consumers; 
     and
       Whereas, states like Idaho are working hard to create 
     public-private health care partnerships and facilitate local 
     solutions; and
       Whereas, the Congress of the United States has passed 
     legislation that will impose restrictions on the states' 
     ability to regulate health plans and will require citizens to 
     acquire health care insurance coverage; and
       Whereas, the creation of a new federal system of regulation 
     for health insurance would be inefficient, unnecessary, not 
     cost-effective and an additional burden on states; and
       Whereas, the legislation passed by the Congress will impose 
     a legacy of untold debt on our children and grandchildren; 
     and
       Whereas, it is in the interest of the citizens of the State 
     of Idaho to have an amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States prohibiting the Congress from making any law 
     that would require citizens to enroll in, participate in or 
     secure health care insurance and that would penalize any 
     citizen who declines to purchase or participate in any health 
     care insurance program: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the members of the Second Regular Session of 
     the Sixtieth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives concurring therein, that the Idaho 
     Legislature urges Congress to take action forthwith to amend 
     the United States Constitution by adding a Twenty-eighth 
     Amendment as follows:
       The Congress shall make no law requiring citizens of the 
     United States to enroll in, participate in or secure health 
     care insurance or to penalize any citizen who declines to 
     purchase or participate in any health care insurance program; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is 
     hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this 
     Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 
     the House of Representatives of Congress, the congressional 
     delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of 
     the United States and the presiding officers of both houses 
     of the Legislature of each of our sister states in the Union.
                                  ____

       POM-344. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the United 
     States Congress to investigate the United States Department 
     of Veterans Affairs' treatment of military veterans seeking 
     health care at facilities throughout the country; to the 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

                        House Resolution No. 385

       Whereas, The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been 
     aware of a backlog of patients seeking to see doctors or have 
     specific tests completed at several VA hospitals around the 
     nation for several years. As many as 7,000 veterans have been 
     on the backlog list, often waiting over a year for necessary 
     procedures or tests. The VA admits that 23 veterans have died 
     while waiting to see a doctor. However, many believe the 
     number of veterans to have died while waiting to be seen is 
     much higher; and
       Whereas, It has now come to light that VA facilities have, 
     not only a backlog of patients, but also secret waiting 
     lists, keeping veterans' names out of the computer system 
     until they could be seen by a doctor within the required 14-
     day wait time. The secret waiting lists made it appear the VA 
     facilities were meeting their performance goal to see 
     patients in a timely manner; and
       Whereas, The men and women who serve our country deserve 
     better than lackluster medical care or no care at all. Many 
     of them have been injured in the line of duty and come home 
     to face medical challenges that require timely diagnosis and 
     care. All veterans are entitled to the best care we can give 
     them. To be deceived by a system more interested in 
     performance goals than health care is intolerable: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     United States Congress to investigate the United States 
     Department of Veterans Affairs, treatment of military 
     veterans seeking health care at facilities throughout the 
     country; 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.

                          ____________________