[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 80 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3029-S3030]
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-166. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Alaska opposing the decisions 
     of the Obama Administration to cancel future lease sales in 
     the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, urging the United States 
     Department of the Interior to continue including the Chukchi 
     Sea and Beaufort Sea lease sales in the 2017-2022 Outer 
     Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, and urging the 
     Obama Administration to support ongoing efforts to develop 
     offshore oil and gas in the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf 
     responsibly; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                          House Resolve No. 7

       Whereas the official Arctic policy of the state, passed by 
     the Twenty-Ninth Alaska State Legislature, states that ``It 
     is the policy of the state, as it relates to the Arctic, to 
     uphold the state's commitment to economically vibrant 
     communities sustained by development activities consistent 
     with the state's responsibility for a healthy environment''; 
     and
       Whereas the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission advises the 
     state, in its list of strategic recommendations, to ``promote 
     prudent oil and gas exploration and development in the 
     Arctic''; and
       Whereas the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 
     estimates that there are 23,000,000,000 barrels and 
     104,410,000,000,000 cubic feet of undiscovered, technically 
     recoverable oil and natural gas in the Chukchi and Beaufort 
     Seas; and
       Whereas hundreds of exploration and development wells have 
     been safely and responsibly drilled in state and federal 
     water off the coast of the state, including in the Chukchi 
     and Beaufort Seas; and
       WHEREAS the economic future of the state and the energy 
     security and strategic global position of the nation stand to 
     benefit greatly from development of the state's outer 
     continental shelf; and
       Whereas the state has a rich history of developing its 
     resources in a sustainable and responsible manner; and
       Whereas development of the state's outer continental shelf 
     is a well-understood undertaking, and Alaskans have the 
     benefit of over half a century's experience in managing 
     Arctic development; and
       Whereas the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, a national 
     strategic infrastructure asset, is running at one-quarter of 
     throughput capacity and would benefit from additional future 
     oil supply; and
       Whereas Alaskans, including those living closest to the 
     resource on the North Slope, benefit from outer continental 
     shelf exploration through direct employment, business 
     opportunities, and government revenue; and
       Whereas there are many synergies between the types of 
     infrastructure that would facilitate Arctic oil and gas 
     exploration and development and the infrastructure needs of 
     local communities, the state, and elements of the United 
     States Coast Guard and Navy; and
       Whereas, in January of 2015, the United States Department 
     of the Interior published a draft 2017-2022 Outer Continental 
     Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program that proposed one lease 
     sale each in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea Planning Areas; 
     and
       Whereas the federal government has limited immediate 
     opportunities in several areas in the Arctic, including, most 
     importantly, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the 
     National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska, and the Arctic Outer 
     Continental Shelf; and
       Whereas, on October 16, 2015, the United States Department 
     of the Interior cancelled future outer continental shelf oil 
     and gas lease sales in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area and 
     Beaufort Sea Planning Area, scheduled for 2016 and 2017, 
     respectively; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved that the Alaska House of Representatives opposes 
     the recent decisions of the Obama Administration to cancel 
     future lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; and be 
     it further
       Resolved that the Alaska House of Representatives urges the 
     United States Department of the Interior to continue 
     including the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea lease sales in the 
     2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing 
     Program; and be it further
       Resolved that the Alaska House of Representatives urges the 
     Obama Administration to support ongoing efforts to develop 
     offshore oil and gas in the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf 
     responsibly and to acknowledge the support of Alaskans.
       Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     Barack Obama, President of the United States; the Honorable 
     Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice President of the United States and 
     President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Sally Jewell, 
     United States Secretary of the Interior; Brian Salerno, 
     Director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; and 
     the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, 
     U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 
     Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-167. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Florida condemning the 
     international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) 
     movement against the State of Israel and calls upon its 
     governmental institutions to denounce hatred and 
     discrimination whenever they appear; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                         House Resolution 1001

       Whereas, the citizens of the State of Florida have long 
     opposed bigotry, oppression, discrimination, and injustice as 
     a matter of public policy, and
       Whereas, Florida and Israel have enjoyed a long history of 
     friendship and are great allies in support of each other's 
     interests, and
       Whereas, the State of Israel, the only democracy in the 
     Middle East. is the greatest friend and ally of the United 
     States in that region, and
       Whereas, the elected representatives of the state recognize 
     the importance of expressing Florida's unwavering support of 
     the Jewish people and the State of Israel's right to exist 
     and right to self-defense, and

[[Page S3030]]

       Whereas, there are increasing incidents of anti-Semitism 
     throughout the world, including in the United States and in 
     Florida, reflected in official hate crime statistics, and
       Whereas, the international Boycott, Divestment, and 
     Sanctions (BDS) movement is one of the main vehicles for 
     spreading anti-Semitic perspectives and advocating the 
     elimination of the Jewish State, and
       Whereas, activities promoting Boycott, Divestment, and 
     Sanctions against Israel have increased in the State of 
     Florida, including on university campuses and in other 
     Florida communities, and contribute to the promotion of anti-
     Semitic and anti-Zionist propaganda, and
       Whereas, the increase in BDS campaign activities on college 
     campuses around the country has resulted in increased 
     confrontation, intimidation, and discrimination against 
     Jewish students, and
       Whereas, leaders of the BDS movement express that their 
     goal is to eliminate Israel as the national home of the 
     Jewish people, and
       Whereas, the BDS campaign's call for academic and cultural 
     boycotts has been condemned by many of our nation's largest 
     academic associations, more than 250 university presidents 
     and many other leading scholars as a violation of the bedrock 
     principle of academic freedom: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 
     Florida;
       That the Florida House of Representatives condemns the 
     international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) 
     movement against the State of Israel and calls upon its 
     governmental institutions to denounce hatred and 
     discrimination whenever they appear; and be it further
       Resolved that copies of this resolution be presented to the 
     President of the United States, the President and Secretary 
     of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the Israeli 
     Embassy in Washington, D.C., for transmission to the proper 
     authorities of the State of Israel as a tangible token of the 
     sentiments expressed herein.
                                  ____

       POM-168. A resolution passed by the City and County of 
     Honolulu, Hawaii, encouraging and supporting the Nagorno-
     Karabakh Republic's continuing efforts to guarantee its 
     citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent 
     society and urging the President of the United States and the 
     United States Congress to support the international 
     community's efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to 
     security issues in the strategically important South Caucasus 
     region; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
       POM-169. A petition from a citizen of the State of Texas 
     relative to United States currency; to the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
       POM-170. A petition from a citizen of the State of Texas 
     relative to Puerto Rico; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                          ____________________