[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 125 (Tuesday, July 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S4191]
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-76. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the United 
     States Congress to continue full funding for the Facility for 
     Rare Isotope Beams on the campus of Michigan State 
     University; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation.

                        House Resolution No. 113

       Whereas, The President's proposed 2018 budget includes a 
     $17 million cut in federal funding for the Facility for Rare 
     Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University. This could 
     delay the project's anticipated completion date, increasing 
     costs by an estimated $20 million; and
       Whereas, Currently, the state-of-the-art project is on 
     budget and ahead of schedule and is about three quarters 
     completed. The FRIB will be the world's most powerful rare 
     isotope beam facility upon completion; at least 1,000 times 
     more powerful than Michigan State University's existing 
     cyclotrons; and
       Whereas, The FRIB will more than double the research 
     opportunities available in the field of nuclear physics. Its 
     cutting-edge discoveries will provide applications for 
     society in such areas as cancer research, homeland security, 
     and commercial innovation. A world class scientific facility 
     such as the FRIB will address the U.S. innovation deficit and 
     provide opportunities to train the next generation of 
     scientific and business leaders; and
       Whereas, The FRIB will have a huge impact on Michigan. It 
     will contribute an estimated $4.4 billion in statewide 
     economic activity over the course of its lifespan. It is 
     expected to create over 1,000 jobs, generate wages of $1.7 
     billion, and strengthen and diversify the state's economy 
     through investments in research and innovation; and
       Whereas, It is critically important that federal funding 
     continue to provide a solid foundation for cutting-edge 
     scientific research at the FRIB. A funding shortfall and 
     delay could mean canceled contracts and missed opportunities 
     in the region's burgeoning particle science industry. 
     Continuation of full funding is essential to keeping FRIB 
     construction on time and on budget; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     United States Congress to continue full funding for the 
     Facility for Rare Isotope Beams on the campus of Michigan 
     State University; 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-77. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska making application to the United States 
     Congress to call a convention of the state to propose a 
     countermand amendment to the United States Constitution as 
     provided under Article V; and urging the legislatures of the 
     other 49 states to make the same application; to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary.

                     House Joint Resolution No. 14

       Whereas the state's sovereignty has been infringed upon by 
     the federal government, including by the federal government's 
     recent denial of and refusal to work with state officials on 
     the construction of a lifesaving road from King Cove to Cold 
     Bay; and
       Whereas the state's access to a fair permitting process for 
     projects that will develop the state's natural resources and 
     provide revenue streams to the state, including oil 
     exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and large-
     scale mining projects throughout the state, has been 
     continually denied by the United States Environmental 
     Protection Agency and other agencies of the federal 
     government; and
       Whereas the United States Congress has, at times, exceeded 
     its delegated powers, the President of the United States has, 
     at times, exceeded the constitutional authority of the office 
     of the President of the United States, and the federal courts 
     have, at times, exceeded their authority by issuing decisions 
     on public policy matters reserved to the states in violation 
     of the principles of federalism and separation of powers, all 
     of which have adversely affected the state and its people; 
     and
       Whereas, under the authority of art. V, Constitution of the 
     United States, the several states should apply to the United 
     States Congress to call a convention of the states to amend 
     the United States Constitution and adopt a countermand 
     amendment to authorize the states, upon a vote of three-
     fifths of the state legislatures, to nullify and repeal a 
     federal statute, executive order, judicial decision, 
     regulatory decision by a federal government agency, or 
     government mandate imposed on the states by law that 
     adversely affects the interests of the states, in order to 
     properly exercise the states' constitutional authority to 
     check federal power, preserve state sovereignty, and protect 
     the rights of the states and the people; and
       Whereas the states have the authority to define and limit 
     the agenda of a convention to a single-issue ``countermand 
     amendment convention'' called for by the states as provided 
     under art. V, Constitution of the United States; and
       Whereas the delegates sent by the states to a countermand 
     amendment convention shall have the limited authority to 
     deliberate on and decide whether the countermand amendment, 
     as preapproved by state legislatures, should be sent back to 
     the state legislatures for ratification; Be it
       Resolved, That, under art. V, Constitution of the United 
     States, the Alaska State Legislature directs the United 
     States Congress to call. a single-issue convention of the 
     states, called a ``countermand amendment convention,'' for 
     the sole purpose of deciding whether the proposed countermand 
     amendment should be sent back to the state legislatures for 
     ratification; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature directs the 
     United States Congress to convene the countermand amendment 
     convention within 60 days after the date it receives the 34th 
     call for that convention from state legislatures; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That this application constitutes a continuing 
     application in accordance with art. V, Constitution of the 
     United States, until at least two-thirds of the legislatures 
     of the several states have applied for a similar convention 
     of the states; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the 
     legislatures of the other 49 states to apply to the United 
     States Congress to call a single-issue countermand convention 
     of the states under art. V, Constitution of the United 
     States.
       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 John Boehner, 
     Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 
     Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the 
     Honorable Nancy Erickson, Secretary of the U.S. Senate; the 
     Honorable Karen L. Haas, Clerk of the U.S. House of 
     Representatives; 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; and the presiding officers of the legislatures 
     of each of the other 49 states.

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