[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8258-S8259]
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-145. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     direct the Department of Defense to relocate the United 
     States Africa Command to Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base 
     in Houston; to the Committee on Armed Services.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 41

       Whereas, The Pentagon could realize significant savings by 
     relocating the United States Africa Command from Germany to 
     Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston; and
       Whereas, When AFRICOM was created in 2007, the Department 
     of Defense chose a temporary location in Stuttgart; it 
     intended to select a permanent headquarters in Africa, but 
     set this plan aside due to cost projections, security, and 
     the sensitivities of African nations; and
       Whereas, The Department of Defense conducted a study in 
     2012 that found maintaining AFRICOM headquarters stateside 
     would cost $60 million to $70 million less per year, and now 
     those savings would be even greater due to significant 
     increases in Overseas Cost of Living Allowances rates; 
     although relocation would involve expense, this expense could 
     be recouped within two to six years; moreover, the relocation 
     would repatriate about 1,400 direct jobs and create as many 
     as 4,300 additional jobs for United States residents, and it 
     would have an annual impact on the local economy ranging from 
     $400 million to $500 million; and
       Whereas, Should the defense department decide to relocate 
     AFRICOM, Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston would 
     be an ideal home for the headquarters; the base features 
     strong joint service military value of active duty, reserve, 
     and guard units from all five United States armed services, 
     some of which presently conduct training and operational 
     missions for AFRICOM; it is also equipped to handle large 
     military aircraft, and the city boasts one of the nation's 
     most vibrant ports, which handles 40 percent of all United 
     States trade with Africa; moreover, the community is 
     exceptionally supportive of the military, and the Greater 
     Houston area has strong cultural, educational, medical, and 
     diplomatic ties with Africa; and
       Whereas, The Government Accountability Office has concluded 
     that the relocation of AFRICOM to the United States would 
     generate tremendous cost savings and economic benefits, and 
     Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base offers advantages that 
     would enhance the effectiveness of the headquarters; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to direct 
     the Department of Defense to relocate the United States 
     Africa Command to Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in 
     Houston; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the secretary of the Department of Defense, 
     to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House 
     of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all 
     the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the 
     request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional 
     Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of 
     America.
                                  ____

       POM-146. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     review federal regulation on the oil and gas industry in 
     Texas; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 26

       Whereas, the Texas Legislature recognizes that this period 
     in our nation's history represents an opportunity for Texas 
     to work with the leadership of the federal government to 
     transcend partisan politics and correct misuses of federal 
     regulatory power that have threatened the Texas oil and gas 
     industry, the jobs it creates, and the economy of the state; 
     and
       Whereas, Texas oil and gas fields have provided a pathway 
     toward American energy independence from foreign powers, have 
     afforded financial security to hundreds of thousands of 
     individuals in Texas, and have delivered safe and reliable 
     energy to fuel our nation's economy; and
       Whereas, during the past eight years, the federal 
     government has promulgated regulations that jeopardize the 
     productivity of the oil and gas fields of Texas; and
       Whereas, new federal regulations have been proposed and 
     implemented despite the protests of Texas and many other oil 
     and gas producing states, resulting in overregulation that 
     prioritizes minor environmental gains over major productive 
     losses; and
       Whereas, the State of Texas has joined many other oil and 
     gas producing states to file more than 20 lawsuits against 
     federal overreach; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the

[[Page S8259]]

     executive branch and the Congress of the United States to 
     work in conjunction with the State of Texas to identify 
     federal regulations promulgated during the last eight years, 
     especially those promulgated under the authority of the 
     United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United 
     States Department of the Interior, and the United States 
     Department of Energy, and determine whether they should be 
     revised, delegated to state agencies, or eliminated in order 
     to ease the overly burdensome regulatory patchwork on the oil 
     and gas industry in Texas; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in 
     the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____



       POM--147. A concurrent resolution adopted by the 
     Legislature of the State of Texas urging the United States 
     Congress to increase appropriations from the Harbor 
     Maintenance Trust Fund to ensure that the nation's ship 
     channels are maintained and safe, to the Committee on 
     Environment and Public Works.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 37

       Whereas, Seaport activities generate more than $4 trillion 
     in economic activity each year, representing more than a 
     quarter of United States gross domestic product and yielding 
     more than $41 billion in federal, state, and local tax 
     revenue; and
       Whereas, To support this critical component of 
     international trade, the United States Congress established 
     the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) on shippers in 1986 as a 
     means of funding the maintenance and improvement of vital 
     harbor infrastructure; and
       Whereas, HMT revenues deposited into the Harbor Maintenance 
     Trust Fund now total about $1.6 billion annually, but in 
     recent years, Congress has appropriated less than half of 
     those funds for the intended purpose, leading to a decline in 
     dredging and maintenance by the United States Army Corps of 
     Engineers; the consequence is an accumulation of sediment 
     that leaves navigation channels narrower and shallower, and 
     when silted channels constrain vessels from carrying full 
     loads or force them to wait for high tide, the costs of 
     imports and exports rise, as does the risk of vessel 
     grounding and associated oil spills; the Corps of Engineers 
     has estimated that the full depth and width of our coastal 
     ports is available less than 35 percent of the time, costing 
     the economy billions of dollars annually; and
       Whereas, Each year, the HMT provides an amount sufficient 
     to meet all of the nation's authorized harbor maintenance 
     needs, but as a result of lagging appropriations, the Harbor 
     Maintenance Trust Fund had a balance of more than $9 billion 
     at the start of 2016; in Texas alone, less than 25 percent of 
     the HMT revenue collected in the state has been appropriated 
     for harbor maintenance; and
       Whereas, Our nation's ports are vital to our economic 
     prosperity and global competitiveness, and these funds, which 
     were collected for the express purpose of the maintenance and 
     improvement of the ports, should be put to work; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to 
     increase appropriations from the Harbor Maintenance Trust 
     Fund to ensure that the nation's ship channels are 
     appropriately maintained and safe; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in 
     the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-148. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     direct the Bureau of Land Management to affirm the provisions 
     of the Red River Boundary Compact and to acknowledge that the 
     vegetation line on the south bank of the Red River forms the 
     boundary between Oklahoma and Texas; to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 30

       Whereas, The Red River Boundary Compact of 2000 set the 
     boundary between Texas and Oklahoma at the vegetation line on 
     the south bank of the Red River, with the exception of the 
     Texoma area, where the boundary is established pursuant to 
     procedures outlined in the agreement; and
       Whereas, In 2013, the United States Bureau of Land 
     Management began developing a resource management plan for 
     the use of land along a 116-mile stretch of the Red River; it 
     claims that as many as 90,000 acres in Texas may actually be 
     part of federal lands and would therefore be public land 
     under a 1923 Supreme Court ruling; and
       Whereas, Many Texas residents have held title to this land 
     for generations, and they have been paying property taxes on 
     the land while cultivating and maintaining it; the boundary 
     between the states was settled in 2000 for legal 
     jurisdiction, when the U.S. Congress ratified the compact, 
     but now, confusion over the boundary threatens the value of 
     this privately owned land and makes it difficult for property 
     owners to make informed decisions concerning its disposition 
     and their livelihoods; and
       Whereas, Private property rights are the bedrock of a free 
     society, and the actions of the Bureau of Land Management 
     with regard to land covered by the Red River Boundary Compact 
     are an egregious example of federal overreach; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to direct 
     the Bureau of Land Management to affirm the provisions of the 
     Red River Boundary Compact and to acknowledge that the 
     vegetation line on the south bank of the Red River forms the 
     boundary between Oklahoma and Texas; and, be it further.
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the secretary of the United States 
     Department of the Interior, to the director of the United 
     States Bureau of Land Management, to the president of the 
     Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the 
     United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas 
     delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution 
     be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 
     Congress of the United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-149. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     enact legislation to ensure that all veterans receive, in a 
     timely manner, the level of medical care that they have 
     earned and that they so richly deserve, to the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 52

       Whereas, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is charged 
     with ensuring the health and well-being of the nation's 
     veterans, but in recent years, its failure to adequately 
     perform its mission has been the source of scandal; and
       Whereas, in 2014, the United States Congress responded to 
     unconscionable delays and denials of care at VA facilities by 
     passing the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act, 
     which allows access to private medical care providers for 
     veterans who have been waiting more than 30 days for an 
     appointment or who live more than 40 miles from a VA 
     facility; this law is set to expire in 2017; and
       Whereas, by expanding the reforms of the Veterans Choice 
     Act, Congress can improve the VA system, broadening access to 
     timely health care while offering greater choice and 
     flexibility to every eligible veteran; experts have proposed 
     allowing access to walk-in clinics without preauthorization 
     or copayment, expanding VA pharmacy hours and telemedicine, 
     and extending the Veterans Choice Card program to permit all 
     qualified veterans to see the doctor of their choice; in 
     addition, those who have studied the system carefully 
     encourage best-practices peer review for VA facilities; and
       Whereas, our nation's veterans have made enormous 
     sacrifices to guarantee our freedoms, and although the nation 
     can never fully repay its debt of gratitude, it can and 
     should ensure timely access to the highest quality of medical 
     care: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact 
     legislation to ensure that all veterans receive in a timely 
     manner the level of medical care that they have earned and 
     that they so richly deserve; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in 
     the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-150. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     pass a budget; to the Committee on the Budget.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 59

       Whereas, For too long, Congress has proven itself fiscally 
     irresponsible and has created a crushing national debt 
     through improvident and imprudent spending; and
       Whereas, The deleterious effect of this fiscal 
     mismanagement on our economy and the strength of our nation 
     is ongoing and the consequences of inaction are severe; and
       Whereas, Setting a federal budget is an essential aspect of 
     governing, and Congress must accept its responsibility to 
     regularly pass a budget bill; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 
     pass a budget; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be officially 
     entered into the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 
     Congress of the United States of America.

                          ____________________