[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1734]
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-181. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislative 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico requesting the 
     United States Congress to extend the unemployment and the 
     Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits for an 
     additional twenty-six (26) weeks, due to the catastrophic 
     impact of Hurricanes Maria and Irma on Puerto Rico; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                        Concurrent Resolution 50


                          STATEMENT OF MOTIVES

       Only two weeks after Hurricane Irma hit the Island, on 
     September 20th, 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. The 
     eye of this Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the 
     municipality of Yabucoa.
       Puerto Rico suffered damages estimated in at least ninety 
     billion dollars ($90,000,000,000), and a never-before-seen 
     devastation. The power grid as well as the telecommunications 
     and drinking water systems were down. One month after 
     landfall, a mere eighteen percent (18%) of the population had 
     power service, fifty-nine percent (59%) had 
     telecommunications service, and seventy-three percent (73%) 
     had drinking water service.
       Many businesses have been unable to operate due to the lack 
     of these services. Consequently, a significant number of 
     employees have lost their jobs or their work hours have been 
     reduced considerably.
       Through a contribution based on a percentage of payroll 
     expenses, employers participate in a program where job-
     seeking unemployed persons are able to receive financial 
     assistance and labor advisory from the Government.
       Workers who have been wrongfully discharged may receive the 
     following benefits:
       Unemployment compensation equivalent to a percentage of the 
     salary earned up to one hundred thirty-three dollars 
     ($133.00) a week. Such compensation may be extended for an 
     additional twenty-six (26) weeks, if eligible.
       Job search assistance through their job center locations.
       Furthermore, the Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is 
     available for employed and self-employed persons who have 
     been determined not otherwise eligible for regular 
     unemployment insurance benefits. This program provides 
     unemployment benefits to individuals who have become 
     unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster. Just as 
     the unemployment benefit, this assistance is available for 
     twenty-six (26) weeks.
       Hurricanes Irma and Maria have had a major impact on the 
     economy. Countless Puerto Ricans have lost their jobs, either 
     temporarily or permanently. The lines at the regional offices 
     of the Department of Labor are endless.
       Moreover, it has been estimated that more than sixty 
     thousand (60,000) Puerto Ricans have left the Island over the 
     thirty (30) days following Hurricane Maria, forty thousand 
     (40,000) of which have relocated to Florida.
       If the U.S. Congress approves the unemployment benefit 
     extension it will greatly contribute to the recovery of the 
     People of Puerto Rico and prevent many others from making the 
     difficult decision of moving from Puerto Rico.
       This is not the first time that such a request is made. The 
     U.S. Congress approved a similar extension in 2006 after 
     Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck Louisiana and Texas, 
     respectively.
       For all of the foregoing, this Legislative Assembly of 
     Puerto Rico deems it meritorious to request the Congress of 
     the United States of America to extend the unemployment and 
     the Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits for an 
     additional twenty-six (26) weeks, due to the catastrophic 
     impact of Hurricanes Maria and Irma on Puerto Rico.
       Be it resolved by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico:
       Section 1.--To request the Congress of the United States of 
     America to extend the unemployment and the Disaster 
     Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits for an additional 
     twenty-six (26) weeks, due to the catastrophic impact of 
     Hurricanes Maria and Irma on Puerto Rico.
       Section 2.--It is hereby directed that a copy of this 
     Concurrent Resolution, translated into English, be delivered 
     to the leadership of the Congress of the United States of 
     America, including the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico 
     in Washington, D.C., the President of the United States of 
     America, and the U.S. Secretary of Labor.
       Section 3.--This Concurrent Resolution shall take effect 
     upon its approval.
                                  ____

       POM-182. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Colorado relative to the fiftieth anniversary 
     of the capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo by North Korea; to the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations.

                     House Joint Resolution 18-1004

       Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo was originally launched as a 
     United States Army cargo ship in 1944 but was transferred to 
     the United States Navy and renamed the U.S.S. Pueblo in 1966; 
     and
       Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo was named for the city of 
     Pueblo, Colorado, and the county of Pueblo, Colorado, and was 
     the third ship in the naval fleet to bear the name Pueblo; 
     and
       Whereas, After leaving Japan in early January 1968 on an 
     intelligence mission, the U.S.S. Pueblo was attacked by the 
     North Korean military on January 23, 1968; and
       Whereas, According to United States Naval authorities and 
     the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo, the ship was in international 
     waters at the time of the attack; and
       Whereas, One crew member of the U.S.S. Pueblo was killed 
     during the attack, and eighty crew members and two civilian 
     oceanographers were captured and held for eleven months by 
     the North Korean government; and
       Whereas, This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of North 
     Korea's attack on the U.S.S. Pueblo and her crew; and
       Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo is still in commission in the 
     United States Navy but continues to be held by the North 
     Korean government and is currently a museum in Pyongyang, 
     North Korea; Now, therefore; and be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-
     first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate 
     concurring herein:
       (1) That we, the members of the General Assembly, recognize 
     the bravery and sacrifice of the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo;
       (2) That we take pride in the fact that the U.S.S. Pueblo 
     bears the name of a city and a county in Colorado, and, 
     therefore, the citizens of Colorado should be aware of the 
     incident that occurred with the U.S.S. Pueblo fifty years 
     ago;
       (3) That we continue the call for Kim Jong Un and the North 
     Korean government to return the U.S.S. Pueblo to the people 
     of the United States; and
       (4) That we hereby designate January 23 each year as 
     ``U.S.S. Pueblo Day'' as a day to remember and honor the 
     brave crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to 
     President Donald J. Trump, Governor John W. Hickenlooper, 
     President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Orrin 
     Hatch, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives 
     Paul D. Ryan, and the members of Colorado's Congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-183. A resolution adopted by the Common Council of the 
     City of Syracuse, New York urging the federal government to 
     pass legislation in support of a national revenue-neutral 
     carbon fee and dividend in order to help slow climate change; 
     to the Committee on Finance.

                          ____________________