[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 143 (Monday, August 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5952-S5954]
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-292. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California urging the United States Congress to 
     require, if necessary, a resolution between the federal 
     Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and TRICARE to 
     immediately restore data sharing and to waive the one-year 
     timely filing restriction for all claims caught in this 
     stoppage; to the Committee on Finance.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 23

       Whereas, The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
     Services (CMS), a part of the United States Department of 
     Health and Human Services (HHS), works with the states to 
     fund and implement the MediCaid program, which provides 
     health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible 
     low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, 
     and people with disabilities; and
       Whereas, TRICARE, which is managed by the United States 
     Department of Defense Military Health System, provides 
     civilian health benefits for active duty and reserve military 
     members of the United States Armed Forces, military retirees, 
     and their dependents, and which relies on the Defense 
     Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) computerized 
     database that contains TRICARE eligibility data for these 
     individuals; and
       Whereas, Approximately 1.75 million military veterans, 
     their families, and active duty family members (nearly 1 in 
     10) have TRICARE and Medicaid coverage, including family 
     members of active duty members who qualify under Medicaid 
     income limits, veterans and their families who qualify under 
     Medicaid income limits, disabled veterans and their families, 
     and active duty family members that qualify for Medicaid due 
     to disability; and
       Whereas, For individuals who have both TRICARE and Medicaid 
     coverage, TRICARE must pay as primary coverage; and
       Whereas, Historically, identifying individuals with both 
     TRICARE and Medicaid coverage has been a challenging, yet 
     necessary, process, as acknowledged and documented in an HHS 
     Inspector General report, ``Medicaid Third Party Liability 
     (TPL) Savings Have Increased, But Challenges Remain''; and
       Whereas, Prior to 2017, TRICARE had matched their DEERS 
     eligibility files and provided information back to the states 
     about the individuals who had both TRICARE and Medicaid 
     coverage; and
       Whereas, The agreement to cross-match between CMS and 
     TRICARE has expired and the parties have been unable to 
     reestablish terms to coordinate benefits between the two 
     programs; and
       Whereas, In early 2017, TRICARE ceased its support in the 
     data-match process in which states provide Medicaid enrollee 
     eligibility information to TRICARE in order to identify those 
     members who have both TRICARE and Medicaid; and
       Whereas, The expiration of the agreement has the effect of 
     preventing the recovery of millions of payments annually 
     where Medicaid erroneously paid, because TRICARE should have 
     paid as primary coverage, resulting in a shift of additional 
     costs from the federal government to the states; and
       Whereas, TRICARE's timely filing limitation precludes 
     Medicaid from billing a claim that should be TRICARE's 
     responsibility if the service was rendered more than one year 
     prior, resulting in additional annual costs shifting to 
     California and other states; and
       Whereas, TRICARE refuses to share data with, and process 
     eligibility information from, Medicaid managed care 
     organizations that provide care to more than 60 percent of 
     all Medicaid members nationally. It is estimated that 
     millions of dollars annually paid in claims should have been 
     TRICARE's responsibility, not Medicaid managed care 
     organizations, resulting in even more cost

[[Page S5953]]

     shifting to the states and leading to improper Medicaid 
     capitation payments; and
       Whereas, Approximately 8.6 percent of TRICARE 
     beneficiaries, or approximately 804,724 uniformed service 
     members and their families, are located in California, and 
     thus it is estimated that California could be paying millions 
     of dollars it is not responsible for if this issue of data 
     sharing between TRICARE and CMS is not resolved; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of 
     California urges the United States Department of Defense and 
     the United States Department of Health and Human Services to 
     implement and the United States Congress to require, if 
     necessary, a resolution between the federal Centers for 
     Medicare and Medicaid Services and TRICARE to immediately 
     restore data sharing and to waive the one-year timely filing 
     restriction for all claims caught in this stoppage; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies 
     of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the 
     United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
     the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority 
     Leader of the United States Senate, and to each Senator and 
     Representative from California in the Congress of the United 
     States.
                                  ____

       POM-293. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California urging the United States Congress and 
     the President of the United States to enact H.R. 2902 pending 
     before Congress that would fully fund the federal Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); to the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 19

       Whereas, The federal Education for All Handicapped Children 
     Act of 1975 (1975 Act) was enacted by Congress and signed 
     into law by the President of the United States as Public Law 
     94-142 to address the failure of states to meet the 
     educational needs of children with disabilities. This act, 
     known as the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education 
     Act (IDEA) since 1990 with the enactment of Public Law 101-
     476, remains the cornerstone of federal statutory mandates 
     governing special education; and
       Whereas, The purpose of the 1975 Act, as declared by 
     Congress, was to ensure that all children with disabilities 
     have available to them, within specified time periods, ``a 
     free appropriate public education which emphasizes special 
     education and related services designed to meet their unique 
     needs, to assure that the rights of children with 
     disabilities and their parents or guardians are protected, to 
     assist States and localities to provide for the education of 
     all children with disabilities, and to assess and assure the 
     effectiveness of efforts to educate children with 
     disabilities''; and
       Whereas, The 1975 Act authorized a maximum state funding 
     entitlement of 40 percent, for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 1982, and for each fiscal year thereafter, of 
     the average per pupil expenditure in public elementary and 
     secondary schools in the United'States; and
       Whereas, Since 1975, including in the most recent 
     amendments to the IDEA, Public Law 108-446, the federal 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2004, Congress has maintained the funding authorization at 
     ``40 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure in public 
     elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
     States''; and
       Whereas, The federal government has never paid its promised 
     40 percent share of the IDEA mandate. For many years, 
     Congress paid less than 8 percent of the excess cost of 
     educating children with disabilities, forcing the states and 
     local educational agencies to cover the remaining costs. The 
     California student population requiring special education and 
     related services continues to grow each year; and
       Whereas, School, disability, and parent groups have been 
     trying for years to bring IDEA appropriations up to the 
     authorized 40 percent of average per-pupil expenditures, the 
     maximum any state can receive per student with disability. 
     This effort has come to be known as ``full funding,'' but the 
     effort has never succeeded; and
       Whereas, The California Legislature, since the early 1990s, 
     has approved a number of joint resolutions memorializing the 
     President of the United States and the U.S. Congress to 
     provide the full federal share of funding for special 
     education programs to the states so that this state and other 
     states will not be required to take funding from other vital 
     state and local programs to fund this underfunded federal 
     mandate; and
       Whereas, In 2016, federal funding only represented 16.3 
     percent of its share, well short of the promised 40 percent 
     level; and
       Whereas, Because the promised federal funding level is not 
     being met, the burden has fallen on states and local school 
     districts, which leads to cuts in programs, or tax increases, 
     or both; and
       Whereas, A bill stands on the floor of the United States 
     House of Representatives, H.R. 2902, known as the IDEA Full 
     Funding Act, that aims to reach the 40 percent ``full 
     funding'' level by the fiscal year 2027 through incremental 
     increases in the federal share of funding each fiscal year: 
     now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully 
     memorializes the Congress and the President of the United 
     States to enact H.R. 2902 pending before Congress that would 
     fully fund IDEA; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies 
     of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the 
     United States, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the 
     Chair of the Senate Committee on the Budget, to the Chair of 
     the House Committee on the Budget, to the Senate Committee on 
     Appropriations, to the Chair of the House Committee on 
     Appropriations, to each Senator and Representative from 
     California in the Congress of the United States, and to the 
     United States Secretary of Education.
                                  ____

       POM-294. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California calling upon the President of the 
     United States and the United States Congress to enact 
     legislation that provides more funding for research to be 
     done on potential treatment and cures for rare diseases; to 
     the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                    Senate Joint Resolution No. 25,

       Whereas, Batten Disease is a family of rare genetic 
     disorders of the nervous system that typically begins in 
     childhood; and
       Whereas, There are many forms of Batten Disease, and the 
     mutations of at least 14 different genes are known to cause 
     the disease; and
       Whereas, Symptoms of the fatal disease include vision loss 
     leading to blindness, personality and behavioral changes, 
     seizures, intellectual decline, disruption and loss of 
     speech,' dementia, and other debilitating ailments; and
       Whereas, Depending on the age of onset, Batten Disease 
     usually leads to premature death when the patient is in his 
     or her late teens or early twenties; and
       Whereas, Batten Disease occurs in an estimated two to four 
     of every 100,000 births in the United States; and
       Whereas, Due to the many different forms of the disease, 
     there is significant variability in the age of onset and 
     symptom progression for each case; and
       Whereas, On average, the process to reach the correct 
     diagnosis for a patient with a rare disease could take up to 
     7.6 years, visits with numerous physicians, and multiple 
     misdiagnoses; and
       Whereas, There is no known cure for Batten Disease, and the 
     lack of essential funding has hindered scientists' ability to 
     find a potential treatment or cure; and
       Whereas, The federal government failed to pass House 
     Resolution 971 introduced by Representative Gus Bilirakis in 
     the 114th Congress, which represented an effort to increase 
     the number of treatments for rare diseases, reduce the use of 
     drugs that are not approved by the federal Food and Drug 
     Administration (FDA), and bring down the average cost of rare 
     disease medications; and
       Whereas, The federal government has not done enough to 
     provide funding for rare diseases, and 95 percent of the 
     7,000 rare diseases still have no FDA-approved treatment: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature does hereby 
     proclaim the weekend of June 2, 2018, through June 3, 2018, 
     as Batten Disease Awareness Weekend; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the President and 
     Congress of the United States to enact legislation that 
     provides more funding for research to be done on potential 
     treatment and cures for rare diseases; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies 
     of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the 
     United States, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to 
     each Senator and Representative from California in the 
     Congress of the United States.
                                  ____

       POM-295. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California memorializing its opposition to the 
     decision to end the Temporary Protected Status designation 
     for the people of El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, 
     and Sudan, and urging the United States Congress to enact a 
     bipartisan, permanent solution for Salvadorans, Haitians, 
     Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and Sudanese with Temporary Protected 
     Status; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 16

       Whereas, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was established 
     by the United States Congress through the Immigration Act of 
     1990, and is a temporary, renewable program that provides 
     relief from deportation and access to a work permit for 
     foreign nationals from certain countries who are unable to 
     safely return to their home countries due to natural 
     disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary 
     conditions; and
       Whereas, The TPS program provides compassion, generosity, 
     and human rights to law abiding immigrants; and
       Whereas, The TPS designation for El Salvador was terminated 
     by the Trump administration, effective September 9, 2019; and
       Whereas, The TPS designation for Nicaragua was terminated 
     by the Trump administration, effective January 5, 2019; and
       Whereas, The TPS designation for Haiti was terminated by 
     the Trump administration, effective July 22, 2019; and
       Whereas, The TPS designation for Sudan was terminated by 
     the Trump administration, effective November 2, 2018; and

[[Page S5954]]

       Whereas, The current TPS designation for Honduras expires 
     on July 5, 2018; and
       Whereas, These humanitarian programs have enabled 413,390 
     immigrants to live, work, and raise families in the United 
     States, in some cases for over two decades; and
       Whereas, Data collected from a nationwide survey of 
     immigrants holding TPS found that TPS has contributed 
     positively to the socioeconomic integration of these 
     immigrants, benefiting them, their families, and United 
     States society in general; and
       Whereas, TPS holders have significantly high levels of 
     labor force participation: 94 percent of men and 82.1 percent 
     of women are working, with 83.3 percent of men and 54.9 
     percent of women working more than 40 hours per week, and 7.6 
     percent of men and 10.0 percent of women working more than 
     one job. About one-tenth of survey respondents were self-
     employed (men 13.4 percent, women 7.8 percent); and
       Whereas, Among survey respondents, 33.6 percent of men and 
     29.9 percent of women live in owner-occupied homes; and
       Whereas, The percentage of the survey respondents who in 
     that nationwide survey volunteered in civic organizations, 
     committees, or community groups in the 12 months prior to the 
     survey is 29.7 percent, showing high levels of social 
     integration. Also, 20.2 percent of survey respondents engaged 
     in activities to benefit their community, including donating 
     blood, cleaning streets, and other similar activities; and
       Whereas, The percentage of survey respondents who pay 
     income taxes is 80.3 percent, including 79.3 percent of those 
     who are self-employed. They have contributed to social 
     security for an average of 15.4 years and 90 percent file 
     taxes every year; and
       Whereas, United States citizen children whose American 
     families are a part of the TPS program should not be torn 
     apart by the end of this program and by the potential 
     deportation of their parents; and
       Whereas, Immigrants with disqualifying criminal backgrounds 
     are not eligible for TPS relief and the United States 
     Department of Homeland Security should work to ensure that no 
     one with such a background is granted TPS if the programs are 
     renewed; and
       Whereas, TPS holders have already fulfilled many of the 
     requirements for lawful permanent residence and the 
     overwhelming majority hold at least one job, pay taxes and 
     pay for their own insurance, have clean criminal records as 
     these checks are required with every renewal, and have 
     demonstrated that they have the will to belong and to become 
     full members of society through home ownership and raising 
     children in the United States. Many TPS holders also have 
     continued to advance educationally; and
       Whereas, Only the Congress of the United States can 
     legislate a permanent solution to address the lawful 
     immigration status for those protected by TPS; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature condemns the 
     decision to end the Temporary Protected Status designation 
     for the people of El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, 
     and Sudan; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Congress of the 
     United States to extend the federal Temporary Protected 
     Status for the people of El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, 
     Nicaragua, and Sudan; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Congress of the 
     United States to take the remainder of the time before the 
     effective date of termination of each federal Temporary 
     Protected Status program to enact a bipartisan, permanent 
     solution for establishing the permanent legal status for 
     Salvadorans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and Sudanese 
     with Temporary Protected Status who were granted Temporary 
     Protected Status and have lived and worked in the United 
     States for many years; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies 
     of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of 
     the United States, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate; to 
     each Senator and Representative from California in the 
     Congress of the United States, and to the author for 
     appropriate distribution.
                                  ____

       POM-296. A resolution adopted by the City Council of 
     Seaside, California urging its state and federal 
     representatives to adopt stricter controls governing the 
     sale, transfer, possession, manufacturing, and distribution 
     of all firearms, dangerous weapons, and ammunition; to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-297. A petition from a citizen of the State of Texas 
     relative to the appropriation of funds for financial aid to 
     foreign nations; to the Committee on Appropriations.

                          ____________________