[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2187-S2188]
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-23. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress to 
     provide full long-term funding for the Payment in Lieu of 
     Taxes program; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                    Senate Concurrent Memorial 1002

       Whereas, the authority of state and local governments to 
     promote the highest value and use of land is critical to 
     funding education and other essential government services; 
     and
       Whereas, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
     of 1976, federal land

[[Page S2188]]

     policy changed from one of disposal, in which land would 
     enter the state tax rolls, to permanent federal retention as 
     untaxable public land; and
       Whereas, the State of Arizona is composed of 113,417 square 
     miles of land, of which 42% is federally owned, nontribal 
     land that is unavailable for economic development and not 
     part of the property tax base. Less than 17% of the land in 
     Arizona is private land; and
       Whereas, recognizing the substantial burden this policy 
     change imposed on the ability of state and local governments 
     to fund education and other essential government services, 
     Congress established the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) 
     program in 1976 to compensate for the tax revenue that these 
     governments otherwise would have generated from the land; and
       Whereas, the national average PILT payment in fiscal year 
     2018 was $0.91 per acre, which is far below the amount that 
     federal lands would return through both value-based taxation 
     and economic development; and
       Whereas, for more than a decade, Congress has been erratic 
     in the amount and timeliness of PILT payments to Arizona 
     counties; and
       Whereas, funding for fiscal year 2018 PILT was included in 
     the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, totaling $553 
     million, but the fate of fiscal year 2019 and future years is 
     still unknown; and
       Whereas, a lack of PILT funding places the large, 
     unsustainable burden of providing services squarely on the 
     backs of Arizona taxpayers and critically impacts the local 
     budget process and structural solvency of counties and public 
     school systems; and
       Whereas, without regard to the longstanding debate whether 
     the federal government should relinquish control of Arizona 
     lands, Congress should pay the full amount in lieu of tax 
     revenue that is denied this state's taxing entities as long 
     as the federal government does withhold state lands from 
     being subject to tax; and
       Whereas, an estimated $9.4 billion provided by state, 
     county and local monies, including 43% of the state general 
     fund budget, funds K-12 education in Arizona. The state and 
     local governments struggle to provide this and other 
     essential government services, and proper payment of PILT 
     will help this imbalance; and
       Whereas, the federal government has the duty to reimburse 
     local jurisdictions for the presence of federally managed 
     public lands in a reliable and consistent manner.
       Wherefore your memorialist, the Senate of the State of 
     Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring, prays:
       1. That the United States Congress establish, in 
     coordination with this state, an objective standard for 
     calculating the value of PILT payments that are equivalent to 
     the tax revenue this state, political subdivisions and school 
     districts would otherwise be able to generate but for federal 
     control of Arizona lands.
       2. That the United States Congress provide full, timely and 
     sustainable long-term funding for the PILT program to help 
     create financial stability within Arizona's counties and 
     public school system.
       3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit a copy of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State 
     of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-24. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Iowa urging the United States Congress to 
     enact legislation to implement a multilateral trade agreement 
     between the United States, Canada, and Mexico; to the 
     Committee on Finance.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 10

       Whereas, Iowa is a world leader in agricultural production 
     and industrial manufacturing, and depends on international 
     trade to market its products; and
       Whereas, Iowa prospers from multilateral trade with Canada 
     and Mexico, its two largest international export markets, 
     which purchase nearly half of the value of Iowa's total 
     exports; and
       Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United 
     States, Canada, and Mexico will support high-paying jobs for 
     Iowans and build the entire North American economy; and
       Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United 
     States, Canada, and Mexico should provide safeguards for 
     United States products to create a more level playing field 
     for America's workers, modernize agriculture trade in North 
     America to benefit America's farmers, and establish new 
     protections with respect to United States intellectual 
     property, digital trade, anticorruption, and good regulatory 
     practices; and
       Whereas, multilateral trade agreements negotiated with 
     bipartisan efforts enjoy overwhelming support from the United 
     States business community and farm groups; and
       Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United 
     States, Canada, and Mexico will reinforce the close 
     relationship we uphold with our neighbors to the north and 
     south; and
       Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United 
     States, Canada, and Mexico must be ratified by all three 
     governments before it can come into effect, including a 
     congressional vote on legislation to implement the 
     multilateral trade agreement: Now therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 
     concurring, That the Iowa General Assembly recognizes that a 
     multilateral trade agreement between the United States, 
     Canada, and Mexico will strengthen Iowa's economy and benefit 
     Iowa's farmers and workers, and urges Congress to enact 
     legislation to implement such a multilateral trade agreement; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Concurrent Resolution be 
     distributed to the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and 
     each member of Iowa's congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-25. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of North Dakota relative to abortion; to the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                  House Concurrent Resolution No. 3029

       Whereas, a bill prohibiting abortions from being performed 
     20 weeks postfertilization passed in the United States House 
     of Representatives in 2013, 2015, and 2017; and
       Whereas, in 2017, the bill prohibiting abortions from being 
     performed 20 weeks postfertilization failed to pass in the 
     United States Senate by only nine votes, and
       Whereas, over twenty states, including North Dakota, have 
     implemented laws, with varying exceptions, prohibiting 
     abortions from being performed 20 weeks postferilization: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of North Dakota, 
     the Senate concurring therein: That the Sixty-sixth 
     Legislative Assembly urges the Congress of the United States 
     to pass a federal prohibition on abortions performed 20 weeks 
     postfertilization; and be it further
       Resolved, that the Secretary of State forward copies of 
     this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the President pro tempore of the United 
     States Senate, and each member of the North Dakota 
     Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-26. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Ohio urging the United States Congress to enact a Born-Alive 
     Abortion Survivors Protection Act as expeditiously as 
     possible; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                        Senate Resolution No. 41

       Whereas, If an abortion results in the live birth of an 
     infant, the infant is a legal person and must be entitled to 
     all the protections of United States law available to a legal 
     person; and
       Whereas, Any infant born alive after an abortion or within 
     a hospital, clinic, or other facility should have the same 
     claim to the protections of the law that would arise for any 
     newborn or any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or 
     other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise 
     becomes a patient within its care; and
       Whereas, Without special protection for infants born alive 
     after an abortion provided in law, these infants are exposed 
     to serious injury or harm and possible death; and
       Whereas, A Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act 
     would provide the protections needed so that an infant born 
     alive after an abortion is treated as a legal person under, 
     and is protected by, United States law: Now therefore be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the Senate of the 133rd 
     General Assembly of the State of Ohio, hereby urge the 
     Congress of the United States to enact a Born-Alive Abortion 
     Survivors Protection Act as expeditiously as possible; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly 
     authenticated copies of this Resolution to the members of the 
     Ohio Congressional delegation, to the Speaker and Clerk of 
     the United States House of Representatives, to the President 
     Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, and to 
     the news media of Ohio.

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