[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 121 (Thursday, July 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4945-S4946]
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-118. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of New Jersey urging the United States Congress to 
     enact the Military Hunger Prevention Act; to the Committee on 
     Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 73

       Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
     (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, provides 
     assistance to eligible low-income individuals and families to 
     buy healthy, nutritious food at a network of participating 
     stores and farmer's markets, and is the country's most 
     important anti-hunger program; and
       Whereas, The federal government pays for the cost of SNAP 
     benefits and the program's eligibility rules are primarily 
     set at the federal level, while the costs of administering 
     the program are shared between the federal government and the 
     states; and
       Whereas, In a typical month in 2017, the SNAP program 
     helped more than 40 million low-income Americans afford a 
     nutritionally adequate diet; and
       Whereas, Most recipients of SNAP who are able to work are 
     working while receiving benefits, which demonstrates the need 
     of many working families, including those with a member in 
     the armed forces, for assistance, particularly during 
     economic downturns; and
       Whereas, In 2015, more than $80 million in SNAP benefits 
     were used to buy food at military commissaries; and many 
     military installations have food pantries or food banks that 
     provide food to military families who are in need; and
       Whereas, According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American 
     Community Survey, two percent of active duty military 
     families, or approximately 23,000 families, received SNAP 
     benefits from 2009 to 2012, and six percent of respondents of 
     the Blue Star Family

[[Page S4946]]

     Lifestyle Survey reported using emergency food relief in 
     2017; and
       Whereas, Military families that do not reside on a military 
     base or installation receive a Basic Housing Allowance (BAH), 
     which is meant to offset the cost of civilian housing for 
     those who do not reside in government-provided housing, and 
     the rate of the BAH depends on location, pay grade, and 
     number of dependents of the service member; and
       Whereas, Although the BAH is intended to offset the cost of 
     civilian housing for servicemen and women who do not live on 
     a military base, the amount of the BAH is currently 
     considered as income for purposes of determining eligibility 
     for SNAP, and certain other benefits, pursuant to federal 
     law; and
       Whereas, The ``Military Hunger Prevention Act,'' \1\ 
     [currently] previously \1\ pending in Congress as H.R. 1078 
     and S. 2488, would amend federal law to exclude the BAH when 
     determining eligibility for certain federal benefits, 
     including SNAP; and
       Whereas, Among the many economic challenges faced by 
     members of the military are: relatively low pay compared to 
     non-military occupations; infrequent and insufficient pay 
     raises; frequent transfers or deployments, particularly when 
     the transfer is to a region of the country with a 
     comparatively high cost of living; and the difficulty of 
     spouses to find well-paying, long-term employment due to 
     those transfers and deployments; and
       Whereas, In order that members of the armed services and 
     their families, who make considerable personal sacrifices to 
     protect and serve the United States, have sufficient and 
     nutritious food on their tables, it is fitting and proper 
     that the law be amended to exclude the BHA from income for 
     purposes of determining eligibility for SNAP and other 
     federal programs; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 
     of New Jersey:
       1. The Legislature and Governor of New Jersey respectfully 
     urge the Congress of the United States to \1\ introduce and 
     \1\ enact the ``Military Hunger Prevention Act,'' \1\ 
     [currently pending in both houses of Congress.] \1\ so that 
     those members of the armed forces who make considerable 
     sacrifices in order to serve our country, yet face hunger or 
     require assistance, are able to benefit from the Supplemental 
     Nutrition Assistance Program and other benefits, 
     notwithstanding their receipt of a Basic Housing Allowance.
       2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary 
     of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General 
     Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Majority and 
     Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and 
     Minority Leader of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from 
     this State.
       \1\ 3. This joint resolution shall take effect 
     immediately.\1\
                                  ____

       POM-119. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Illinois urging the United 
     States Congress to enact legislation making United States 
     policy not to start a nuclear war and to prohibit the funding 
     of further development and production of additional nuclear 
     weapons; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                        House Resolution No. 61

       Whereas, The use of even a small number of nuclear weapons 
     could have catastrophic human, environmental, health, and 
     economic consequences globally; and
       Whereas, Approximately 14,000 nuclear weapons still exist 
     in the world and pose an intolerable risk to humanity; and
       Whereas, The United States has over 6,000 nuclear weapons, 
     which combined are more than 100 times more powerful than all 
     the weapons used during World War II; and
       Whereas, The United States is currently planning to spend 
     nearly $2 trillion over the next 30 years rebuilding its 
     entire nuclear weapons arsenal; this is a gross misuse of 
     funds that could instead be devoted to improving security, 
     health, and education; and
       Whereas, The United States maintains nearly 1,000 nuclear 
     weapons on high alert so they are ready for launch within 
     minutes of a presidential decision to do so, making them 
     vulnerable to accidents, unauthorized use, cyber attacks, and 
     miscalculations, thereby increasing the risk of nuclear use; 
     and
       Whereas, The United States currently reserves the right to 
     use nuclear weapons in response to non-nuclear attacks by 
     Russia, China, or North Korea, nations that could respond by 
     using their own nuclear weapons, resulting in a nuclear war 
     that could have devastating consequences; and
       Whereas, The sole purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons should be 
     to deter a nuclear attack on the United States, its forces, 
     and its allies; there is no reason for the United States to 
     ever use nuclear weapons first; and
       Whereas, The U.S. President has sole authority to order a 
     nuclear attack without any consultation or input; leaving the 
     decision to one individual increases the chance of a nuclear 
     weapon being used; and
       Whereas, A policy renouncing the first use of nuclear 
     weapons would severely constrain the ability of the President 
     to order a nuclear attack, allowing attacks only in response 
     to a nuclear attack; and
       Whereas, Americans and all people on the planet should have 
     the right to live a life free from the threat of nuclear 
     weapons; and
       Whereas, The United States should immediately change its 
     policies, as well as actively pursue verifiable agreements 
     with other nuclear-armed nations to reduce the number of 
     nuclear weapons and eliminate them from the planet; 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the One 
     Hundred First General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 
     that, as an important first step, we call on the President of 
     the United States to make it the policy of the U.S. that it 
     will not start a nuclear war and therefore will not use 
     nuclear weapons first, and we call on the United States 
     Congress to pass legislation supporting this policy; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That we call on Congress to not fund the 
     development and production of additional U.S. nuclear weapons 
     that can produce a relatively small nuclear explosion, making 
     them suitable for rogue nuclear war-fighting and potentially 
     lowering the threshold to using nuclear weapons first; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
     delivered to the President of the United States, the Vice 
     President of the United States, the U.S. Senate Majority 
     Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the U.S. Speaker of 
     the House, the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, 
     and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-120. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urging 
     the United States Congress to reauthorize and fully fund the 
     September 11th Victim Compensation Fund; to the Committee on 
     the Judiciary.

                        House Resolution No. 343

       Whereas, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund was 
     created in 2001 to compensate individuals for illnesses and 
     deaths due to exposure to toxins at the September 11th attack 
     sites; and
       Whereas, the fund was reauthorized in 2011 and then again 
     in 2015, allowing individuals to submit claims until December 
     18, 2020; and
       Whereas, the World Trade Center Health Program was 
     essentially established to diagnose and treat medical issues 
     of September 11th responders and victims; and
       Whereas, the $7.3 billion fund has already paid out 
     approximately $5 billion to 21,000 claimants and still has 
     approximately 19,000 additional claims; and
       Whereas, insufficient money exists to pay current and 
     projected claims at the same levels under current procedures, 
     and claimants that are unpaid will see a drastic cut in 
     payments; and
       Whereas, more than 90,000 Americans, including 
     approximately 1,500 residents of this Commonwealth, struggle 
     with illnesses related to the September 11th attacks as of 
     2018; and
       Whereas, the fund should be reuthorized and fully funded 
     through 2090, which will make it last until the 2090 
     expiration date of the World Trade Center Health Program; 
     Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United 
     States to reauthorize and fully fund the September 11th 
     Victim Compensation Fund; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, the presiding officers of 
     each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from 
     Pennsylvania.

                          ____________________