[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 151 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5600-S5602]
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-137. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California urging the United States Congress to 
     enact legislation to repeal the Government Pension Offset and 
     the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security 
     Act; to the Committee on Finance.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 3

       Whereas, Two Federal Social Security Administration laws, 
     the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension 
     Offset, passed by Congress more than 30 years ago without 
     statistical analysis, diminish or eliminate the fully earned 
     Social Security benefits or large numbers of public service 
     employees in California: and
       Whereas, These provisions affect workers who have been 
     employed in a government position that is not coordinated 
     with the Social Security program, such as California public 
     school teachers who have not been able to receive Social 
     Security credits since 1965; and
       Whereas, Most peace officers, including the California 
     Highway Patrol, firefighters, and many other public servants 
     working for cities and special districts are not covered by 
     Social Security, making them subject to these provisions; and
       Whereas, In California, more than 300,000 retirees have had 
     their Social Security benefits diminished or completely 
     eliminated by these laws; and
       Whereas, Effective government requires highly qualified and 
     motivated personnel, and California government agencies need 
     to compete to recruit and retain outstanding employees, 
     including hiring 16,000 new public school teachers each year; 
     and
       Whereas, The recruitment and retention of qualified 
     individuals reentering the workforce is impeded by these two 
     provisions, which reduce or eliminate the Social Security 
     retirement benefits either earned by workers, themselves, or 
     received through dependent status; and
       Whereas, The Government Pension Offset severely cuts, and 
     usually eliminates, all spousal and survivor benefits that 
     were earned from what is deemed by the State of California to 
     be community property income; and
       Whereas, The Government Pension Offset requires that a 
     recipient of benefits report any yearly cost-of-living 
     increase in the recipient's public pension, so that the 
     recipient's Social Security benefits may be reduced by two-
     thirds of that amount; and
       Whereas, The Windfall Elimination Provision cuts earned 
     Social Security benefits from work that is separate from the 
     work for which the individual earned a pension from a 
     governmental entity: and
       Whereas, The Windfall Elimination Provision subverts the 
     purpose of Social Security retirement benefits by eliminating 
     the formula that reimburses low-income workers at a higher 
     rate than high-income workers, causing severe hardships for 
     those who have not had high-paying public service; and
       Whereas, Until 2005, there were no requirements that a 
     public employer advise new workers that they would be subject 
     to these penalties; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the 
     Congress of the United States enact legislation to repeal the 
     Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination 
     Provision from the Social Security Act, and further requests 
     that President Donald Trump sign that legislation; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Secretary or 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

[[Page S5601]]

     United States, and to the author for appropriate 
     distribution.
                                  ____

       POM-138. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Arkansas applying to the United States 
     Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the United 
     States Constitution, for the calling of a convention of the 
     states limited to proposing amendments to the United States 
     Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federal 
     government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal 
     government, and limit the terms of office for its officials 
     and for members of the United States Congress; to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 3

       Whereas, the founders of the United States Constitution 
     empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty 
     against excessive use of power by the federal government; and
       Whereas, the federal government has created a crushing 
     national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and
       Whereas, the federal government has ceased to operate under 
     a proper interpretation of the United States Constitution; 
     and
       Whereas, the federal government has invaded the legitimate 
     roles of the states through the manipulative process of 
     federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great 
     extent; and
       Whereas, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the 
     liberty of our people, particularly for the generations to 
     come, by proposing amendments to the United States 
     Constitution through a convention of the states under Article 
     V of the United States Constitution for the purpose of 
     restraining these and related abuses of power: Now, 
     Therefore, be it
       Resolved, By the Senate of the Ninety-second General 
     Assembly of the State of Arkansas and by the House of 
     Representatives, a majority of all Members elected to each 
     House agreeing thereto: That the General Assembly hereby 
     applies to the United States Congress, under the provisions 
     of Article V of the United States Constitution, for the 
     calling of a convention of the states limited to proposing 
     amendments to the United States Constitution that impose 
     fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power 
     and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the 
     terms of office for its officials and for members of the 
     United States Congress; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate is hereby 
     directed to transmit copies of this application to the 
     President of the United States Senate, the Secretary of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, the Clerk of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the members of the Arkansas congressional 
     delegation, and the presiding officers of each house of the 
     legislatures in the several states, requesting their 
     cooperation; and be it further
       Resolved, That this application constitutes a continuing 
     application in accordance with Article V of the United States 
     Constitution until the legislatures of at least two-thirds 
     (\2/3\) of the several states have made applications on the 
     same subject; and be it further
       Resolved, That the General Assembly adopts this application 
     expressly subject to the following reservations, 
     understandings, and declarations:
       (1) An application to the United States Congress to call an 
     amendment convention of the states pursuant to Article V of 
     the United States Constitution confers no power to the United 
     States Congress other than the power to call such a 
     convention. The power of the United States Congress to 
     exercise this ministerial duty consists solely of the 
     authority to name a reasonable time and place for the initial 
     meeting of a convention;
       (2) The United States Congress shall perform its 
     ministerial duty of calling an amendment convention of the 
     states only upon the receipt of applications for an amendment 
     convention for the substantially same purpose as this 
     application from two-thirds (\2/3\) of the legislatures of 
     the several states;
       (3) The United States Congress does not have the power or 
     authority to determine any rules for the governing of a 
     convention for proposing amendments called pursuant to 
     Article V of the United States Constitution. The United 
     States Congress does not have the power to set the number of 
     delegates to be sent by any state to such a convention, nor 
     does it have the power to name delegates to such a 
     convention. The power to name delegates remains exclusively 
     within the authority of the legislatures of the several 
     states;
       (4) By definition, an amendment convention of the states 
     means that states shall vote on the basis of one (1) state, 
     one (1) vote;
       (5) A convention for proposing amendments convened pursuant 
     to this application shall be limited to consideration of the 
     topics specified herein and no other. This application is 
     made with the express understanding that an amendment that in 
     any way seeks to amend, modify, or repeal any provision of 
     the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution shall 
     not be authorized for consideration at any stage. This 
     application shall be void ab initio if ever used at any stage 
     to consider any change to any provision of the Bill of Rights 
     of the United States Constitution;
       (6) Pursuant to Article V of the United States 
     Constitution, the United States Congress may determine 
     whether proposed amendments shall be ratified by the 
     legislatures of the several states or by special state 
     ratification conventions. The General Assembly recommends 
     that the United States Congress select ratification by the 
     legislatures of the several states;
       (7) The General Assembly may provide further instructions 
     to its delegates and may recall its delegates at any time for 
     a breach of a duty or a violation of the instructions 
     provided; and
       (8) Delegates are bound to the instructions provided by the 
     General Assembly and a failure to follow the instructions 
     provided constitutes a breach of the delegate's duty and 
     subjects them to recall and replacement.
                                  ____

       POM-139. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Arkansas applying to the United States 
     Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the United 
     States Constitution, for the calling of a convention of the 
     states limited to proposing amendments to the United States 
     Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federal 
     government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal 
     government, and limit the terms of office for its officials 
     and for members of the United States Congress; to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 3

       Whereas, the founders of the United States Constitution 
     empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty 
     against excessive use of power by the federal government; and
       Whereas, the federal government has created a crushing 
     national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and
       Whereas, the federal government has ceased to operate under 
     a proper interpretation of the United States Constitution; 
     and
       Whereas, the federal government has invaded the legitimate 
     roles of the states through the manipulative process of 
     federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great 
     extent; and
       Whereas, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the 
     liberty of our people, particularly for the generations to 
     come, by proposing amendments to the United States 
     Constitution through a convention of the states under Article 
     V of the United States Constitution for the purpose of 
     restraining these and related abuses of power: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, By the Senate of the Ninety-second General 
     Assembly of the State of Arkansas and by the House of 
     Representatives, a majority of all Members elected to each 
     House agreeing thereto: That the General Assembly hereby 
     applies to the United States Congress, under the provisions 
     of Article V of the United States Constitution, for the 
     calling of a convention of the states limited to proposing 
     amendments to the United States Constitution that impose 
     fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power 
     and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the 
     terms of office for its officials and for members of the 
     United States Congress; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate is hereby 
     directed to transmit copies of this application to the 
     President of the United States Senate, the Secretary of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, the Clerk of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the members of the Arkansas congressional 
     delegation, and the presiding officers of each house of the 
     legislatures in the several states, requesting their 
     cooperation; and be it further
       Resolved, That this application constitutes a continuing 
     application in accordance with Article V of the United States 
     Constitution until the legislatures of at least two-thirds 
     (\2/3\) of the several states have made applications on the 
     same subject; and be it further
       Resolved, That the General Assembly adopts this application 
     expressly subject to the following reservations, 
     understandings, and declarations:
       (1) An application to the United States Congress to call an 
     amendment convention of the states pursuant to Article V of 
     the United States Constitution confers no power to the United 
     States Congress other than the power to call such a 
     convention. The power of the United States Congress to 
     exercise this ministerial duty consists solely of the 
     authority to name a reasonable time and place for the initial 
     meeting of a convention;
       (2) The United States Congress shall perform its 
     ministerial duty of calling an amendment convention of the 
     states only upon the receipt of applications for an amendment 
     convention for the substantially same purpose as this 
     application from two-thirds (\2/3\) of the legislatures of 
     the several states;
       (3) The United States Congress does not have the power or 
     authority to determine any rules for the governing of a 
     convention for proposing amendments called pursuant to 
     Article V of the United States Constitution. The United 
     States Congress does not have the power to set the number of 
     delegates to be sent by any state to such a convention, nor 
     does it have the power to name delegates to such a 
     convention. The power to name delegates remains exclusively 
     within the authority of the legislatures of the several 
     states;
       (4) By definition, an amendment convention of the states 
     means that states shall vote on the basis of one (1) state, 
     one (1) vote;
       (5) A convention for proposing amendments convened pursuant 
     to this application shall

[[Page S5602]]

     be limited to consideration of the topics specified herein 
     and no other. This application is made with the express 
     understanding that an amendment that in any way seeks to 
     amend, modify, or repeal any provision of the Bill of Rights 
     of the United States Constitution shall not be authorized for 
     consideration at any stage. This application shall be void ab 
     initio if ever used at any stage to consider any change to 
     any provision of the Bill of Rights of the United States 
     Constitution;
       (6) Pursuant to Article V of the United States 
     Constitution, the United States Congress may determine 
     whether proposed amendments shall be ratified by the 
     legislatures of the several states or by special state 
     ratification conventions. The General Assembly recommends 
     that the United States Congress select ratification by the 
     legislatures of the several states;
       (7) The General Assembly may provide further instructions 
     to its delegates and may recall its delegates at any time for 
     a breach of a duty or a violation of the instructions 
     provided; and
       (8) Delegates are bound to the instructions provided by the 
     General Assembly and a failure to follow the instructions 
     provided constitutes a breach of the delegate's duty and 
     subjects them to recall and replacement.
                                  ____

       POM-140. A resolution adopted by the Board of Selectmen of 
     the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire, urging the United States 
     Congress to enact the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend 
     Act of 2019; to the Committee on Finance.

                          ____________________