[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6990-S6991]
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-160. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     enact H.R. 613 and S. 164, the TRICARE Reserve and Select 
     Improvement Act; to the Committee on Armed Services.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 74

       Whereas, Men and women with full-time careers who are also 
     reservists in the Texas National Guard or another reserve 
     component of the United States armed forces provide a 
     valuable service to Texas and the nation; and
       Whereas, Also providing a valuable service to Texas and the 
     nation are men and women who have made the reserves of the 
     armed forces of the United States their full-time career; 
     these military technicians provide day-to-day readiness and 
     training in reserve component units and are considered to be 
     federal employees; and
       Whereas, Unfortunately, federal employees who are also 
     reservists or who work full time in a reserve component unit 
     are ineligible for TRICARE Reserve Select, the low-cost 
     health benefits plan offered to all other reserve component 
     service members; instead, these federal employees who are 
     eligible for a federal health benefits plan must use a more 
     expensive health benefits plan; and
       Whereas, The cost difference between enrolling in TRICARE 
     and a federal health benefits plan can be significant in a 
     family budget; in a recent example, a full-time base services 
     manager at an Air National Guard base estimated that she paid 
     $4,700 more of her $57,000 annual salary for a federal health 
     benefits plan than she would for TRICARE; and
       Whereas, To address the different treatment of reserve 
     component service members who are federal employees, Congress 
     is considering H.R. 613/S. 164, the TRICARE Reserve Select 
     Improvement Act, to remove the prohibition on eligibility for 
     TRICARE of members of the reserve components of the armed 
     forces who are eligible to enroll in a federal health 
     benefits plan; and
       Whereas, Enacting the TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement 
     Act would reduce the financial burden on valued members of 
     the Texas National Guard and other reserve components of the 
     United States armed forces; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 
     enact H.R. 613/S. 164, the TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement 
     Act; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in 
     the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____


       POM-161. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the President of the United 
     States to designate a state funeral for the last surviving 
     Medal of Honor recipient from World War II; to the Committee 
     on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 59

       Whereas, World War II lasted from 1939 until 1945, and the 
     United States entered the war in 1941 following the attack on 
     Pearl Harbor; and
       Whereas, Over 16 million Americans served their country and 
     its allies over the course of the war; and
       Whereas, The generation of men and women who served our 
     country in World War II has been called ``the greatest 
     generation'' for their selfless sacrifice; and
       Whereas, The Medal of Honor is the highest military 
     decoration that is awarded by the United States government; 
     and
       Whereas, The Medal of Honor is presented by the president 
     of the United States, in the name of Congress; and
       Whereas, The Medal of Honor is only conferred upon members 
     of the United States armed forces who distinguish themselves 
     through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of 
     life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in 
     action against an enemy of the United States, while engaged 
     in military operations involving conflict with an opposing 
     foreign force, or while serving with friendly forces engaged 
     in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which 
     the United States is not a belligerent party; and
       Whereas, More than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been awarded 
     to our nation's bravest soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, 
     and coast guardsmen since the creation of the award in 1861; 
     and
       Whereas, The Medal of Honor was awarded to 473 Americans 
     during World War II, and only four of those 473 Americans are 
     alive today; and
       Whereas, Charles H. Coolidge of Tennessee, Francis S. 
     Currey of New York, Robert D. Maxwell of Oregon, and Hershel 
     W. Williams of West Virginia all served their country with 
     conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life and 
     therefore deserve the gratitude of the American people; and
       Whereas, The president of the United States has the sole 
     authority to designate a state funeral; and
       Whereas, Historically, the president of the United States 
     has designated state funerals for former presidents, 
     generals, and other extraordinary Americans; and
       Whereas, Designating a state funeral when the last 
     surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient dies would be 
     a wonderful way for the American people to unite and honor 
     all 16 million soldiers, sailors, and airmen who served in 
     our armed forces from 1941 to 1945; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas, 
     hereby respectfully urge the president of the United States 
     to designate a state funeral for the last surviving Medal of 
     Honor recipient from World War II; and, be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in 
     the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-162. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     repeal the

[[Page S6991]]

     Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination 
     Provision of the Social Security Act; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 19

       Whereas, Social Security is the foundation for retirement 
     income for tens of millions of American workers and their 
     families; nearly two-thirds of the older Americans who 
     receive program benefits rely on Social Security for 50 
     percent or more of their total income, and one-third rely on 
     it for 90 percent or more; among beneficiaries aged 80 and 
     older, 42 percent rely on Social Security for nearly all of 
     their income; and
       Whereas, Two Social Security provisions, however, the 
     Government Pension Offset (GPO), enacted in 1977, and the 
     Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), enacted in 1983, 
     severely and unfairly penalize recipients of public pensions; 
     and
       Whereas, The GPO effectively prohibits some government 
     retirees from collecting both their own pension and full 
     Social Security benefits as a surviving spouse; an estimated 
     9 out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their 
     entire spousal benefit, even though their spouses paid Social 
     Security taxes for many years; and
       Whereas, The WEP reduces the Social Security benefit for 
     public employees who did not participate in Social Security 
     while working for the government, but who at some time in 
     their careers were in jobs where they paid Social Security 
     taxes for the period required to qualify for retirement 
     benefits; the WEP can deprive a retiree of nearly $450 a 
     month in Social Security benefits duly earned by that 
     individual;
       Whereas, Although these provisions were intended to curtail 
     the payment of windfall benefits to highly paid government 
     employees, in practice they have had and continue to have 
     devastating consequences for low-income employees who worked 
     for many years as public servants; more than two million 
     government employees and retirees are affected by either the 
     GPO or the WEP or both, and the repercussions are felt most 
     acutely in Texas and 14 other states where a high proportion 
     of public employees participate in state or municipal 
     retirement systems that do not include Social Security; and
       Whereas, These punitive and discriminatory provisions 
     target hundreds of thousands of teachers, police officers, 
     firefighters, and other public servants; although the vast 
     majority of Texas school employees participate in the state's 
     teacher retirement system and therefore are not required to 
     and do not participate in the Social Security system, many 
     Texas teachers and other public school employees nonetheless 
     have earned Social Security benefits on their own behalf 
     through other employment, the WEP notwithstanding, or would 
     be entitled to spousal Social Security benefits based on 
     their spouses' lifetime earnings were it not for the GPO 
     penalty; these provisions cause veteran teachers to retire 
     prematurely and discourage qualified individuals from 
     entering the teaching profession at precisely the time that 
     Texas and the nation face a severe shortage of highly 
     qualified educators; and
       Whereas, The GPO and WEP as applied to public employees are 
     unreasonable and unjust and will cause tens of thousands of 
     government retirees to experience a diminished quality of 
     life or be forced to return to work to make up for the 
     effects of these provisions; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 
     repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall 
     Elimination Provision of the Social Security Act; and, be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker 
     of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution be officially 
     entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 
     Congress of the United States of America.
                                  ____

       POM-163. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly of 
     the State of New Jersey urging the United States Congress and 
     the President of the United States to enact H.R. 500 which 
     prevents the IRS from collecting taxes on any amount of 
     student loan forgiven for deceased veterans; to the Committee 
     on Finance.

                       Assembly Resolution No. 97

       Whereas, Each member of the United States Armed Forces 
     serves our country to protect the citizens of the United 
     States and, in 2015, there were over one million active duty 
     members of the Armed Forces; and
       Whereas, If a service member sustains an injury or illness 
     while on active duty they may be discharged and return home 
     to pursue higher educational opportunities; and
       Whereas, Many service members embrace the opportunity to 
     pursue higher education through the various tuition 
     assistance programs and college funds offered to service 
     members, which may be used in combination with federal and 
     private student loans to pay for the cost of college; and
       Whereas, If a service member loses his or her life as a 
     result of an injury or illness sustained while on active 
     duty, the federal education loans are forgiven under the 
     Higher Education Act and private loan companies can choose to 
     forgive the education loans; and
       Whereas, When an educational loan is forgiven the Internal 
     Revenue Code categorizes the amount of the loan as taxable 
     gross income for a cosigner on the loan, which can include 
     both family and friends of the deceased service member; and
       Whereas, Taxing loan forgiveness as income can be 
     burdensome to family members and friends especially during a 
     time when they are grieving the loss of their loved one; and
       Whereas, Families of veterans who lost their lives as a 
     result of an illness or injury sustained while serving on 
     active duty have already sacrificed so much for the United 
     States; and
       Whereas, The federal bill [H.R. 2874] H.R. 500, named the 
     ``Andrew P. Carpenter Tax Act,'' would amend the Internal 
     Revenue Code to prevent the Internal Revenue Service from 
     collecting taxes on any amount of student loan forgiven; and
       Whereas, The federal bill will help to ease the financial 
     burden for individuals who are already grieving for the loss 
     of their loved one: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New 
     Jersey:
       1. This House respectfully urges the President and Congress 
     of the United States to enact [H.R. 2874] H.R. 500 which 
     amends the Internal Revenue Code to prevent the Internal 
     Revenue Service from collecting taxes on any amount of 
     student loan forgiven for deceased veterans.
       2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary 
     of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General 
     Assembly to the President and Vice President of the United 
     States, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Majority 
     and Minority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker 
     and the Minority Leader of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and every member of Congress from New 
     Jersey.
                                  ____

       POM-164. A resolution adopted by the Council of the Village 
     of Yellow Springs, Ohio urging the United States Congress to 
     enact the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019; 
     to the Committee on Finance.
       POM-165. A resolution passed by the Council of the City and 
     County of Honolulu, Hawaii urging the United States Congress 
     to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 
     and make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of the United 
     States' national security policy; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.
       POM-166. A petition from a citizen of the State of 
     Louisiana memorializing a resolution adopted by the 
     Legislature of the State of Louisiana urging the United 
     States Congress to support the initiative calling for 
     accurate, third-party application (app) ratings and intuitive 
     parental controls to better protect children from harmful 
     online and mobile device content; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
       POM-167. A resolution adopted by the Eastern Regional 
     Conference of the Council of State Governments urging the 
     United States Congress to approve H.R. 3631 Territories 
     Health Care Improvement Act; to the Committee on Finance.
       POM-168. A petition from a citizen of the State of Illinois 
     relative to the solvency of the Central States Pension Fund; 
     to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
       POM-169. A petition from a citizen of the State of Texas 
     relative to amendments to the United States Constitution; to 
     the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-170. A petition from a citizen of the State of Texas 
     relative to current laws regarding persons from outside of 
     the United States and their physical presence within the 
     United States; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                          ____________________