[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3309-S3311]
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-210. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana memorializing its support for the 
     annual Gulf Hypoxia Mapping Cruise conducted by the Louisiana 
     Universities Marine Consortium, and urging the United States 
     Congress to authorize continued funding; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 64

       Whereas, the growth of a large area of low-oxygen off 
     Louisiana's coast, known as the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone 
     or ``Dead Zone'', has been a long-standing issue of concern 
     for the state because of the risks it poses for our 
     commercial and recreational fishing and seafood industries, 
     and its wider impacts on marine life in the Gulf; and
       Whereas, the summer cruises to map the Gulf of Mexico 
     Hypoxic Zone, conducted by scientists at the LUMCON in 
     Cocodrie, Louisiana, have been carried out each year since 
     1985, providing a consistent and long-term baseline and 
     record of data on the annual extent and formation of the 
     zone, which has in turn aided the development of models to 
     predict its yearly size and future growth; and
       Whereas, these cruises, utilizing Louisiana scientists, 
     researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and 
     cooperating universities and other partners, are the primary 
     means of measuring the size of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic 
     Zone and its growth or reduction, as well as the progress of 
     efforts to

[[Page S3310]]

     reduce it, including the efforts of the state-federal Gulf 
     Hypoxia Task Force with which the state of Louisiana has been 
     a participant since 1997; and
       Whereas, the LUMCON mapping cruises have been largely 
     funded through the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration, reflecting the importance of the Gulf of 
     Mexico Hypoxic Zone and Louisiana's coastal fishery and 
     waters as resources of national concern; and
       Whereas, because this federal funding is at risk of 
     discontinuation, and the annual LUM CON summer mapping cruise 
     was cancelled in 2016 for only the second time in thirty-one 
     years, the continuation of this vital work is itself at risk.
       Therefore, be it Resolved, That the Legislature of 
     Louisiana does hereby express its support for the annual Gulf 
     Hypoxia Mapping Cruise conducted by the Louisiana 
     Universities Marine Consortium, in recognition of the 
     important role it plays in the understanding and conserving 
     of our coastal resources, as well as its support for 
     continued funding for this important effort by memorializing 
     the United States Congress and the Louisiana congressional 
     delegation to authorize continued funding for this most 
     important endeavor; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to 
     the officers of both houses of the United States Congress and 
     each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-211. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to take such actions are necessary to review the Government 
     Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision Social 
     Security benefit reductions and to consider eliminating or 
     reducing them by supporting S. 521 of the 116th Congress, the 
     Social Security Fairness Act; to the Committee on Finance.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 9

       Whereas, the Congress of the United States of America has 
     enacted both the Government Pension Offset (GPO), reducing 
     the spousal and survivor Social Security benefit, and the 
     Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), reducing the earned 
     Social Security benefits payable to any person who also 
     receives a public pension benefit; and
       Whereas, the GPO negatively affects a spouse or survivor 
     receiving a federal, state, or local government retirement or 
     pension benefit who would also be entitled to a Social 
     Security benefit earned by a spouse; and
       Whereas, the GPO formula reduces the spousal or survivor 
     Social Security benefit by two-thirds of the amount of the 
     federal, state, or local government retirement or pension 
     benefit received by the spouse or survivor, in many cases 
     completely eliminating the Social Security benefit even 
     though their spouses paid Social Security taxes for many 
     years; and
       Whereas, the GPO has a harsh effect on hundreds of 
     thousands of citizens and undermines the original purpose of 
     the Social Security dependent/survivor benefit; and
       Whereas, according to recent Social Security Administration 
     figures, more than half a million individuals nationally are 
     affected by the GPO; and
       Whereas, the WEP applies to those persons who have earned 
     federal, state, or local government retirement or pension 
     benefits, in addition to working in employment covered under 
     Social Security and paying into the Social Security system; 
     and
       Whereas, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefit 
     using an averaged indexed monthly earnings formula and may 
     reduce Social Security benefits for affected persons by as 
     much as one-half of the retirement benefit earned as a public 
     servant in employment not covered under Social Security; and
       Whereas, the WEP causes hardworking individuals to lose a 
     significant portion of the Social Security benefits that they 
     earn themselves; and
       Whereas, according to recent Social Security Administration 
     figures, more than one and a half million individuals 
     nationally are affected by the WEP; and
       Whereas, in certain circumstances both the WEP and the GPO 
     can be applied to a qualifying survivor's benefit, each 
     independently reducing the available benefit and in 
     combination eliminating a large portion of the total Social 
     Security benefit available to the survivor; and
       Whereas, because of the calculation characteristics of the 
     GPO and the WEP, they have a disproportionately negative 
     effect on employees working in lower-wage government jobs, 
     like policemen, firefighters, teachers, and state employees; 
     and
       Whereas, Louisiana is making every effort to improve the 
     quality of life of its citizens and to encourage them to live 
     here lifelong, yet the current GPO and WEP provisions 
     compromise their quality of life; and
       Whereas, the number of people affected by GPO and WEP is 
     growing every day as more and more people reach retirement 
     age; and
       Whereas, individuals drastically affected by the GPO or WEP 
     may have no choice but to return to work after retirement in 
     order to make ends meet, but the earnings accumulated during 
     this return to work can further reduce the Social Security 
     benefits the individual is entitled to; and
       Whereas, the GPO and WEP are established in federal law, 
     and repeal of the GPO and the WEP can only be enacted by 
     congress: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions 
     as are necessary to review the Government Pension Offset and 
     the Windfall Elimination Provision Social Security benefit 
     reductions and to consider eliminating or reducing them by 
     supporting S.521 of the 116th Congress, the Social Security 
     Fairness Act; and be it further
       Resolved, that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives of the Congress of the United States of 
     America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-212. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan denouncing the violent activities of extremist 
     organizations, urging the United States Congress to redouble 
     its efforts to combat the spread of all forms of domestic 
     terrorism; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                       Senate Resoulution No. 122

       Whereas, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press are 
     hallmarks of our First Amendment rights and founding 
     principles of this great nation. Article I, Section 5 of the 
     Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963 reaffirms, 
     ``Every person may freely speak, write, express and publish 
     his views on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of 
     such right; and no law shall be enacted to restrain or 
     abridge the liberty of speech or of the press.''; and
       Whereas, It is a fundamental responsibility of government 
     to protect citizens thereby creating an environment that 
     allows and encourages peaceful speech and peaceful protest; 
     and
       Whereas, Extremist organizations, including Antifa, White 
     supremacist groups such as Boogaloo, and others, represent 
     opposition to the democratic ideals of peaceful assembly and 
     free speech for all. These organizations, because they 
     believe that free speech is equivalent to violence, have used 
     threats of violence and online harassment in the pursuit of 
     suppressing opposing political ideologies; and
       Whereas, Federal statute defines the term ``domestic 
     terrorism'' to mean activities that involve ``acts dangerous 
     to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of 
     the United States or of any State and those acts appear to be 
     intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to 
     influence the policy of a government by intimidation or 
     coercion, or to affect the conduct of government . . .''; and
       Whereas, Extremist organizations, including Antifa and 
     White supremacist groups such as Boogaloo, and others, have 
     traded civil protest for violence on multiple occasions, 
     endangering public welfare and wreaking havoc on cities 
     across America to advance their political ideologies. These 
     organizations have participated in attacks on civilians, 
     members of the press, law enforcement, and our men and women 
     in uniform. Their violence detracts from peaceful gatherings, 
     endangering individuals using civil protest as a means of 
     expression; and
       Whereas, Their use of violence as a means of furthering 
     their political agenda has been denounced by various leaders 
     and groups across the political spectrum; and
       Whereas, There is no place for violence in the discourse 
     between people in a civil society. The use of violence by 
     extremist organizations represents a significant threat to 
     public safety as well as the First Amendment rights of all 
     people; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we unequivocally condemn and 
     denounce the violent actions of extremist organizations as 
     unacceptable; and be it further
       Resolved, That we memorialize the Congress of the United 
     States to redouble its efforts, using all available and 
     appropriate tools, to combat the spread of all forms of 
     domestic terrorism; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, the Director of the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation, the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the chair and ranking member of the United 
     States House Committee on the Judiciary, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM--213. A resolution adopted by the General Court of the 
     Commonwealth of Massachusetts urging the Administration and 
     the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize the use of the 
     Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic 
     benefits transfer cards for the online purchase of groceries 
     and other essentials in the commonwealth; to the Committee on 
     Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

                              Resolutions

       Whereas, the Trump Administration and United States 
     Secretary of Agriculture have the power to authorize the use 
     of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program electronic 
     benefits transfer cards for the online purchase of groceries 
     and other essentials; and
       Whereas, the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, 
     presents a particular risk to individuals with comorbidities, 
     including diabetes and asthma, and Supplemental Nutrition 
     Assistance Program participants often have higher rates of 
     diabetes and asthma than individuals who do not participate; 
     and

[[Page S3311]]

       Whereas, people of color suffer from higher rates of 
     diabetes and asthma and, according to the Boston Public 
     Health Commission, the 4 neighborhoods in the city of Boston 
     with the largest populations of people of color also have the 
     highest number of documented COVID-19 cases; and
       Whereas, social distancing reduces the likelihood of 
     contracting COVID-19 and avoiding unnecessary travel to 
     grocery stores and other public locations can help 
     Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants reduce 
     exposure to the virus; and
       Whereas, the United States Department of Agriculture's 
     Pilot Program allowing the use of Supplemental Nutrition 
     Assistance Program electronic benefits transfer cards for 
     online purchases was created on April 18, 2019 and is 
     currently in place in a number of other states; therefore be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Massachusetts General Court hereby calls 
     upon the Trump Administration and the United States Secretary 
     of Agriculture to Authorize The use of Supplemental Nutrition 
     Assistance Program electronic benefits transfer cards for the 
     online purchase of groceries and other essentials in the 
     commonwealth; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded by 
     the clerk of the Senate to United States President Donald J. 
     Trump, United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue 
     and the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation.
       POM-214. A resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors 
     of the City and County of San Francisco, California, urging 
     the United States Congress to mandate that all employers 
     provide their employees an additional fourteen days of paid 
     leave during public health emergencies; to the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
       POM-215. A resolution adopted by the Township Council of 
     the Township of Mahwah, New Jersey, recognizing June 5, 2020, 
     as National Gun Violence Awareness Day; to the Committee on 
     the Judiciary.
       POM-216. A resolution adopted by the Mayor and City Council 
     of the City of Gautier, Mississippi relative to assessments 
     on tenants, owners, or occupiers of the Singing River Mall 
     site; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

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