[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 83 (Thursday, May 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2520-S2521]
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-13. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of New Mexico requesting the United States Congress to 
     forward fund the Bureau of Indian Education Higher Education 
     Grant Program; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

                        Senate Joint Memorial 1

       Whereas, the Bureau of Indian Affairs operates the Higher 
     Education Grant Program as authorized by the Snyder Act and 
     provides higher education scholarships; and
       Whereas, numerous Indian Tribes administer the Higher 
     Education Grant Program through Public Law 93-638 Self-
     Determination contracts or through Public Law 100-472 Self-
     Governance compacts; and
       Whereas, the Federal Government routinely operates under 
     continuing resolutions, which results in delayed funding to 
     the Bureau of Indian Affairs; consequently, payment of 
     college scholarships and institutional disbursements are 
     delayed; and
       Whereas, this is problematic for Indian college students 
     who depend on these scholarship payments to pay for tuition, 
     books and room and board; all too often, Indian students 
     arrive on campus with little or no money; and
       Whereas, there is precedent for Forward Funding of Federal 
     Indian Education Programs in that Bureau of Indian Education 
     Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade schools and tribally 
     controlled colleges and universities have been Forward 
     Funded; and
       Whereas, Forward Funding is a budget authority that is made 
     available for obligation in the last quarter of the Fiscal 
     Year for the financing of ongoing activities during the next 
     Fiscal Year; and
       Whereas, Forward Funding achieves two outcomes: it provides 
     funding for two years in advance and makes funds available on 
     July 1 of each year, and it shields the Grant Program from 
     government shutdowns, which allows Tribes to disburse grant 
     funds ahead of the Academic Year: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico, 
     That the New Mexico Legislature request the United States 
     Congress to take affirmative steps to Forward Fund the Higher 
     Education Grant Program of the Bureau of Indian Education; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, that copies of this memorial be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, the President of the United 
     States Senate, the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, the 
     Tribal Leadership of all twenty-three Indian Nations, Tribes 
     and Pueblos in New Mexico and the Secretary of Indian 
     Affairs.
                                  ____

       POM-14. A memorial adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     New Mexico urging the United States Congress, the President 
     of the United States, and members of the New Mexico 
     Congressional Delegation to address reducing the ``Cliff 
     Effect'' and ending generational poverty; to the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                           Senate Memorial 19

       Whereas, everyone should have the opportunity to work hard 
     and achieve family economic security, and economic 
     independence should be rewarded; and
       Whereas, however, some policies are insufficient and 
     inadvertently keep hard-working parents from climbing the 
     economic ladder, according to a New Mexico voices for 
     children report; and
       Whereas, hard-working families with fewer resources may 
     need work supports to help them cover basic necessities, such 
     as food, child care or health care, until these families can 
     be financially self-sufficient; and
       Whereas, most government safety-net programs, such as child 
     support, income assistance, health coverage and food 
     assistance, have a ``cliff effect''; and
       Whereas, the cliff effect occurs when a household loses 
     eligibility for public assistance once a family's income 
     surpasses the threshold set by the federal poverty 
     guidelines; and
       Whereas, in many cases, the value of a lost or reduced 
     benefit can exceed an increase in wages; and
       Whereas, families often find themselves working harder and 
     earning more but unable to get ahead; and
       Whereas, the cliff effect is particularly devastating when 
     it applies to child care assistance, because child care is 
     one of the most significant costs in a household budget; and
       Whereas, the cliff effect occurs when an increase in income 
     is enough to disqualify a family from receiving the work 
     support benefit but is not enough to cover the cost of the 
     lost benefit; and
       Whereas, there are some concerns that increasing income 
     would have the unintended consequence of a family losing 
     child care assistance and other benefits when the family's 
     income surpasses the income eligibility ceiling; and
       Whereas, the cliff effect is creating a permanent class of 
     workers caught in the dilemma of how to pay for competing 
     needs, such as food, child care, housing, medication and 
     other essential goods and services while trying to get ahead; 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate of the State of New Mexico, that 
     the president of the United States, the New Mexico 
     congressional delegation and all other members of congress be 
     urged to address reducing the cliff effect and ending 
     generational poverty; and be it further
       Resolved, That the federal government be urged to create 
     policies that would reduce the cliff effect, in support of 
     working families trying to improve their lives and the lives 
     of their children; and be it further
       Resolved, That the federal government be urged to consider 
     higher income without consequences that undermine families 
     through loss of benefits; and be it further
       Resolved, That the federal government be urged to address 
     cliff effect policies in all areas of benefits to ensure that 
     a situation is not created that keeps low-income families who 
     are striving to work hard and achieve family economic 
     security from achieving success; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to 
     the president of the United States, the New Mexico 
     congressional delegation and all other members of congress.
                                  ____

       POM-15. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of North Dakota urging the President of the 
     United States and the Department of Homeland Security not to 
     transfer illegal aliens to North Dakota; to the Committee on 
     the Judiciary.

                  House Concurrent Resolution No. 3048

       Whereas, the United States is a nation that values law and 
     order; and
       Whereas, a crisis exists at the southern border of the 
     United States, involving an unknown number of illegal aliens 
     entering the United States without authorization; and
       Whereas, media reports have asserted North Dakota is being 
     considered by United States Department of Homeland Security 
     officials as a potential site for the relocation of illegal 
     aliens detained at the south Texas border; and
       Whereas, accepting illegal aliens or assisting in 
     propagation of illegal immigration, amidst the SARS-CoV-2 
     (COVID-19) pandemic, may harm the health, safety, and welfare 
     of North Dakota citizens and may impose an unnecessary fiscal 
     burden on those citizens; and
       Whereas, in a letter to the United States Department of 
     Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas dated March 
     23, 2021, Governor Doug Burgum stressed his administration's 
     opposition to the transfer of detained illegal aliens from 
     the southern border to North Dakota, stating 'While our state 
     willingly participates in the resettlement of legal, 
     thoroughly vetted refugees, we strongly oppose any efforts to 
     alleviate the southern border crisis of the overwhelming 
     influx of migrants by transporting them to northern border 
     states such as North Dakota''; and
       Whereas, Governor Burgum's letter further stated, 'We urge 
     the administration to address this crisis at the source, 
     fully enforce federal immigration laws, and reassure northern 
     border states that relocation is not on the table'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of North Dakota, 
     the Senate Concurring Therein:
       That the Sixty-seventh Legislative Assembly joins Governor 
     Burgum and his administration in opposing any efforts to 
     transfer illegal aliens who entered the United States without 
     authorization to North Dakota; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Sixty-seventh Legislative Assembly urges 
     the President of the United States and the Department of 
     Homeland Security not to transfer illegal aliens to North 
     Dakota; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of State forward copies of 
     this resolution to the President of the United States, the 
     United States Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the 
     United States House of Representatives Majority and Minority 
     Leaders, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the secretary of the United States Senate, 
     the clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the 
     United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary 
     Alejandro Mayorkas, and to each member of the North Dakota 
     Congressional Delegation.

[[Page S2521]]

     
                                  ____
       POM-16. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of North Dakota urging the United States 
     Congress to temporarily amend cargo carrying truck length and 
     weight restrictions on state highways and interstates that 
     are a part of the National Network to allow North Dakota and 
     surrounding states to conduct a road train pilot program and 
     to permanently amend the restrictions to allow road trains 
     and the national network highways and interstates if the 
     pilot program is successful; to the Committee on Environment 
     and Public Works.

                  House Concurrent Resolution No. 3001

       Whereas, the National Network is an approved network of 
     state highways and interstates in the United States for use 
     by large trucks and commercial truck drivers; and
       Whereas, the National Network supports interstate commerce 
     by regulating the size of trucks operating on the National 
     Network through a federal cargo carrying length limitation of 
     approximately 100 feet depending on truck configuration and a 
     federal cargo carrying weight limitation of approximately 
     80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight; and
       Whereas, grandfathered provisions in operation in the state 
     at the time federal regulations were enacted provide trucks 
     in North Dakota may be up to 110 feet in overall length and 
     105,500 pounds gross vehicle weight on permissible routes; 
     and
       Whereas, trucks operating on the 129,000 pound Limited 
     Transportation Network may be up to 129,000 pounds gross 
     vehicle weight on certain routes; and
       Whereas, the United States is experiencing a shortage of 
     approximately 900,000 truck drivers with commercial driver's 
     licenses; and
       Whereas, railroad infrastructure has diminished by 
     approximately 40 percent between 1920 and 2017, from 5,400 
     miles of track to 3,330 miles of track; and
       Whereas, it is becoming more difficult to meet increasing 
     demands for freight and commodities in a timely and efficient 
     manner due, in part, to the shortage of commercial truck 
     drivers and the reduced railroad infrastructure; and
       Whereas, a road train is a trucking vehicle consisting of 
     two or more connected trailers or semitrailers linked and 
     hauled by a single operating prime mover or tractor unit 
     which may exceed overall length and total gross vehicle 
     weight limitations, but not exceed current statutory axle 
     load limitations; and
       Whereas, Australia uses road trains to move freight in an 
     efficient manner to meet demand; and
       WHEREAS, allowing road trains to exceed federal truck 
     length and total gross vehicle weight limitations may be a 
     viable solution to the efficiency and capacity issues 
     resulting from the shortage of commercial truck drivers and 
     reduced railroad infrastructure by allowing commercial truck 
     drivers to haul more freight in longer and heavier cargo 
     loads: Now, therefore, be it
       RESOLVED by the house of representatives of North Dakota, 
     the Senate concurring therein:
       That the Sixty-seventh Legislative Assembly urges the 
     Congress of the United States to temporarily amend cargo 
     carrying truck length and weight restrictions on state 
     highways and interstates that are a part of the National 
     Network to allow North Dakota and surrounding states to 
     conduct a road train pilot program and to permanently amend 
     the restrictions to allow road trains on the National Network 
     highways and interstates if the pilot program is successful; 
     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.

                          ____________________