[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 145 (Tuesday, August 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6277-S6279]
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-70. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Illinois urging the federal 
     government to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on 
     the 20 dollar bill; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
     Urban Affairs.

                        House Resolution No. 54

       Whereas, Harriet Tubman was born Araminta ``Minty'' Ross in 
     the early 1820s in Dorchester County, Maryland; she was 
     enslaved at a young age and began working the field by 
     harvesting flax at age 13; and
       Whereas, Harriet Tubman escaped when she was around 27 
     years old; she walked the nearly 90 miles to Philadelphia, 
     where she took jobs as a domestic and cook and spent summers 
     working in Cape May, New Jersey; and
       Whereas, Harriet Tubman returned to Maryland approximately 
     13 times to rescue as many as 70 enslaved people through the 
     Underground Railroad, which was a network of escape routes 
     and safe houses organized by Black and white abolitionists; 
     she claimed she never lost a passenger; she gave instructions 
     to 70 others who found their own way to freedom; and
       Whereas, If Harriet Tubman had been caught, she would have 
     faced physical punishment and been sold back into slavery in 
     the Deep South due to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law; and
       Whereas, During the Civil War, Harriet Tubman worked for 
     the Union Army as a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse; 
     this makes her one of the first Black women to serve in the 
     military; and
       Whereas, After the war, Harriet Tubman became involved in 
     the campaign for women's suffrage along with Elizabeth Cady 
     Stanton and Susan B. Anthony; in 1859, she purchased a home 
     in Auburn, New York and established it as a home for the 
     elderly; and
       Whereas, Harriet Tubman died in 1913 and was buried with 
     military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery; and
       Whereas, In 2014, President Barack Obama launched the 
     effort to get Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill after receiving 
     a letter from a girl from Massachusetts saying women should 
     appear on currency; and
       Whereas, In April of 2016, President Obama announced that 
     Harriet Tubman would be replacing President Andrew Jackson on 
     the $20 and that Jackson would be moved into a scene of the 
     White House on the reverse side; and
       Whereas, For years, critics have called for Jackson to be 
     removed from the $20 bill because of his legacy of supporting 
     the institution of slavery, having owned 95 enslaved people 
     months before he became president and bringing 14 of them to 
     the White House, and for his role in the forced, violent 
     transfer of tens of thousands of Native Americans from the 
     South on what became known as the Trail of Tears; and
       Whereas, The new design was initially scheduled for 2020 
     but stalled under President Trump who called the move ``pure 
     political correctness'' and said that Jackson ``had a great 
     history''; and
       Whereas, No women or people of color have ever been 
     pictured on a denomination of currency still in circulation; 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the One 
     Hundred Second General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 
     that we urge the federal government to replace Andrew Jackson 
     with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill; and be it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be sent 
     to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the 
     Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States 
     House of Representatives, and all members of the Illinois 
     Congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-71. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Idaho opposing the removal or breaching of the dams 
     on the Columbia-Snake River System and its tributaries; to 
     the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                     Senate Joint Memorial No. 103

       Whereas, the Idaho Legislature recognizes the Columbia-
     Snake River System as part of the United States Marine 
     Highway network; and
       Whereas, the Columbia-Snake River System and its 
     tributaries, collectively and in its entirety, are a multiuse 
     system providing navigation, transportation, fish and 
     wildlife habitat, recreation, hydropower generation, flood 
     control, and irrigation to the citizens and industry of the 
     Pacific Northwest; and
       Whereas, the Columbia-Snake River System and its 
     tributaries provide a vital contribution to the well-being of 
     the State of Idaho and to the quality of life of its 
     citizens, being among the most operationally important and 
     cost-effective projects in the Federal Columbia River Power 
     System; and
       Whereas, a balanced river system produces economic benefits 
     like jobs, trade, and renewable electricity while caring for 
     environmental values through good management practices and 
     reinvestment in our natural resources; and
       Whereas, no amount of money can replace the lifestyle and 
     economies of the communities that depend upon the Columbia-
     Snake River System's hydropower, navigation, irrigation, 
     flood risk management, recreation, and municipal and 
     industrial water supply benefits; and
       Whereas, the State of Idaho reasserts and confirms 
     sovereign control over all water resources within the state; 
     and
       Whereas, the decline of anadromous fish is due to many 
     factors, including increased predation, unfavorable ocean 
     conditions, and harvest levels; and

[[Page S6278]]

       Whereas, breaching the four lower Snake River dams is an 
     idealistic, single variable model to Pacific salmon recovery 
     that flies in the face of reality for salmon, is illogical 
     from an environmental perspective, hurts industry and 
     communities, puts politics over science and local jobs, and 
     may neither restore Idaho salmon nor prevent their 
     extinction; and
       Whereas, only four of the thirteen Endangered Species Act-
     listed salmon runs swim past the lower Snake River darns, and 
     they do so with over 95% survival at each of the dams; and
       Whereas, breaching the four lower Snake River dams would be 
     a drastic measure that would forever alter our way of life in 
     the Pacific Northwest; and
       Whereas, breaching the lower Snake River dams is an 
     outdated argument that is not supported by current dam 
     passage survival studies of juvenile Pacific salmon; and
       Whereas, in 2008, 2014, and 2020 the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration produced biological opinions that 
     stated breaching the four lower Snake River dams was not 
     necessary action for salmon recovery; and
       Whereas, the governor of Idaho commissioned the Governor's 
     Salmon Workgroup, a diverse group of stakeholders that worked 
     for 18 months to study the issue of salmon recovery, 
     representing for the first time broad interests working 
     collaboratively to help shape the state's salmon and 
     steelhead policy; and
       Whereas, that workgroup developed many practical 
     recommendations to address the issue of improved river 
     systems and habitat conditions for healthy salmon 
     populations, specifically excluding any recommendations for 
     removing dams; and
       Whereas, due to the efforts of the state, the Nez Perce 
     Tribe, and Idaho water users in entering into the 2004 Snake 
     River Water Rights Agreement, up to 487,000 acre-feet of 
     Idaho's water is used for flow augmentation for salmon and 
     steelhead in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers, with water 
     being released through willing-buyer, willing-seller 
     arrangements. In return for flow augmentation, the 2004 
     agreement provides protections to Idaho water users in the 
     form of a 30-year biological opinion; and
       Whereas, agricultural and industrial applications of water 
     have a legal priority within the state; and
       Whereas, the Port of Lewiston, Idaho's only seaport, is 
     part of the collective Columbia-Snake River System and is an 
     asset to the State of Idaho and an asset to the Inland 
     Northwest region, providing global competitiveness and 
     connectivity for regional products, economic development 
     investment, and multimodal transportation; and
       Whereas, the State of Idaho supports the Port of Lewiston 
     activities and believes that reservoir drawdowns or removal 
     of the dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers would 
     inflict on the citizenry a loss of recreation, an increase in 
     electric rates, a loss of navigation, a risk of floods, 
     economic hardship, and an impaired quality of life; and
       Whereas, cruise boat traffic to the Port of Lewiston has 
     steadily increased over the last 10 years and is projected to 
     increase from 19,000 passengers in 2019 to over 33,000 
     passengers in 2022, a growth of 76%, bringing much financial 
     growth to the entire Snake River area; and
       Whereas, the Columbia-Snake River System acts as a top 
     wheat export gateway in the United States, with approximately 
     10% of all United States wheat exports barged through the 
     four dams on the Snake River and about 50% of all Idaho-grown 
     wheat barged from Lewiston to Portland and then onto export 
     markets around the world; and
       Whereas, barging on the Columbia and Snake rivers is the 
     safest, most fuel-efficient means of transporting cargoes in 
     the Northwest, being 40% more fuel-efficient than freight 
     trains and 270% more fuel-efficient than semitrucks; and
       Whereas, without the ability to barge goods down the river, 
     diesel fuel consumption would increase by nearly 5 million 
     gallons per year as barges would be replaced by less 
     efficient truck-to-rail shipments, resulting in increases in 
     carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions by over 1.2 
     million tons per year; and
       Whereas, the Columbia-Snake River System is also highly 
     valued on the west coast for forest product exports and 
     mineral exports, is second in the nation for soy exports, and 
     is a major gateway for auto imports and exports. Each year, 
     around 250,000 tons of wood chips are barged from the Lower 
     Granite Pool to be turned into pulp for paper production at 
     mills on the lower Columbia River; and
       Whereas, hydroelectric power is one of the best energy 
     sources we have, with clean, reliable, renewable baseload 
     generation that is more valuable than ever as the four lower 
     Snake River dams produce thousands of megawatts of low-cost, 
     affordable electricity, which is renewable energy that 
     provides power to 22 rural Idaho utilities serving tens of 
     thousands of Idahoans, numerous Idaho cities, farmers, and 
     industries, while acting as a battery to integrate other 
     intermittent renewable energy resources on the system; and
       Whereas, the Idaho Legislature believes that any actions to 
     degrade the functionality, in whole or in part, or to remove 
     or breach dams on the Columbia-Snake River System or its 
     tributaries, or to take water from the state for anadromous 
     fish enhancement efforts would inflict on the citizenry of 
     the state a loss in economic and trade opportunities, a loss 
     of recharge waters for the state's aquifers, a loss of 
     navigation and transportation, an increased risk of floods, 
     an increase in electrical rates, a shortfall in power 
     generation, a loss of recreational opportunities, and a 
     threatened quality of life for Idaho citizens. Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, By the members of the First Regular Session of 
     the Sixty-sixth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House 
     of Representatives concurring therein, that Idaho opposes the 
     removal or breaching of the dams on the Columbia-Snake River 
     System and its tributaries, has sovereignty of its water 
     resources, prohibits contributions of water from Idaho's 
     reservoirs for flow augmentation except those expressly 
     authorized by state law, contends that efforts for further 
     recovery of anadromous fish must be based on sound science, 
     and supports maintenance and multiple-use benefits of the 
     Columbia-Snake River System. Additionally, the Idaho 
     Legislature recognizes and supports the international 
     competitiveness, multimodal transportation, and economic 
     development benefits provided by the Port of Lewiston. Be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is 
     hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this 
     Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 
     the House of Representatives of Congress and to the 
     congressional delegations representing the states of Idaho, 
     Montana, Washington, and Oregon in the Congress of the United 
     States.
                                  ____

       POM-72. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Hawaii urging statewide implementation of the United Nations 
     universal periodic review recommendations; to the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations.

                       Senate Resolution No. 157

       Whereas, the United Nations (UN) established the Universal 
     Periodic Review (UPR) in 2006 to review the human rights 
     records of all one hundred ninety-three UN member states, 
     with the goal of improving human rights; and
       Whereas, every UN member state appears and actively 
     participates in the UPR hosted by the UN Human Rights Council 
     Working Group in Geneva twice a decade, with each review 
     cycle lasting four and a half years; and
       Whereas, the United States appeared at the UPR in 2010, 
     2014, and most recently on November 9, 2020; and
       Whereas, hundreds of recommendations have been suggested to 
     improve and produce a positive impact in Hawai`i and the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i is an island state with a multicultural 
     population from around the world, recognizing the ancestral 
     wisdom of our host culture, cherishing our natural 
     environment, and recognizing our unique role in the United 
     States and global community; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i was considered in 1944 by President 
     Franklin D. Roosevelt as a potential host for the UN 
     headquarters, to serve as a global diplomatic hub; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i has had civil society and community 
     associations participate in all three UPR cycles and found 
     that the stakeholder submissions and recommendations issued 
     provided a heightened awareness among state legislators of 
     the significance of promoting and protecting human rights at 
     home in Hawai`i; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i hosts an annual Human Rights Day to 
     illuminate important and imminent issues at the international 
     and island levels and to review the recommendations provided 
     in the UPR; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i was designated as America's first Human 
     Rights state by House Resolution No. 194, which was adopted 
     by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh 
     Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014; 
     and
       Whereas, Hawai`i was the first state to conduct a Voluntary 
     Local Review at the UN, sharing our local strategies 
     regarding the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals through 
     our Aloha+ Challenge; and
       Whereas, the Office of Planning has supported the UN's 17 
     Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for 
     Sustainable Development, and it has aligned them with the 
     Hawai`i State Planning Act, the Hawai`i 2050 Sustainability 
     Plan, and the State of Hawaii's Aloha+ Challenge; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i continues to bring together civil society 
     to review the UPR recommendations and to discuss innovative 
     initiatives to realize human rights at home; and
       Whereas, in spring 2021, the UN Office of the High 
     Commissioner for Human Rights will issue a report connecting 
     the third UPR human rights recommendations with the 17 
     Sustainable Development Goals, which can be used as a guide 
     to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 
     Hawai`i; and
       Whereas, civil society can generate solutions and share 
     templates that provide concise, complete contributions about 
     how to realize human rights on every Hawaiian island; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i continues to be pioneer in peace, 
     sustainability, human rights, and global justice, partnering 
     with city and county councils, as well as leadership from 
     state agencies and elected public officials, to maintain the 
     human rights movement in Hawai`i; and
       Whereas, Hawai`i continues to participate in all phases of 
     the UN processes, and it will

[[Page S6279]]

     continue to organize community conversations and 
     commemorations for upcoming global events such as the Paris 
     Agreement, using a locally determined contribution (LDC) to 
     supplement the nationally determined contribution (NDC) and 
     future reports to the United Nations Human Right Core Treaty 
     Bodies; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, By the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of 
     the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Office 
     of Planning is requested to implement the recommendations of 
     the third Universal Periodic Review statewide across all 
     executive departments in furtherance of the State's Planning 
     Act; and be it further
       Resolved, That certified copies of this Resolution be 
     transmitted to the UN Secretary General, UN High Commissioner 
     for Human Rights, President of the United States, Vice 
     President of the United States, Speaker of the U.S. House of 
     Representatives, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, 
     Hawai`i's congressional delegation, U.S. Department of State, 
     Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Governor, and 
     Director of Planning.
                                  ____

       POM-73. A concurrent resolution adopted by the General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio urging the United States 
     Congress not to adopt H.R. 1 of the 117th Congress; to the 
     Committee on Rules and Administration.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 5

       Whereas, House Resolution 1, a sweeping federal bill that 
     would usurp the power of states to conduct elections as they 
     see fit, against the intentions of our nation's founders, is 
     currently under consideration by Congress; and
       Whereas, Article I, section 4 of the United States 
     Constitution grants the legislative branch of each state the 
     authority to prescribe the ``Times, Places and Manner of 
     holding Elections for Senators and Representatives,'' an 
     authority the United States Congress should only supersede in 
     ``extraordinary circumstances'' according to Alexander 
     Hamilton in Federalist Number 59; and
       Whereas, Voting laws have evolved across the 50 states over 
     time, providing more and more access, security, and accuracy. 
     But most importantly, each of those same 50 states have 
     created their own unique election systems. From who 
     administers the elections, to how votes are cast, to how a 
     vote is protected--each unique system was born of federalism; 
     and
       Whereas, The imperfection of voting laws across the country 
     is not proof that H.R. 1 is necessary or appropriate, but 
     rather evidence that United States citizens are continuing to 
     strive toward a more perfect union; and
       Whereas, Forcing completely new standards, procedures, and 
     expectations into state election systems, which are not built 
     for those requirements, as is the case under H.R. 1, would 
     bring chaos to those election systems, and that chaos would 
     bring with it a lack of trust by the people in the results of 
     those elections; and
       Whereas, In Ohio, a state whose elections have long been 
     under the watchful eye of the nation, we have developed a 
     system that has ensured voters have confidence in the outcome 
     of our elections. Voter fraud and voter suppression are 
     exceedingly rare. Our efforts to strengthen the security of 
     our elections have become a national model. States are even 
     coming to us to learn our best election practices so they can 
     mirror them back home; Now therefore be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the 134th General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio, affirm our belief in the 
     federal structure of the United States government and declare 
     current voting laws a credit to the design of federal 
     government to allow for democratic experimentation throughout 
     the several states; and be it further
       Resolved, That we urge the United States Congress not to 
     adopt H.R. 1 of the 117th Congress; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives 
     transmit a duly authenticated copy of this resolution to the 
     Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of 
     the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio 
     Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio so they 
     may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of the. 
     State of Ohio in this matter.
                                  ____

       POM-74. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of North Dakota clarifying the 1975 ratification 
     by the 44th Legislative Assembly of the proposed 1972 Equal 
     Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
     only was valid through March 22, 1979; to the Committee on 
     the Judiciary.

                 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4010

       Whereas, the 92nd Congress of the United States of America, 
     during its second session, with the constitutionally required 
     vote of two-thirds of both houses, on March 22, 1972, gave 
     final approval to House Joint Resolution No. 208, commonly 
     referred to as the Equal Rights Amendment, to propose the 
     amendment to the Constitution of the United States, pursuant 
     to Article V of the Constitution of the United States; and
       Whereas, in offering the proposed federal constitutional 
     amendment to America's state lawmakers, the 92nd Congress 
     chose a deadline of 7 years, or until March 22, 1979, for the 
     constitutionally mandated ratification of the amendment by 
     three-fourths of the country's state legislatures; and
       Whereas, in Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4007, the 
     regular session of the 44th Legislative Assembly in 1975, 
     responded by ratifying the proposed 1972 Equal Rights 
     Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of North Dakota, the House of 
     Representatives concurring therein: That the 67th Legislative 
     Assembly deems that the vitality of Senate Concurrent 
     Resolution No. 4007 of the 44th Legislative Assembly by which 
     North Dakota lawmakers ratified the 1972 Equal Rights 
     Amendment, officially lapsed at 11:59 p.m. on March 22, 1979; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That, after March 22, 1979, the Legislative 
     Assembly, while in agreement women and men should enjoy equal 
     rights in the eyes of the law, should not be counted by 
     Congress, the Archivist of the United States, lawmakers in 
     any other state, any court of law, or any other person, as 
     still having on record a live ratification of the proposed 
     Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States as was offered by House Joint Resolution No. 208 of 
     the 92nd Congress on March 22, 1972; and be it further
       Resolved, That the 67th Legislative Assembly respectfully 
     requests the full and complete verbatim text of this 
     resolution be duly published in the United States Senate's 
     portion of the Congressional Record, as an official memorial 
     to the United States Senate, and that this resolution be 
     referred to the committee of the United States Senate with 
     appropriate jurisdiction over its subject matter; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the 67th Legislative Assembly respectfully 
     requests the substance of this resolution be duly entered in 
     the United States House of Representatives' portion of the 
     Congressional Record, as an official memorial to the United 
     States House of Representatives, and that this resolution be 
     referred to the committee of the United States House of 
     Representatives with appropriate jurisdiction over its 
     subject matter; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of State forward copies of 
     this resolution to the Vice President of the United States, 
     the secretary and parliamentarian of the United States 
     Senate; the Speaker, clerk, and parliamentarian of the United 
     States House of Representatives; each member of the North 
     Dakota Congressional Delegation; and the Archivist of the 
     United States at the National Archives and Records 
     Administration in Washington, D.C.
                                  ____

       POM-75. A petition from a citizen of the State of Texas 
     relative to civil disturbances; to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary

                          ____________________