[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 185 (Thursday, October 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7153-S7154]
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-89. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the United States Congress to 
     pass the I am Vanessa Guillen Act, legislation ensuring that 
     necessary changes are made, such as preventing conflicts of 
     interest, requiring independent investigations that are 
     conducted by trained investigators, establishing a 
     confidential reporting option for sexual harassment that can 
     convert to a formal complaint, and directing the Government 
     Accountability Office to evaluate response procedures related 
     to missing service members; to the Committee on Armed 
     Services.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 51

       Whereas, The brutal murder of Vanessa Guillen and the 
     reaction on social media highlight the needed support to the 
     military's response to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and 
     missing persons; and
       Whereas, Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen had been missing 
     for more than two months before her remains were discovered, 
     and the investigation received widespread attention when law 
     enforcement identified the suspect, a fellow military member 
     whom Guillen was planning to formally accuse of sexual 
     harassment; this prompted countless members of the U.S. 
     military to share their personal experiences of sexual 
     harassment and sexual assault on social media with the 
     hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen; and
       Whereas, A close look at current military laws and policies 
     reveals concerns, including conflicts of interest and limited 
     options for reporting sexual harassment; too many military 
     members have been failed by this system, and immediate action 
     is imperative to avoid another tragedy; and
       Whereas, To correct these issues, the I am Vanessa Guillen 
     Act has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives; 
     and
       Whereas, The brave men and women who fight for our nation 
     deserve access to justice, and Congress should listen to the 
     service members calling for change in the aftermath of 
     Vanessa Guillen's murder; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 
     pass the I am Vanessa Guillen Act, legislation ensuring that 
     necessary changes are made, such as preventing conflicts of 
     interest, requiring independent investigations that are 
     conducted by trained investigators, establishing a 
     confidential reporting option for sexual harassment that can 
     convert to a formal complaint, and directing the Government 
     Accountability Office to evaluate response procedures related 
     to missing service members; 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-90. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the Unite States Congress to 
     repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall 
     Elimination Provision of the Social Security Act; to the 
     Committee on Finance.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 17

       Whereas, Social Security is the foundation for retirement 
     for tens of millions of American workers and their families, 
     with many reporting that they rely on the program as their 
     sole source of 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; and
       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 87th 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-91. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Texas urging the federal government to halt 
     and reverse, effective immediately, its practice of assuming 
     powers and imposing mandates and laws upon the states for 
     purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United 
     States of America; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 12

       Whereas, Each member of the legislature has sworn a solemn 
     oath to defend our United States and Texas Constitutions and 
     takes great pride in being a citizen of the United States of 
     America, where citizens have the right to petition their 
     government for redress of grievances; and
       Whereas, Section 1, Article I, Texas Constitution, states 
     that ``the perpetuity of the Union depend[s] upon the 
     preservation of the right of local self-government, 
     unimpaired to all the States''; Section 2, Article I, 
     declares, ``All political power is inherent in the people, 
     and all free governments are founded on their authority, and 
     instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of 
     Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form 
     of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they 
     have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or 
     abolish their government in such manner as they may think 
     expedient''; and
       Whereas, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States of America reads as follows: ``The powers not 
     delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
     prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
     respectively, or to the people''; and
       Whereas, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States of America defines the total scope of federal 
     power as being that specifically granted by the U.S. 
     Constitution and no more; and
       Whereas, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States of America means that the federal government 
     was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the 
     states with powers both limited and enumerated; and
       Whereas, Today, in 2021, the states are demonstrably 
     treated as agents of the federal government; and
       Whereas, Many powers assumed by the federal government as 
     well as federal laws and mandates are in direct violation of 
     the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
     of America; and
       Whereas, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of 
     the United States of America and each sovereign state in the 
     Union of States, have always had rights that the federal 
     government may not usurp; and
       Whereas, Section 4, Article IV, of the United States 
     Constitution says, ``The United States shall guarantee to 
     every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,'' 
     and the Ninth Amendment states, ``The enumeration in the 
     Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to 
     deny or disparage others retained by the people''; and
       Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New 
     York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may 
     not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory 
     processes of the states; and

[[Page S7154]]

       Whereas, A number of proposals from previous 
     administrations, as well as from Congress, may further 
     violate the Constitution of the United States of America: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States of America over all powers 
     not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal 
     government by the Constitution of the United States of 
     America; and, be it further
       Resolved, That this serve as notice and demand that the 
     federal government, as our agent, halt and reverse, effective 
     immediately, its practice of assuming powers and imposing 
     mandates and laws upon the states for purposes not enumerated 
     by the Constitution of the United States of America; and, be 
     it further
       Resolved, That all compulsory federal legislation not 
     necessary to ensure rights guaranteed the people under the 
     Constitution of the United States that directs states to 
     comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or 
     sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose 
     federal funding be prohibited and repealed; 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 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-92. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Texas urging the United 
     States Congress to pass the ``CHIPS for America Act'' or any 
     legislation that substantially increases the United States' 
     investments in semiconductor manufacturing and research; to 
     the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                       House Resolution No. 1993

       Whereas, Semiconductors, often referred to as ``integrated 
     circuits'' or ``microchips,'' are an essential component of 
     nearly all electronic devices, including cell phones, 
     televisions, computers, automobiles, and advanced medical 
     devices; and
       Whereas, Texas has been a world leader in the development 
     of semiconductors since 1958, when Texas Instruments engineer 
     Jack Kilby invented the world's first integrated circuit; and
       Whereas, The semiconductor workforce of Texas is the second 
     largest in the United States, and it is the sixth largest 
     manufacturing sector in Texas, employing 41,500 Texans with 
     an average annual salary of $95,021; and
       Whereas, The United States' share of global semiconductor 
     manufacturing capacity has decreased from 37 percent in 1990 
     to 12 percent today, despite a global semiconductor shortage 
     that has significantly increased demand; and
       Whereas, On June 11, 2020, United States Senator John 
     Cornyn and Congressman Michael McCaul introduced the Creating 
     Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act 
     or the ``CHIPS for America Act,'' which proposes investments 
     for semiconductor manufacturing facilities, matches funds for 
     local incentives for semiconductor facility construction, and 
     supports semiconductor research and development; and
       Whereas, On March 31, 2021, President Joseph Biden 
     announced his support for the ``CHIPS for America Act,'' or 
     any proposal to invest $50 billion in semiconductor 
     manufacturing and research; and
       Whereas, Semiconductor manufacturing and research have 
     played an instrumental role in the economy of both Texas and 
     the United States, and Congress should take swift action to 
     ensure that the nation remains at the forefront of this vital 
     industry; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 87th 
     Texas Legislature hereby respectfully urge the Congress of 
     the United States to pass the ``CHIPS for America Act'' or 
     any legislation that substantially increases the United 
     States' investments in semiconductor manufacturing and 
     research; 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 it be entered into the 
     Congressional record as a memorial to the Congress of the 
     United States of America.
                                  ____


       POM-93. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of Rockland 
     County, New York, urging the United States Congress to 
     refrain from entering into any trade deals with the United 
     Kingdom until its government investigates and prosecutes 
     legacy killings as outlined in the Stormont House Agreement; 
     to the Committee on Finance.

                          ____________________