[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2863-S2865]
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-141. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the United 
     States Congress, federal agencies, and state departments to 
     address the ongoing fertilizer price increases and shortages 
     that are impacting Michigan farmers; to the Committee on 
     Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

                        House Resolution No. 205

       Whereas, Michigan's agricultural industry is vitally 
     important to the state economy. As our nation's second most 
     diverse agricultural system, it contributes more than $104.7 
     billion in economic activity annually to the state. More than 
     800,000 people work in Michigan's agricultural industry, and 
     care for nearly 10 million acres of land; and
       Whereas, Fertilizer is a critical agricultural input that 
     is utilized by farmers to provide nutrients to their land and 
     maximize the productivity of their farms. It is essential 
     that Michigan's farmers have access to fertilizers so they 
     can nourish their land and maintain production levels; and
       Whereas, Fertilizer prices in the United States have 
     dramatically increased over the past decade. While the 
     increase in prices can

[[Page S2864]]

     be attributed to several factors, such as strong demand for 
     fertilizer and rising costs of raw materials, the recent 
     decision by the United States Department of Commerce to 
     impose tariffs on imports of phosphate-based fertilizers from 
     Morocco and other countries has significantly increased 
     fertilizer prices. These tariffs were implemented in 2021 
     after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) 
     determined that the import of foreign phosphatic fertilizers 
     injured U.S. manufacturers; and
       Whereas, These tariffs place a substantial burden on 
     farmers who are unable to compete with rising costs of 
     production. Additionally. due to the highly consolidated 
     structure of the U.S. fertilizer manufacturer industry, many 
     farmers have little bargaining power with suppliers. For 
     example, one company controls an estimated 90 percent of the 
     U.S. phosphate fertilizer production while another controls 
     nearly half of U.S. urea fertilizer production. This highly 
     concentrated structure has resulted in local input dealers 
     having very little bargaining power with the manufacturers. 
     and cost increases are inevitably passed on to farmers; and
       Whereas, Michigan farmers are facing the greatest increase 
     in fertilizer prices in 13 years. Without access to 
     fertilizer, Michigan's agricultural production will fall, and 
     the state's economy will suffer. Not only will farmers be 
     directly impacted, but the broader supply chain will also 
     suffer: now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and state departments to 
     address the ongoing fertilizer price increases and shortages 
     that are impacting Michigan farmers; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, the members of the 
     Michigan congressional delegation, the U.S. Secretary of 
     Commerce, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, the 
     commissioners of the U.S. International Trade Commission, and 
     the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and 
     Rural Development.
                                  ____

       POM-142. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the President of the United 
     States and the United States Congress to take any action 
     necessary to halt federal actions resulting in the delay or 
     cancellation of offshore oil and natural gas lease sales, and 
     urging the United States Department of Interior to expedite 
     actions necessary to comply with a court order to resolve 
     lease sales, finalize a new five-year plan for oil and gas 
     leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, and focus efforts on 
     lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico; to the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 12

       Whereas, the Gulf of Mexico produces approximately 
     seventeen percent of the United States crude oil and five 
     percent of United States natural gas while contributing five 
     to eight billion dollars to the federal treasury each year 
     and sending hundreds of millions of dollars to coastal states 
     for coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects; 
     and
       Whereas, the oil and gas industry directly supports two 
     hundred forty-nine thousand eight hundred jobs in Louisiana; 
     and
       Whereas, the oil and gas industry activities represent 
     twenty-six percent of Louisiana's gross domestic product, 
     accounting for nearly four billion five hundred million 
     dollars in state and local tax revenue in 2019 alone, 
     representing fourteen and one-half percent of total state 
     taxes, licenses, and fees collected; and
       Whereas, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
     Management, which regulates offshore lease sales, the Gulf 
     continues to be the nation's primary offshore source of oil 
     and gas, generating about ninety-seven percent of all United 
     States Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas production and 
     since 2017, Gulf of Mexico lease sales have generated more 
     than one trillion dollars from offshore leasing; and
       Whereas, since 1953, the United States Secretary of the 
     Interior has been required by law to prepare a five-year plan 
     to set a schedule for oil and gas leases in United States 
     offshore waters based on a lengthy, multi-year regulatory 
     process with multiple stages for public comment, input, and 
     consultation; and
       Whereas, the Obama administration issued a five-year-plan 
     for oil and gas leasing that expires on July 1, 2022, which 
     includes two remaining lease sales for the Gulf of Mexico, 
     Lease Sale 259 and Lease Sale 261; and
       Whereas, the United States Department of Interior missed 
     the deadline to issue a notice of sale for Gulf of Mexico 
     Lease Sale 259 in order to meet the expiration of the current 
     five-year plan; and
       Whereas, on January 27, 2021, President Biden signed 
     Executive Order 14008, ``Tackling the Climate Crisis'' 
     declaring a pause on leasing on federal lands and waters, 
     including the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico; 
     and
       Whereas, the United States District Court issued a 
     preliminary injunction on the leasing pause and ordered 
     federal oil and gas lease sales to proceed on June 15, 2021; 
     and
       Whereas, the Department of Interior held Lease Sale 257 on 
     November 17, 2021; however, on January 27, 2022, a ruling by 
     the United States District Court for the District of Columbia 
     invalidated the sale and required the Department of Interior 
     to reassess the environmental impacts of Lease Sale 257; and
       Whereas, the Department of Interior is not appealing the 
     court ruling and therefore there is no indication that leases 
     will be awarded to the offshore companies from Lease Sale 
     257; and
       Whereas, there is no indication that the federal government 
     will hold another Gulf of Mexico offshore lease sale for the 
     duration of the Biden administration's term and there is no 
     indication that the Department of Interior is working on the 
     next five-year plan; and
       Whereas, according to the most recent federal data, 
     although U.S. crude output fell slightly with a drop of 
     nearly thirteen and one-half percent in offshore Gulf of 
     Mexico production from December 2019 through December 2021, 
     the demand for oil climbed nine and four-fifth percent from a 
     year earlier; and
       Whereas, oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is 
     the only reliable source of funding for Louisiana's coastal 
     programs such as the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act that 
     allows the Gulf states to share in offshore revenue generated 
     from offshore oil activity including bonus bid revenue; and
       Whereas, over the past five years Louisiana approximately 
     has received between one hundred sixty million dollars and 
     four hundred seven million dollars from bonus bids alone; and
       Whereas, it is estimated that in 2021 the state of 
     Louisiana lost approximately twenty to forty million dollars 
     due to the cancelled lease sales and lost bonus bid revenue; 
     and
       Whereas, Louisiana depends on Gulf of Mexico Energy 
     Security Act revenues to fund a fifty billion dollar coastal 
     restoration plan; and
       Whereas, delaying or cancelling Gulf of Mexico leasing 
     negatively impacts federal and state revenue, as well as 
     Louisiana businesses and jobs; and
       Whereas, drilling contractors will see impacts, dropping as 
     many as twenty-five percent of the remaining Gulf of Mexico 
     rigs over the next several years, in addition to the network 
     of staff, supply boats, and other vendors that support and 
     maintain drillships that equates to roughly one thousand jobs 
     per rig; and
       Whereas, the Gulf of Mexico is the safest and cleanest oil 
     produced anywhere in the world; and
       Whereas, halting domestic energy development in one of the 
     lowest carbon intensive energy producing regions in the world 
     to shift production and capital investment overseas 
     undermines decades of environmental progress; and
       Whereas, a 2016 Obama administration study conducted by 
     Bureau of Ocean Energy Management concluded that America's 
     greenhouse gas emissions will be little affected by leasing 
     decisions on the bureau's offshore leasing program and could 
     in fact result in an increase of greenhouse gas emissions in 
     the absence of new Outer Continental Shelf leasing due to an 
     increase in importing foreign oil; and
       Whereas, the Biden administration is pursuing a policy 
     which places the United States at the mercy of the 
     Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia to 
     meet domestic needs and harming national and economic 
     security. Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     urge and request the President of the United States and 
     Congress of the United States to take any action necessary to 
     halt federal actions resulting in the delay or cancellation 
     of offshore oil and natural gas lease sales. Be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     urge and request the United States Department of Interior to 
     expedite any actions necessary to comply with United States 
     District Court for the District of Columbia order to resolve 
     Lease Sale 257, finalize a new five-year plan for oil and gas 
     leasing on the outer continental shelf, and focus all efforts 
     on mandated lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. Be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, the United States 
     Secretary of the Interior, the United States Secretary of 
     Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the White 
     House National Climate Advisor, the clerk of the United 
     States House of Representatives, the secretary of the United 
     States Senate, and to each member of the Louisiana delegation 
     of the United States Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-143. A resolution from the House of Representatives of 
     the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico requesting that the 
     government of the United States to grant a partial exemption 
     from the application of the Coastwise Laws to the maritime 
     transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between 
     the United States and Puerto Rico for the duration of the 
     armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the collateral 
     effects thereof; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation.

                        House Resolution No. 718

       The implementation of the so-called Coastwise Laws in 
     Puerto Rico began with the approval of the Organic Act of 
     1900, known as the Foraker Act. The Jones Act was 
     subsequently approved in 1917 which, among other

[[Page S2865]]

     things, maintained the effectiveness of the coastwise laws 
     until the present day. The Jones Act was enacted at a 
     historical juncture which posed certain challenges to the 
     United States of America that are no longer a concern. As a 
     result, maritime transportation from U.S. ports to the Island 
     may only be provided by U.S.-built, -owned and -crewed 
     vessels. Thus, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation 
     providing that, in order to move goods between the United 
     States of America and Puerto Rico, vessels should not only be 
     built in the United States but must also be owned and 
     operated by U.S. citizens. This federal legislation also 
     applies to Guam and the states of Alaska and Hawaii. The 
     territory of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, however, are 
     exempt from the Jones Act.
       With regard to maritime transportation, on March 14, 2013, 
     the U.S. Government Accountability Office, commonly known as 
     GAO, issued a report stating that the Jones Act may result in 
     higher freight rates, particularly for certain goods, than 
     would be the case if service by foreign carriers were 
     allowed. Likewise, the conclusions of the report state that 
     the original goal of the Act remains important to military 
     preparedness and to the shipbuilding and maritime industries, 
     but understanding the full extent and distribution of the 
     costs that underlie these benefits is elusive.
       It is a well-known fact that Puerto Rico is facing 
     difficult economic challenges that have worsened with the 
     passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria, the earthquakes of 
     January 2020, inflation, the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, and 
     more recently, the cost of fuel, factors that are out of the 
     government and the consumer's control. That is, the rising 
     oil prices coupled with the effects of inflation and the 
     emergencies have steadily increased the prices of food, 
     transportation, and electricity, thus adversely affecting 
     consumer and business spending.
       In addition to global security concerns, the war between 
     Russia and Ukraine has resulted in a shortage of consumer 
     goods and pushed oil prices above $125 per barrel, after 
     having remained steady between $80.00 and $90.00 for a 
     considerable time. Should this war continue and no agreement 
     be reached, it might lead to a crude oil shortage in Europe, 
     which would have repercussions on the global market, such as 
     even higher prices. There is concern due to the fact that 
     there is no indication as to whether the price of crude oil, 
     goods, and transportation shall stabilize any time soon. On 
     the contrary, projections show that rising costs and 
     instability shall persist.
       In spite of our efforts to transform electric power 
     generation in Puerto Rico, our system still relies primarily 
     on crude oil and petroleum products. Likewise, most 
     individual, mass transit, and freight motor vehicles on the 
     Island run on gasoline or diesel. Therefore, granting Puerto 
     Rico a partial exemption from the Jones Act is necessary to 
     prevent future electricity rate increases, mitigate the 
     rising costs of gasoline, diesel, transportation, as well as 
     the potential shortage of crude oil in Europe.
       For all of the foregoing, the House of Representatives of 
     the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico deems it necessary to take 
     action in order to mitigate the multiplier effect that crude 
     oil price fluctuations are having on the economy, by 
     requesting the President of the United States of America and 
     his government to approve a partial exemption from the 
     application of the Coastwise Laws to the maritime 
     transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between 
     the United States of America and Puerto Rico for the duration 
     of the armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia as well as 
     the collateral thereof.
       Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of Puerto 
     Rico:
       Section 1.--The President of the United States of America 
     is hereby requested to grant a partial exemption from the 
     application of Coastwise Laws to the maritime transportation 
     of crude oil and petroleum products between the United States 
     of America and Puerto Rico for the duration of the armed 
     conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the collateral 
     effects thereof. The foregoing for the purpose of addressing 
     the demand for land transportation and energy generation on 
     the Island, as well as to mitigate what would otherwise be 
     higher crude oil prices given the volatility of the 
     international market.
       Section 2.--A copy of this Resolution, translated into the 
     English language, shall be delivered to the President of the 
     United States of America; the Department of Homeland 
     Security; the leadership of the United States Congress; and 
     the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C.
       Section 3.--This Resolution shall take effect upon its 
     approval.
                                  ____

       POM-144. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     Rockland County, New York, urging the United States House of 
     Representatives to pass the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, 
     which would make daylight saving time permanent; to the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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