[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1461-S1463]
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-16. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Idaho opposing the EPA-proposed rules that 
     circumvent science and invalidate Idaho's water quality 
     standards based on the flawed and elusive premise of 19th 
     century water quality standards for Idaho waters in 2023; to 
     the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                       House Joint Memorial No. 4

       Whereas, Idaho submitted new and revised Human Health Water 
     Quality Criteria (HHWQC) rules (docket number 58-0102-1201) 
     to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 
     December 16, 2016, after years of extensive engagement with 
     stakeholders, data collection, and final approval of the 
     Idaho Legislature; and
       Whereas, on April 4, 2019, the EPA approved Idaho's new 
     HHWQC for toxics and other water quality standards criteria; 
     and
       Whereas, Idaho is the only state in the union to complete a 
     comprehensive longitudinal study funded by the state to 
     determine the actual fish consumption rate (FCR) of its 
     citizens, which was conducted by Boise State University; and
       Whereas, Idaho acted in accordance with the United States 
     Clean Water Act in utilizing the best available scientific 
     data to apply a FCR within the water quality formula to 
     establish its HHWQC as part of its overall water quality 
     standards (WQS); and
       Whereas, the EPA recently published new proposed nationwide 
     regulations (at 87 Fed Reg. 74361 (December 5, 2022)) that 
     would effectively establish an unrealistic and unattainable 
     WQS for state waters that are not based on actual FCR but on 
     Indian treaties approved in the l9th century; and
       Whereas, the federal regulation notice completely ignores 
     the requirement of Executive Order 13132 for Federalism 
     implications, instead stating that the rule will not have 
     substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship 
     between the federal government and the states, or on the 
     distribution of power and responsibilities among levels of 
     government; and
       Whereas, the federal regulation notice economic analysis 
     states that there will potentially be only incremental 
     administrative burdens and costs, but it does not establish 
     any requirements for regulated entities. However, it could 
     lead to additional compliance costs with new permit limits, 
     which the EPA is unable to provide cost estimates for; and
       Whereas, it is clear that the EPA-proposed rules will 
     circumvent and undo the scientifically established WQS in 
     Idaho, require the establishment of unattainable standards in 
     an effort to take control of Idaho's waters in violation of 
     the Clean Water Act's directive that states retain primary 
     responsibility to control pollution and develop land and 
     water resources for state waters, and violate the long-
     established principle of federalism. Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, By the members of the First Regular Session of 
     the Sixty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that the 
     people of the State of Idaho oppose the EPA-proposed rules 
     that circumvent science and invalidate Idaho's WQS based on 
     the flawed and elusive premise of 19th century water quality 
     standards for Idaho waters in 2023. Idaho will defend its 
     scientifically based standards in court if necessary; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the House of 
     Representatives 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, to the congressional delegation representing the 
     State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States, to the 
     Governor of the State of Idaho, and to the Attorney General 
     of the State of Idaho.

[[Page S1462]]

     
                                  ____
       POM-17. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of North Carolina urging the 
     United States Congress to work more closely with Japan on 
     trade issues and foreign investment, expressing support to 
     the United States Congress for the United States-Japan 
     alliance and remorse the slaying of former Japanese Prime 
     Minister Abe Shinzo, celebrating one hundred thirty years of 
     friendship between North Carolina and Japan, and reaffirming 
     the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the state of 
     North Carolina and state of Japan in the Reiwa era; to the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations.

                        House Resolution No. 352

       Whereas, North Carolina and Japan have enjoyed 130 years of 
     friendly relations since Japan sent its first student 
     nationals, Mogi Shinzaburo, to attend the University of North 
     Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1893, and Sugishita Teisaku, to 
     attend North Carolina State University (then ``North Carolina 
     State College'') in 1894; and
       Whereas, Japan is North Carolina's second-largest foreign 
     investor, with nearly $5 billion invested by Japanese 
     companies in North Carolina's economy to date and nearly $7 
     billion in investment announced since 2018; and
       Whereas, more large companies investing in North Carolina 
     come from Japan than any other foreign nation; and
       Whereas, Japan employs over 24,000 North Carolina workers, 
     or roughly 10% of all North Carolina workers employed by 
     foreign companies, with over 5,000 additional jobs announced 
     by Japanese companies since 2018; and
       Whereas, trade with Japan annually accounts for nearly $4 
     billion in economic activity for the State of North Carolina; 
     and
       Whereas, Japan and the United States have been close allies 
     since 1952, safeguarding peace in the Pacific; and
       Whereas, the post-war order of which both the United States 
     and Japan have been resolute defenders and beneficiaries, an 
     order which rests soundly on democracy and friendly trade, 
     faces subversion by rogue actors and disaffected nations; and
       Whereas, Japan is a vibrant, wealthy democracy and a model 
     for democracies throughout Asia; and
       Whereas, Abe Shinzo was a stalwart friend of the United 
     States, an adamant supporter of the US-Japan alliance, and a 
     leading voice for stability and cooperation in the Indo-
     Pacific region; and
       Whereas, Abe Shinzo was the longest-serving prime minister 
     in Japan's history, who worked alongside four Presidents of 
     the United States--George Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, 
     and then-Vice President Joe Biden--on trade relations, peace, 
     and security in Asia; and
       Whereas, Abe Shinzo was assassinated in Japan on July 8, 
     2022, while campaigning in the oldest democracy in Asia; and
       Whereas, the use of violence, whether by foreign nations or 
     rogue actors, to attack democratically elected officials and 
     disrupt international peace is profoundly evil; and
       Whereas, North Carolina remains committed to its friendship 
     with Japan and to the US-Japan alliance and peaceful trade 
     between the nations; Now, therefore,
       Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
       Section 1. The House of Representatives recognizes the 
     historic significance of the friendship and alliance between 
     the United States and Japan.
       Section 2. The House of Representatives commends the people 
     of Japan for their incredible achievements over 75 years of 
     peaceful friendship with the United States, in building the 
     oldest democratic system in Asia and the second-largest 
     democratic economy in the world, and for serving as a 
     valuable pillar of stability in Asia and for world peace.
       Section 3. The House of Representatives applauds Japan for 
     its continued commitment as a friend and economic partner to 
     the State of North Carolina.
       Section 4. The House of Representatives expresses profound 
     grief over the death of former Prime Minister of Japan, Abe 
     Shinzo, and condemns his killing as an attack on Japan's 
     democracy and on its unparalleled friendship with the United 
     States.
       Section 5. The House of Representatives affirms the 
     continuing friendship and cooperation between Japan and the 
     State of North Carolina and expresses heartfelt optimism for 
     deeper ties between the people of Japan and the people of 
     North Carolina.
       Section 6. The House of Representatives urges Congress to 
     work more closely with the nation of Japan on mutually 
     beneficial trade relations to encourage the reciprocal flow 
     of foreign direct investment and participation of Japanese 
     and American companies in the economy of both the United 
     States and Japan, respectively.
       Section 7. The House of Representatives expresses to 
     Congress its full support of the 70 year old alliance between 
     the United States of America and Japan, which has served as a 
     pillar of stability and security in the Indo-Pacific 
     throughout the Cold War to the current day.
       Section 8. The House of Representatives urges Congress to 
     recognize the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region 
     to the economies of the United States and North Carolina and 
     the necessity of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific to safeguard 
     the sanctity of friendly trade and international law.
       Section 9. The Principal Clerk shall transfer a printed 
     copy of this resolution to a committee designated by the 
     North Carolina Legislative Caucus on Economic Development and 
     Foreign Trade to be hand-delivered to a representative of 
     Japan in a ceremony in Raleigh.
       Section 10. If the committee referenced in Section 9 of 
     this act is unable to hand-deliver this resolution in the 
     manner described above by March 31, 2023, the Principal Clerk 
     shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Embassy of 
     Japan in Washington, D.C., and the Consulate-General of Japan 
     in Atlanta, Georgia.
       Section 11. The Principal Clerk shall transmit copies of 
     this resolution to each member of North Carolina's 
     Congressional Delegation, to the Clerk of the United States 
     House of Representatives and the Secretary of the United 
     States Senate, and to the President of the United States.
       Section 12. This resolution is effective upon adoption.
                                  ____

       POM-18. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Idaho calling on the United States Congress to 
     restrict the jurisdiction of the federal courts from hearing 
     cases regarding state legislative authority to legislate on 
     the abortion issue; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                       House Joint Memorial No. 2

       We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the 
     Senate of the State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular 
     Session of the Sixty-seventh Idaho Legislature, do hereby 
     respectfully represent that:
       Whereas, in 1973 the United States Supreme Court decided 
     the case Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), wherein the United 
     States Supreme Court found in the Constitution a ``right to 
     privacy'' that the Court alleged gave women a constitutional 
     right to abortion; and
       Whereas, since the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, ``Roe 
     certainly did not succeed in ending the division on the issue 
     of abortion. On the contrary, Roe `inflamed' a national issue 
     that has remained bitterly divisive for the past half 
     century.'' Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 
     U.S. __, 68 (2022); and
       Whereas, the Roe v. Wade decision ``short-circuited the 
     democratic process by closing it to the large number of 
     Americans who dissented in any respect from Roe. `Roe fanned 
     into life an issue that has inflamed our national politics . 
     . .' Together, Roe and Casey represent an error that cannot 
     be allowed to stand.'' Dobbs, at 44; and
       Whereas, on June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court 
     decided the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health 
     Organization where the Court said in part that ``procuring an 
     abortion is not a fundamental constitutional right because 
     such a right has no basis in the Constitution's text or in 
     our Nation's history. It follows that the States may regulate 
     abortion for legitimate reasons, and when such regulations 
     are challenged under the Constitution, courts cannot 
     `substitute their social and economic beliefs for the 
     judgment of legislative bodies.' '' Dobbs, at 77; and
       Whereas, the Supreme Court also found in Dobbs, ``The 
     Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State 
     from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey 
     arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and 
     return that authority of the people and their elected 
     Representatives.'' Dobbs, at 79; and
       Whereas, the Supreme Court also stated in Dobbs, ``Our 
     decision returns the issue of abortion to those legislative 
     bodies, and it allows women on both sides of the abortion 
     issue to seek to affect the legislative process by 
     influencing public opinion, lobbying legislators, voting, and 
     running for office.'' Dobbs, at 65; and
       Whereas, the inferior federal courts are the creation of 
     Congress, and the Constitution gives Congress the power to 
     limit the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts. 
     ``Congress may confer jurisdiction upon such courts as it 
     creates. Only the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is 
     derived directly from the Constitution. Every other court 
     created by the general government derives its jurisdiction 
     wholly from the authority of Congress. That body may give, 
     withhold or restrict such jurisdiction at its discretion.'' 
     Kline v. Burke Construction Co., 260 U.S. 226, 234 (1922); 
     and
       Whereas, there have been cases filed, and there are 
     expected to be additional cases filed, in federal courts 
     concerning the Dobbs decision that have the effect of 
     delaying the implementation of the Supreme Court's Dobbs 
     ruling. Post Dobbs, abortion is now a state matter for the 
     states to decide and regulate; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, By the members of the First Regular Session of 
     the Sixty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that the 
     Legislature of the State of Idaho, both the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate, call on Congress to restrict 
     the jurisdiction of the federal courts from hearing cases 
     regarding state legislative authority to legislate on the 
     abortion issue; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Dobbs decision settled the issue that 
     abortion cases appropriately belong in the courts of the 
     several states; be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the House of 
     Representatives 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

[[Page S1463]]

     delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of 
     the United States.
                                  ____
                                  

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