[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S46-S47]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-88. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan urging the President of the United States and the 
     United States Congress to renew the African Growth and 
     Opportunity Act and to expand it to include other sub-Saharan 
     African countries; to the Committee on Finance.

                        Senate Resolution No. 74

       Whereas, The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was 
     enacted in May 2000 to provide eligible sub-Saharan African 
     countries with duty-free access to the United States market 
     for over 1,800 products, as well as over 5,000 products that 
     are eligible for duty-free access under the Generalized 
     System of Access Program. To become and remain eligible for 
     duty-free access, countries must establish or make continual 
     progress towards establishing a market-based economy, the 
     rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due 
     process. Eligible countries must have also eliminated 
     barriers to trade and investment with the United States and 
     enacted policies to reduce poverty, combat corruption, and 
     protect human rights; and
       Whereas, Approximately forty sub-Saharan African countries 
     are eligible for AGOA beneficiary status. On October 2, 2000, 
     President Bill Clinton designated thirty-four countries as 
     eligible for trade benefits provided under the AGOA. Since 
     the AGOA's enactment, countries have been added and removed 
     from the list of eligible countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, 
     the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of 
     the Congo. Since 2019, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, and 
     Burkina Faso have had their AGOA beneficiary status revoked, 
     while the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared an 
     eligible lesser-developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
     country; and
       Whereas, The AGOA has been amended four times to clarify 
     preferential treatment terms, technical standards, and sunset 
     deadlines. With an initial expiration date of September 2007, 
     President George W. Bush signed the AGOA Acceleration Act in 
     July 2004 and extended the act's expiration date to 2015. In 
     June 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Trade 
     Preferences Extension Act, thereby extending the AGOA's 
     validity to its current expiration date of 2025; and
       Whereas, United States' imports under the AGOA continue to 
     grow. Total AGOA imports were valued at 9.4 billion dollars 
     in 2022, an increase of 57 percent from 6.0 billion dollars 
     in 2021 and more than double the value of imports in 2020, 
     during the height of the COVID-I9 pandemic. Among these 
     imports, energy product imports, such as crude oil, increased 
     from 1.9 billion dollars in 2021 to 4.5 billion dollars in 
     2022, and accounted for 47 percent of AGOA imports. Nigeria 
     was the top supplier of energy products in 2022, with 3.4 
     billion dollars imported. Non-energy imports, such as motor 
     vehicles, textiles, and apparel, increased by 21 percent in 
     2022 to 5.0 billion dollars. South Africa was the top 
     supplier of AGOA non-energy imports, with eligible imports 
     increasing by 46 percent from 2021 to 2022; and
       Whereas, The State of Michigan is well-positioned to 
     support AGOA products from nations like Nigeria, South 
     Africa, and other sub-Saharan African nations to create a 
     two-way pipeline of investment for local entrepreneurs in our 
     state. In 2022, Michigan imported 153 billion dollars, making 
     it the sixth largest importer out of the 53 importers in the 
     United States. As of May 2023, Michigan imported 14.7 billion 
     dollars, with cars, parts and accessories for motor vehicles, 
     delivery trucks, spark ignition engines, and commodities that 
     were not otherwise specified among the top imports; and
       Whereas, It is imperative that the United States renew the 
     AGOA end expand it to include other sub-Saharan African 
     countries in an effort to assist with sub-Saharan Africa's 
     regional integration efforts. Sub-Saharan Africa has already 
     become more integrated through tariff reduction and 
     increasing trade in the region. An increase in integration 
     has already led to a growth in regional exports. Coupled with 
     the types of goods it exports, the sub-Saharan Africa region 
     is quickly become an attractive trading partner for the State 
     of Michigan. Expanding the AGOA to include other sub-Saharan 
     African countries may help Michigan businesses by encouraging 
     reform of economic and commercial regimes, leading to 
     stronger markets and more effective partners for the State of 
     Michigan; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we urge the President of the 
     United States and the United States Congress to renew the 
     African Growth and Opportunity Act and to expand it to 
     include other sub-Saharan African countries; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States, the President of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives, and the members of Michigan's 
     congressional and senatorial delegations.
                                  ____

       POM-89. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California formally endorsing the call for a 
     fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 2

       Whereas, The scientific consensus is clear that human 
     activities are primarily responsible for accelerating global 
     climate change, and that the climate crisis now represents 
     one of the preeminent threats to global civilization; and
       Whereas, Fossil fuels are the largest contributor to global 
     climate change accounting for 75 percent of greenhouse gas 
     emissions; and
       Whereas, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
     (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report Synthesis Report, approved by 
     195 member states in March 2023, notes that greatly reduced 
     fossil fuel use would be fundamental to limiting warming and 
     warned that existing fossil fuel infrastructure was already 
     sufficient to breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit; and
       Whereas, In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council 
     adopted landmark legislation, Resolution 48/13, recognizing a 
     clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right; 
     and
       Whereas, The Paris Agreement makes no mention of coal, oil, 
     and gas, an omission with respect to the supply and 
     production of fossil fuels, the largest source of greenhouse 
     gas emissions, that needs to be collectively addressed by 
     other means; and
       Whereas, The Glasgow Climate Pact improved only 
     incrementally in calling for a phasedown of unabated coal, 
     not a phaseout of all fossil fuels; and
       Whereas, Changes in California's climate are already being 
     felt with extreme wildfires, heat waves, droughts, and 
     increasingly severe storms, as well as, rising sea levels, 
     coastal inundation, and ocean warming; and
       Whereas, Our entire community is impacted by the health and 
     safety risks of fossil fuel expansion, particularly those who 
     also face socioeconomic and health inequities, including low-
     income families, those experiencing homelessness, people of 
     color and Indigenous peoples, youth, seniors, those 
     experiencing mental health challenges and physical 
     disabilities, and people with health conditions; and
       Whereas, Youth and future generations have the most to lose 
     from a lack of immediate action to stop fossil fuel expansion 
     as they face major and lifelong health, ecological, social, 
     and economic impacts from climate change, including food and 
     water shortages, infectious diseases, and natural disasters; 
     and
       Whereas, The International Monetary Fund found that the 
     fossil fuel industry was globally subsidized by $11,000,000 
     per minute in 2020, siphoning away funding needed by cities, 
     communities, and other industries; and
       Whereas, According to the United Nations Environment 
     Programme Production Gap Report, governments and the fossil 
     fuel industry are currently planning to produce about 110 
     percent more fossil fuels by 2030 than what is needed to 
     limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avert catastrophic 
     climate disruption; and
       Whereas, The International Institute for Sustainable 
     Development has found a ``large consensus'' across all 
     published studies that developing new oil and gas fields is 
     ``incompatible'' with the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, 
     including the International Energy Agency that found that 
     there are ``no new oil and gas fields approved for 
     development in our [1.5 degrees Celsius] pathway''; and
       Whereas, A clean energy transition presents greater 
     economic opportunities than continued dependence on fossil 
     fuel use and extraction; and
       Whereas, Our community is committed, as part of our climate 
     emergency response, to a just energy transition and to 
     ambitious investments in green infrastructure and workforce 
     training, and industries that will create high-paying and 
     skilled union jobs and rapidly decarbonize our economy; and
       Whereas, California recognizes that it is the urgent 
     responsibility and moral obligation of wealthy fossil fuel 
     producers to manage the decline and phaseout of existing 
     production; and
       Whereas, A global initiative is underway calling for a 
     Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that would provide a 
     global mechanism to end new fossil fuel exploration and 
     expansion, manage a phaseout of existing production in line 
     with the global commitment to limit warming to 1.5 degrees 
     Celsius, and accelerate equitable transition plans; and
       Whereas, The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty has been 
     formally called for by Vanuatu at the United Nations General 
     Assembly and by Tuvalu at the Sharm el-

[[Page S47]]

     Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in addition to 
     public endorsements from the World Health Organization, the 
     European Parliament, the Vatican, and over 70 cities and 
     subnational governments globally, including the California 
     Cities of Los Angeles, Hayward, Richmond, Santa Ana, and 
     Sebastopol, as well as the Hawaii State Legislature, now; 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature formally endorses 
     the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature urges the United States 
     government to join the global community in formally 
     developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty as an 
     international mechanism to manage a global transition away 
     from coal, oil, and gas; and be it further
       Resolved, That California agrees with the principle of the 
     nonproliferation of fossil fuels and the need to end the 
     expansion of new coal, oil, and gas production; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That California affirms the need for a plan to 
     phase out existing fossil fuel production that prioritizes 
     the most impacted workers and local government services with 
     short- and long-term investments that include enforceable 
     labor standards, such as prevailing wages, apprenticeship 
     opportunities, and project labor agreements, to protect 
     workers and communities; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature affirms its ongoing 
     commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement, the United 
     Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the greenhouse gas 
     reduction targets as called for by the IPCC, and intends to 
     meet its proportionate greenhouse gas reductions under the 
     Paris Agreement; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies 
     of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the 
     United States, to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the 
     House of Representatives, to the Majority and Minority 
     Leaders of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative 
     from California in the Congress of the United States, to the 
     Governor, to the mayor of each city in California, to the 
     United Nations Secretary-General, and to the United Nations 
     High Commissioner for Human Rights,
                                  ____

       POM-90. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan condemning the terrorist attacks carried out by 
     Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                        Senate Resolution No. 78

       Whereas, Hamas, a United States-designated foreign 
     terrorist organization, launched a heinous series of 
     coordinated violent attacks by air, land, and sea in Israel 
     on October 7, 2023. Thousands of rockets fired from Gaza fell 
     on Israeli buildings indiscriminately, killing people in 
     their homes and places of work. Armed terrorists on 
     motorcycles engaged in a massive door-to-door slaughter of 
     civilians. Hamas militants stormed Israeli beaches by 
     motorboat. Paragliders descended upon a music festival, where 
     Hamas terrorists mowed down hundreds of attendees with 
     gunfire; and
       Whereas, The tragic attack on October 7 left at least 1,400 
     dead and 3,400 injured, with many victims dehumanized and 
     paraded on camera, their assailants recording their torture 
     and murder. Nearly 200 people were taken captive, including 
     babies and the elderly, whose conditions are still not known. 
     Among the casualties are Americans, 31 killed and 13 missing, 
     and many other foreign nationals; and
       Whereas, More Jewish civilian lives were lost on October 7 
     than any single day since 1945. This attack was reminiscent 
     of other instances when Jews have been persecuted throughout 
     history, including the pogroms of the late 19th and early 
     20th centuries and events during the Holocaust; and
       Whereas, Michiganders are impacted by the events of October 
     7, many with direct relations to the dead and wounded. This 
     shared grief and pain must compel residents of our state to 
     demonstrate support, compassion, and care for one another; 
     and
       Whereas, Hamas's tyranny does not represent the views or 
     advance the aspirations of the many Palestinians who seek to 
     live in dignity and peace in a region mired in conflict; and
       Whereas, United States President Joe Biden has publicly 
     stated that ``we can't lose sight of the fact that the 
     overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with 
     Hamas and Hamas's appalling attacks, and they're suffering as 
     a result as well,'' and ``It's also a priority for me to 
     urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.'' United 
     States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said ``the 
     United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan that 
     will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and 
     multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza--and 
     them alone--including the possibility of creating areas to 
     help keep civilians out of harm's way. It is critical that 
     aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible''; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we condemn the terrorist 
     attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That we affirm Israel's right to defend itself 
     from Hamas and other terrorists, and to prevent future 
     attacks; and be it further
       Resolved, That we join the urgent call for Hamas to release 
     those being held hostage; and be it further
       Resolved, That we urge support for immediate access to 
     refuge for innocent civilians in Gaza who need refuge and 
     call on our federal government to work with our allies to 
     provide humanitarian aid; and be it further
       Resolved, That we affirm the dignity of all innocent 
     civilians impacted, Israelis and Palestinians, and join the 
     long-standing call for peace in the region; and be it further
       Resolved, That during this time of international crisis, we 
     stand with all Michiganders who have Israeli and Palestinian 
     cultural, religious, and familial roots, and decry all 
     antisemitism and Islamophobia in our districts, our state, 
     and across the globe; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the United States Charge d'affaires for Israel, the President 
     of the United States, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the United States House of 
     Representatives, and the members of the Michigan 
     congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-91. A resolution adopted by the City Council of West 
     Hollywood, California reaffirming its support for the people 
     of Artsakh and supports sanctions and consequences against 
     Azerbaijan; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                          ____________________