[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 112 (Monday, July 8, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4237-S4245]
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-126. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Ohio recognizing that natural gas and its production industry 
     are not only vital to Ohio's economic future but to maintain 
     the position of the United States as the world's leading 
     energy producer and urging continued investment in natural 
     gas infrastructure to make affordable energy available to 
     every Ohioan and protect Ohio's energy security and the 
     energy security of the United States and our global allies; 
     to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                       Senate Resolution No. 121

       Whereas, Natural gas is a leading contributor to clean, 
     affordable, and reliable energy security, and it is vital for 
     Ohio families and businesses in maintaining lower energy 
     bills and for Ohio to become the low-cost energy capital of 
     the United States; and
       Whereas, Ohio's natural gas industry has transformed from a 
     low production industry to one of the top seven in terms of 
     production when compared to other states; and
       Whereas, Ohio is a leader in clean energy technology, and 
     the natural gas industry leads Ohio in clean electricity 
     production when compared to other energy sources such as 
     nuclear, wind, and solar. In addition, in 2019, natural gas 
     generated more of Ohio's in-state electricity than coal for 
     the first time in history; and
       Whereas, Natural gas saves the average Ohio family $2,500 
     annually in total energy costs, including over $1,000 for 
     home heating and appliances. The 36% of Ohioans utilizing 
     other energy sources do not realize these savings; and
       Whereas, The natural gas industry supports 375,000 jobs, 
     which constitutes 5.3% of Ohio's total employment. In 
     addition, the natural gas industry contributed $58.8 billion 
     to Ohio's gross domestic product in 2019; and
       Whereas, Restricting natural gas infrastructure development 
     will impede continued access to low-cost natural gas supply; 
     and
       Whereas, Increased United States natural gas exports create 
     massive economic benefits for United States communities while 
     providing global access to the reliable United States natural 
     gas supply needed to advance the global energy transition 
     from higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting fuels to lower GHG 
     emitting natural gas; and
       Whereas, Residential natural gas prices in the United 
     States remain among the lowest in the world despite natural 
     gas exports and domestic consumption reaching all-time highs 
     in recent years; Now therefore be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the Senate of the 135th 
     General Assembly of Ohio, in adopting this resolution, 
     recognize that natural gas and the natural gas industry are 
     not only vital components of the state's economic future, but 
     also critical to maintaining the position of the United 
     States as the world's leading energy producer, and urge 
     continued investment in natural gas infrastructure to make 
     affordable energy available to every Ohioan and protect 
     Ohians energy security and the energy security of the United 
     States and our global allies; and be it further
       Resolved, That the clerk of the Senate send duly 
     authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of 
     the United States, the President Pro Tempore and Clerk of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United 
     Statcs House of Representatives, each member of the Ohio 
     congressional delegation, Governor Mike DeWine, and the news 
     media of Ohio.
                                  ____

       POM-127. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to enact reforms to federal permitting policies to accelerate 
     deployment of new energy infrastructure; to the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources.

                   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3

       Whereas, Louisiana recognizes that abundant, resilient, and 
     diversified domestic energy production in the United States 
     enhances American national security, economic 
     competitiveness, and energy independence; and
       Whereas, environmental stewardship that keeps our air and 
     water clean, protects public health, ensures biodiversity and 
     species protection, and conserves public lands is a worthy 
     goal that is important to achieve; and
       Whereas, the exclusively complex federal permitting and 
     environmental review processes that have built up around 
     America's environmental laws, including the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act 
     (ESA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Clean 
     Water Act (CWA), and other federal requirements, have grown 
     to be so cumbersome that they often unnecessarily slow or 
     prevent the construction of essential new energy 
     infrastructure and therefore discourage domestic energy 
     production without advancing the goals of these laws; and
       Whereas, energy is produced in the United States at a much 
     higher environmental standard than is typically the case in 
     the countries from which energy is imported, so the 
     prevention of domestic energy production in the United States 
     undermines environmental stewardship; and
       Whereas, delays caused by permitting inefficiencies inhibit 
     the building of essential components of a low-cost, reliable, 
     and modern energy infrastructure that is needed to support 
     economic competitiveness and domestic manufacturing, to 
     enhance reliability and prevent blackouts, to lower costs for 
     consumers and businesses, and to achieve the goals of 
     America's environmental laws; and
       Whereas, after nearly two decades of flat electricity 
     demand, the demand for electricity in the United States is 
     projected to dramatically increase in the coming decades, 
     requiring major increases in domestic energy production and 
     more than doubling domestic electricity transmission grid 
     capacity; and
       Whereas, regulatory barriers today mean that more than 
     2,000 gigawatts of energy production and storage, more than 
     the entire current American electricity capacity combined, 
     are stuck in electricity interconnection queues and the 
     average amount of time to interconnect new energy resources 
     has nearly doubled from about two years to four years; and
       Whereas, the average time it takes to process an 
     environmental impact statement under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for major infrastructure 
     projects has risen to an excessive length of four and a half 
     years; and
       Whereas, the United States is highly reliant on China and 
     other countries that do not share our interest to mine and 
     process critical minerals, with demand for some of these 
     minerals potentially growing more than forty times by 2040; 
     and
       Whereas, other developed nations that share our goals to 
     protect the environment while producing abundant energy 
     resources, such as Canada and Australia, have shown that they 
     can permit new mines within two to three years instead of 
     nearly ten years, as is often the case in the United States; 
     and
       Whereas, both linear infrastructure, such as pipelines and 
     transmission lines, as well as energy generation 
     infrastructure, each face extraordinary and indefensible 
     delays due to overlitigation, inappropriate blocking of 
     nationally important projects by unrepresentative and often 
     radical groups that hold those projects hostage, and 
     excessive use of our court system to hamstring worthy 
     projects; and
       Whereas, major delays in projects caused by inefficient 
     permitting or overlitigation can dramatically increase costs 
     and make projects less viable, costing consumers, businesses, 
     and taxpayers money and making our energy system less 
     reliable; and
       Whereas, unnecessary permitting and regulatory delays limit 
     investments made in modernizing our Nation's infrastructure 
     that would result in a more efficient energy system with 
     reduced emissions and environmental impacts; and
       Whereas, overlapping federal permitting requirements lack 
     the flexibility to allow for efforts that reflect the spirit 
     and intent of traditional environmental laws by protecting 
     human health and the environment instead of procedural 
     compliance with outdated regulations; and
       Whereas, failure to reform federal permitting laws is 
     already resulting in fewer jobs, reduced security, and higher 
     prices for Americans without providing additional benefits 
     for the environment; and
       Whereas, failing to reform federal permitting laws in the 
     coming months will result in even greater limitations on our 
     energy infrastructure, costing even more American jobs while 
     raising costs for consumers and businesses and leaving 
     America vulnerable to unreliability, blackouts, and the 
     resulting severe harm to American citizens. Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes 
     the Congress of the United States to enact reforms to federal 
     permitting policies to accelerate deployment of new energy 
     infrastructure; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the secretary of the United States Senate and 
     the clerk of the United States House of Representatives and 
     to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United 
     States Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-128. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Louisiana urging and 
     requesting the United States Congress to enact reforms to 
     federal permitting policies to accelerate deployment of new 
     energy infrastructure; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                         House Resolution No. 2

       Whereas, Louisiana recognizes that abundant, resilient, and 
     diversified domestic energy production in the United States 
     enhances American national security, economic 
     competitiveness, and energy independence; and
       Whereas, environmental stewardship that keeps our air and 
     water clean, protects public health, ensures biodiversity and 
     species protection, and conserves public lands is a worthy 
     goal that is important to achieve; and
       Whereas, the excessively complex federal permitting and 
     environmental review processes that have built up around 
     America's

[[Page S4238]]

     environmental laws--including the National Environmental 
     Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the 
     National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Clean Water Act 
     (CWA), and dozens of other federal requirements--have grown 
     to be so cumbersome that they often unnecessarily slow or 
     prevent the construction of essential new energy 
     infrastructure and therefore discourage domestic energy 
     production without advancing the goals of these laws; and
       Whereas, energy is produced in the United States at a much 
     higher environmental standard than is typically the case in 
     the countries from which energy is imported, so prevention of 
     domestic energy production undermines environmental 
     stewardship; and
       Whereas, delays caused by permitting inefficiencies inhibit 
     the building of all of the essential components of a low-
     cost, reliable, and modern energy infrastructure that is 
     needed to support economic competitiveness and domestic 
     manufacturing, to enhance reliability and prevent blackouts, 
     to lower costs for consumers and businesses, and to achieve 
     the goals of America's environmental laws; and
       Whereas, after nearly two decades of flat electricity 
     demand, demand for electricity in the United States is 
     projected to dramatically increase in the coming decades, 
     requiring major increases in domestic energy production and a 
     more than doubling of domestic electricity transmission grid 
     capacity; and
       Whereas, regulatory barriers today mean that more than two 
     thousand gigawatts of energy production and storage, which 
     accounts for more than the entire current American 
     electricity capacity combined, are stuck in electricity 
     interconnection queues and the average amount of time to 
     interconnect new energy resources has nearly doubled from 
     about two years to nearly four years; and
       Whereas, the average time it takes to process an 
     environmental impact statement under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for major infrastructure 
     projects has risen to an excessive length of four-and-a-half 
     years; and
       Whereas, the United States is highly reliant on China and 
     other countries that do not share our interests to mine and 
     process critical minerals, with demand for some of these 
     minerals potentially growing by more than forty times by 
     2040; and
       Whereas, other developed nations that share our goals to 
     protect the environment while producing abundant energy 
     resources, such as Canada and Australia, have shown that they 
     can permit new mines within two to three years instead of 
     nearly ten years, as is often the case in the United States; 
     and
       Whereas, both linear infrastructure; such as pipelines and 
     transmission lines; as well as energy generation 
     infrastructure each face extraordinary and indefensible 
     delays due to excessive litigation, inappropriate blocking of 
     nationally important projects by unrepresentative and often 
     radical groups that hold those projects hostage, and 
     excessive use of our court system to hamstring worthy 
     projects; and
       Whereas, major delays in projects caused by inefficient 
     permitting or over litigation can dramatically increase costs 
     and make projects less viable, costing consumers, businesses, 
     and taxpayers money and making our energy system less 
     reliable; and
       Whereas, unnecessary permitting and regulatory delays also 
     increase American dependence on energy produced by foreign 
     dictators and authoritarian regimes; and
       Whereas, unnecessary permitting delays limit investments 
     made in modernizing our Nation's infrastructure that would 
     result in a more efficient energy system with reduced 
     emissions and environmental impact; and
       Whereas, overlapping federal permitting requirements lack 
     the flexibility to allow for efforts that reflect the spirit 
     and intent of traditional environmental laws by protecting 
     human health and the environment instead of procedural 
     compliance with outdated regulations; and
       Whereas, failure to reform federal permitting laws is 
     already resulting in fewer jobs, reduced security, and higher 
     prices for Americans without providing additional benefits 
     for the environment; and
       Whereas, failing to reform these laws in the coming months 
     will result in even greater limitations on our energy 
     infrastructure, costing even more American jobs while raising 
     costs for consumers and businesses and leaving America 
     vulnerable to unreliability, blackouts, and resulting in 
     severe harm to the American people. Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the 
     Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request federal 
     legislators to work in good faith to enact legislation that 
     reforms federal permitting and environmental review processes 
     to promote economic and environmental stewardship by 
     expediting the deployment of modern energy infrastructure. Be 
     it further
       Resolved, That these reforms should enable faster and 
     lowercost construction of energy infrastructure of all kinds, 
     without prejudice, including by considering steps to do the 
     following:
       (1) Limit excessive use of judicial processes to slow 
     projects inappropriately.
       (2) Prevent inappropriate usage of the Clean Water Act and 
     other laws to hamstring the lawful building of linear energy 
     infrastructure, such as pipelines and transmission lines
       (3) Enact reforms to plan, permit, and pay for the 
     necessary build-out of electricity transmission 
     infrastructure to support a more reliable energy grid that 
     lowers costs for consumers and businesses.
       (4) Enable the domestic build-out of the full array of 
     modern energy technologies, including nuclear, emissions 
     management, hydrogen, critical mineral mining and processing, 
     and all other needs for a modern energy system. Be it further
       Resolved, That these legislative reforms should also strive 
     to ensure accountability for federal agencies conducting 
     permitting and environmental review processes, including 
     better data, more aggressive time lines, and permitting shot 
     clocks. Additionally these legislative reforms must be 
     accompanied by a redoubling of efforts to streamline federal 
     regulations to support the efficient building of new energy 
     infrastructure. Be it further
       Resolved, That failure to act to update our federal 
     permitting system to support building new energy 
     infrastructure will further harm consumers, workers, and 
     businesses, while making the United States less competitive 
     and more vulnerable to both foreign adversaries and domestic 
     outages. Be it further
       Resolved, That Congress must act with urgency in the coming 
     months to fix our broken permitting system. Be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives of the Congress of the United States of 
     America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-129. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the General 
     Assembly of the State of Tennessee urging the United States 
     Congress to enact reforms to federal permitting policies to 
     accelerate deployment of new energy infrastructure; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                       Senate Resolution No. 318

       Whereas, the State of Tennessee recognizes that abundant, 
     resilient, and diversified domestic energy production in the 
     United States enhances American national security, economic 
     competitiveness, and energy independence; and
       Whereas, environmental stewardship that keeps our air and 
     water clean, protects public health, ensures biodiversity and 
     species protection, and conserves public lands is a worthy 
     goal that is important to achieve; and
       Whereas, the excessively complex federal permitting and 
     environmental review processes that have built up around 
     America's environmental laws--including the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act 
     (ESA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the 
     Clean Water Act (CWA), and dozens of other federal 
     requirements--have grown to be so cumbersome that they often 
     unnecessarily slow or prevent the construction of essential 
     new energy infrastructure and therefore discourage domestic 
     energy production without advancing the goals of these laws; 
     and
       Whereas, energy is produced in the United States at a much 
     higher environmental standard than is typically the case in 
     the countries from which energy is imported, so prevention of 
     domestic energy production undermines environmental 
     stewardship; and
       Whereas, delays caused by permitting inefficiencies inhibit 
     the building of all of the essential components of a low-
     cost, reliable, and modern energy infrastructure that is 
     needed to support economic competitiveness and domestic 
     manufacturing, to enhance reliability and prevent blackouts, 
     to lower costs for consumers and businesses, and to achieve 
     the goals of America's environmental laws; and
       Whereas, after nearly two decades of flat electricity 
     demand, demand for electricity in the United States is 
     projected to dramatically increase in the coming decades, 
     requiring major increases in domestic energy production and a 
     more than doubling of domestic electricity transmission grid 
     capacity; and
       Whereas, regulatory barriers today mean that more than 
     2,000 gigawatts of energy production and storage--more than 
     the entire current American electricity capacity combined--
     are stuck in electricity interconnection queues, and the 
     average amount of time to interconnect new energy resources 
     has nearly doubled from about two years to nearly four years; 
     and
       Whereas, the average time it takes to process an 
     environmental impact statement under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for major infrastructure 
     projects has risen to an excessive length of four and one-
     half years; and
       Whereas, the United States is highly reliant on China and 
     other countries that do not share our interests to mine and 
     process critical minerals, with demand for some of these 
     minerals potentially growing by more than forty times by 
     2040; and
       Whereas, other developed nations that share our goals to 
     protect the environment while producing abundant energy 
     resources, such as Canada and Australia, have shown that they 
     can permit new mines within two to three years instead of 
     nearly ten years, as is often the case in the United States; 
     and
       Whereas, both linear infrastructure--such as pipelines and 
     transmission lines--as well as energy generation 
     infrastructure face extraordinary and indefensible delays due 
     to overlitigation, inappropriate blocking of nationally 
     important projects by unrepresentative and often radical 
     groups that hold those projects hostage, and excessive use of 
     our

[[Page S4239]]

     court system to hamstring worthy projects; and
       Whereas, major delays in projects caused by inefficient 
     permitting or overlitigation can dramatically increase costs 
     and make projects less viable, costing consumers, businesses, 
     and taxpayers money and making our energy system less 
     reliable; and
       Whereas, unnecessary permitting and regulatory delays also 
     increase American dependence on energy produced by foreign 
     dictators and authoritarian regimes; and
       Whereas, unnecessary permitting delays limit investments 
     made in modernizing our nation's infrastructure that would 
     result in a more efficient energy system with reduced 
     emissions and environmental impact; and
       Whereas, overlapping federal permitting requirements lack 
     the flexibility to allow for efforts that reflect the spirit 
     and intent of traditional environmental laws by protecting 
     human health and the environment instead of procedural 
     compliance with outdated regulations; and
       Whereas, failure to reform federal permitting laws is 
     already resulting in fewer jobs, reduced security, and higher 
     prices for Americans without providing additional benefits 
     for the environment; and
       Whereas, failing to reform these laws in the coming months 
     will result in even greater limitations on our energy 
     infrastructure, costing even more American jobs while raising 
     costs for consumers and businesses and leaving America 
     vulnerable to unreliability, blackouts, and the resulting 
     severe harm to the American people; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the One Hundred Thirteenth 
     General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That we urge the 
     U.S. Congress to work in good faith to enact legislation that 
     reforms federal permitting and environmental review processes 
     to promote economic and environmental stewardship by 
     expediting the deployment of modern energy infrastructure; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That these reforms should enable faster and 
     lower-cost construction of energy infrastructure of all 
     kinds, without prejudice, including the consideration of 
     steps to: (1) limit excessive use of judicial processes to 
     slow projects inappropriately; (2) prevent inappropriate 
     usage of the Clean Water Act and other laws to hamstring the 
     lawful building of linear energy infrastructure, such as 
     pipelines and transmission lines; (3) enact reforms to plan, 
     permit, and pay for the necessary build-out of electricity 
     transmission infrastructure to support a more reliable energy 
     grid that lowers costs for consumers and businesses; and (4) 
     enable the domestic build-out of the full array of modern 
     energy technologies, including nuclear, emissions management, 
     hydrogen, critical mineral mining and processing, and all 
     other needs for a modern energy system; and be it further
       Resolved, That these legislative reforms should also strive 
     to ensure accountability for federal agencies conducting 
     permitting and environmental review processes, including 
     better data, more aggressive timelines, and permitting shot 
     clocks; and be it further
       Resolved, That these legislative reforms must be 
     accompanied by a redoubling of efforts to streamline federal 
     regulations to support the efficient building of new energy 
     infrastructure. Failure to act to update our federal 
     permitting system to support building new energy 
     infrastructure will further harm consumers, workers, and 
     businesses while making the United States less competitive 
     and more vulnerable to both foreign adversaries and domestic 
     outages. Congress must act with urgency in the coming months 
     to fix our broken permitting system; and be it further
       Resolved, That a certified copy of this resolution be 
     transmitted to the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States 
     House of Representatives, the President and the Secretary of 
     the United States Senate, and each member of the Tennessee 
     Congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-130. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Representatives of the State of Arkansas encouraging the 
     United States Congress to enact a trade policy that supports 
     United States businesses and workers while penalizing global 
     polluters; to the Committee on Finance.

                       House Resolution No. 1021

       Whereas, on average, goods produced in:
       (1) China generate three (3) times the emissions of 
     equivalent goods made in the United States; and
       (2) Russia emit four (4) times the emissions of equivalent 
     goods made in the United States; and
       Whereas, minerals mined in China are more than two (2) 
     times as polluting as those mined in the United States; and
       Whereas, the average pollution intensity of Russian oil is 
     at least thirty-three percent (33%) higher than United States 
     crude oil, and Russian natural gas is sixty percent (60%) 
     more pollution intensive than United States natural gas; and
       Whereas, many rural Americans are suffering from severe 
     poverty, poor health care, and few economic opportunities, 
     making them increasingly vulnerable to crime and the opioid 
     crisis; and
       Whereas, the average per capita income for rural Americans 
     is only fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) compared to 
     approximately sixty-four thousand dollars ($64,000) for all 
     Americans; and
       Whereas, the poverty rate in rural America is fifteen point 
     four percent (15.4%) compared with twelve point eight percent 
     (12.8%) nationwide; and
       Whereas, United States rural communities have lower wages , 
     property taxes , and land prices , which should give them a 
     competitive advantage in attracting investments in 
     manufacturing that provide revenue streams that help fund 
     local schools and infrastructure; and
       Whereas, manufacturing jobs play a more important role in 
     the rural economy than in urban areas, accounting for a 
     greater share of jobs and earnings; and
       Whereas, United States trade policy, which has given 
     foreign polluters an unfair advantage over the past two (2) 
     decades, has encouraged economic restructuring across rural 
     America that has resulted in manufacturing employment falling 
     by over twenty percent (20%); and
       Whereas, China has been the major beneficiary of this 
     poorly designed federal trade policy, with the United States 
     losing roughly five million (5,000,000) jobs in the last 
     twenty (20) years, and half of those losses are the result of 
     the United States trade deficit with China; and
       Whereas, rewarding United States firms for their 
     environmental performance would bolster domestic 
     manufacturing and generate well-paying jobs, particularly in 
     rural areas, and reduce dependence on imports from high 
     emitting producers like Russia and China: Now therefore, be 
     it resolved by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-
     Fourth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas:
       That the House of Representatives encourage the United 
     States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to 
     enact a trade policy that holds high-polluting countries like 
     China and Russia accountable for their pollution output and 
     promotes American economic development and the rebuilding of 
     United States supply chains, particularly in rural 
     communities, by rewarding American businesses and workers for 
     their superior environmental performance while penalizing 
     global polluters. Be it further
       Resolved That upon adoption of this resolution, a copy be 
     provided to the Secretary of the United States Senate, the 
     Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and to 
     each member of the Arkansas delegation to the United States 
     Congress by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives.
                                  ____

       POM-131. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to take such actions as are necessary to impose a quota or 
     tariff on imported shrimp, crab meat, and crawfish and to 
     enact a buy plan for domestic shrimp, crab meat, and crawfish 
     directly from domestic commercial fishermen; to the Committee 
     on Finance.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 9

       Whereas, the domestic fishing industry has faced severe 
     hardships, such as Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters, 
     repeated openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, unfair trade 
     practices, illegal chemicals, rising inflation, gas prices, 
     and supply chain issues; and
       Whereas, in October of 2022, United States Congressman 
     Garret Graves announced that the United States Department of 
     Agriculture (USDA) purchased up to twenty-five million 
     dollars of Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic wild caught 
     shrimp; and
       Whereas, Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act 
     authorizes the USDA to purchase domestic shrimp; and
       Whereas, purchases such as this will help provide relief to 
     Louisiana's shrimp industry; and
       Whereas, Louisiana's seafood industry is the largest 
     supplier in the country and the main economic driver in 
     coastal areas; and
       Whereas, more relief is necessary for the Louisiana seafood 
     industry to compete with foreign importers; and
       Whereas, strategies to ensure that domestic commercial 
     fishermen are able to sell their products are necessary for 
     the continued success of the Louisiana seafood industry; and
       Whereas, plans to buy shrimp directly from domestic 
     commercial shrimp fishermen are of vital importance to ensure 
     the success of coastal communities that rely heavily on this 
     industry. Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions 
     as are necessary to impose a quota or tariff on imported 
     shrimp, crab meat, and crawfish and to enact a buy plan for 
     domestic shrimp, crab meat, and crawfish directly from 
     domestic commercial fishermen; and be it further
       Resolved, that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives of the Congress of the United States of 
     America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-132. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to support H.R. 82 and S. 597 of the 118th Congress, the 
     Social Security Fairness Act, and all similar legislation and 
     to take such actions as are necessary to review and eliminate 
     all provisions of federal law which reduce Social Security 
     benefits for those receiving pension benefits from federal, 
     state, or local government retirement or pension systems, 
     plans, or funds; to the Committee on Finance.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 20

       Whereas, the Congress of the United States of America has 
     enacted both the Government

[[Page S4240]]

     Pension Offset (GPO), reducing the spouse and survivor Social 
     Security benefit and the Windfall Elimination Provision 
     (WEP), reducing the earned Social Security benefits payable 
     to any person who also receives a public pension benefit; and
       Whereas, the GPO negatively affects a spouse or survivor 
     receiving a federal, state, or local government retirement or 
     pension benefit who would also be entitled to a Social 
     Security benefit earned by a spouse; and
       Whereas, the GPO formula unfairly reduces the spouse or 
     survivor Social Security benefit by two-thirds of the amount 
     of federal, state, or local government retirement or pension 
     benefit received by the spouse or survivor, in many cases 
     completely eliminating the Social Security benefit even 
     though the spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years; 
     and
       Whereas, the GPO has a harsh effect on hundreds of 
     thousands of citizens and undermines the original purpose of 
     the Social Security dependent/survivor benefit; and
       Whereas, according to recent Social Security Administration 
     figures, more than half a million individuals nationally are 
     affected by the GPO; and
       Whereas, the WEP applies to those persons who have earned 
     federal, state, or local government retirement or pension 
     benefits, in addition to working in employment covered under 
     Social Security and paying into the Social Security system; 
     and
       Whereas, the WEP unfairly reduces the earned Social 
     Security benefit using an averaged indexed monthly earnings 
     formula and may reduce Social Security benefits for affected 
     persons by as much as one-half of the retirement benefit 
     earned as a public servant in employment not covered under 
     Social Security; and
       Whereas, the WEP causes hardworking individuals to lose a 
     significant portion of the Social Security benefits that they 
     earned themselves; and
       Whereas, according to recent Social Security Administration 
     figures, more than one and a half million individuals 
     nationally are affected by the WEP; and
       Whereas, in certain circumstances, both the WEP and GPO can 
     be applied to a qualifying survivor's benefit, each 
     independently reducing the available benefit and in 
     combination eliminating a large portion of the total Social 
     Security benefit available to the survivor; and
       Whereas, because of the calculation characteristics of the 
     GPO and WEP, they have a disproportionately negative effect 
     on employees working in lower-wage government jobs, like 
     policemen, firefighters, teachers, and state employees; and
       Whereas, Louisiana is making every effort to improve the 
     quality of life of its citizens and to encourage them to live 
     here, yet the current GPO and WEP provisions compromise their 
     quality of life; and
       Whereas, the number of people affected by GPO and WEP is 
     growing everyday as more and more people reach retirement 
     age; and
       Whereas, individuals drastically affected by the GPO and 
     WEP may have no choice but to return to work after retirement 
     in order to make ends meet, but the earnings accumulated 
     during this return to work can further reduce the Social 
     Security benefits to which the individual is entitled; and
       Whereas, the GPO and WEP are established in federal law, 
     and repeal of the GPO and WEP can only be enacted by 
     congress; and
       Whereas, the Legislature of Louisiana adopted House 
     Concurrent Resolution No. 11 of the 2022 Regular Session 
     memorializing congress to support H.R. 82 of the 117th 
     Congress and other state legislators to do the same in order 
     to reduce or eliminate the GPO and WEP. Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions 
     as are necessary to review the Government Pension Offset and 
     Windfall Elimination Provision Social Security benefit 
     reductions and to eliminate or reduce them by supporting H.R. 
     82 and S. 597 of the 118th Congress and all similar purposed 
     legislation; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives of the Congress of the United States of 
     America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional 
     delegation and the president of the United States.
                                  ____

       POM-133. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to take such actions as are necessary to compel the United 
     States Food and Drug Administration to fulfill its duties 
     regarding inspection and testing of imported seafood; to the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 10

       Whereas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration, in 2019 the United States imported six 
     billion pounds of edible seafood products, including one and 
     one half billion pounds of shrimp, an increase of nearly six 
     and one half million pounds more than the shrimp imported in 
     2018; and
       Whereas, the 2019 shrimp imports alone, valued at six 
     billion dollars, accounted for twenty-seven percent of the 
     total value of imported seafood that year, which reached 
     twenty-two billion dollars; and
       Whereas, it is estimated that over half of the imported 
     seafood consumed in the United States is from aquaculture, or 
     seafood farming, rather than wild-caught; and
       Whereas, the FDA is responsible for the safety of all fish 
     and fishery products entering the United States and sold in 
     Louisiana; and
       Whereas, the FDA's seafood safety program is governed by 
     its Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point regulations, which 
     address food safety management through the analysis and 
     control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from 
     raw material production and procurement and handling to 
     manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of the finished 
     product; and
       Whereas, FDA regulations are supposed to measure the 
     compliance of imported seafood with inspections of foreign 
     processing facilities, sampling of seafood offered for import 
     into the United States, domestic surveillance sampling of 
     imported products, inspections of seafood importers, foreign 
     country program assessments, and the use of information from 
     foreign partners and FDA overseas offices; and
       Whereas, in 2011 the FDA was only inspecting two percent of 
     the seafood imported into the United States; and
       Whereas, unfortunately 2011 is the last year for which data 
     regarding the percentage of imports inspected is available 
     due to a lack of transparency and inadequate assessment 
     measures; and
       Whereas, in 2011 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
     noted that the FDA's assessment of foreign aquaculture 
     operations was limited by the FDA's lack of procedures, 
     criteria, and standards; and ten years later, a 2021 GAO 
     report found that the agency was failing to monitor the 
     effectiveness of its own enforcement policies and procedures; 
     and
       Whereas, in contrast, the European Union regularly conducts 
     physical checks of approximately twenty percent of all 
     imported fish products that are fresh, frozen, dry, salted, 
     or hermetically sealed, and for certain fishery products, 
     physical checks are conducted on approximately fifty percent 
     of imports; and
       Whereas, the Louisiana State University School of Renewable 
     Natural Resources published a 2020 paper titled 
     ``Determination of Sulfite and Antimicrobial Residue in 
     Imported Shrimp to the USA'', which presented findings from a 
     study of shrimp imported from India, Thailand, Indonesia, 
     Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, and Ecuador and purchased from 
     retail stores in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and
       Whereas, a screening of these shrimp for sulfites and 
     residues from antimicrobial drugs found the following: (1) 
     five percent of the shrimp contained malachite green, (2) 
     seven percent contained oxytetracycline, (3) seventeen 
     percent contained fluoroquinolone, and (4) seventy percent 
     contained nitrofurantoin, all of which have been banned by 
     the FDA in domestic aquaculture operations; and
       Whereas, although the FDA requires that food products 
     exposed to sulfites must include a label with a statement 
     about the presence of sulfites, of the forty-three percent of 
     these locally purchased shrimp found to contain sulfites, not 
     one package complied with this labeling requirement; and
       Whereas, the drug and sulfite residues included in this 
     screening can be harmful to human health during both handling 
     and consumption and have been known to cause all a of the 
     following: liver damage and tumors, reproductive 
     abnormalities, cardiac arrhythmia, renal failure, hemolysis, 
     asthma attacks, and allergic reactions; and
       Whereas, the results of this study confirm that existing 
     screening and enforcement measures for imported seafood are 
     insufficient; whatever the percentage of imports inspected 
     may be, seafood is currently being imported that contains 
     unsafe substances that put American consumers at risk; and
       Whereas, because imported seafood is not held to the same 
     standards as domestic seafood, domestic fishing industries 
     are put at a distinct and significant disadvantage 
     commercially; and
       Whereas, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife 
     and Fisheries, the average value of Louisiana shrimp fell 
     from three dollars and eighty cents per pound in 1980 to one 
     dollar fifty cents per pound in 2017; and
       Whereas, this unfair competition allows foreign competitors 
     to flood the United States market with seafood harvested 
     under intensive farming practices using antimicrobial drugs, 
     while devastating local industries and the coastal 
     communities built around them; and
       Whereas, shrimp consumption is on the rise in the United 
     States, yet domestic shrimp profits have decreased in recent 
     years, particularly for shrimp sourced in the Gulf of Mexico 
     and South Atlantic regions; and
       Whereas, Senator John Kennedy has previously introduced 
     legislation to bolster Louisiana's shrimp, red snapper, and 
     seafood industry and protect American consumers from illegal 
     exports; and
       Whereas, this legislation would increase funding to the 
     Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and would allow SIMP 
     to conduct audits on seafood under its purview to prevent 
     foreign seafood imports that misrepresent themselves from 
     entering U.S. markets; and
       Whereas, proposed legislation such as this is a necessary 
     step that Congress must take to protect American consumers 
     and bolster the Louisiana seafood industry. Therefore, be it

[[Page S4241]]

       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions 
     as are necessary to compel the United States Food and Drug 
     Administration to fulfill its duties regarding inspection and 
     testing of imported seafood; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives of the Congress of the United States of 
     America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-134. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to amend federal law to allow states to provide for the 
     consolidation of federally funded workforce development 
     services with federally funded social safety net services; to 
     the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 11

       Whereas, the state of Louisiana desires to provide the most 
     streamlined and consolidated customer service for those 
     seeking work, unemployment benefits, or social safety net 
     programs; and
       Whereas, the United States Department of Labor and the 
     Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) currently 
     restrict the consolidation of federally funded employment and 
     job training services with other federally funded services, 
     such as safety net programs; and
       Whereas, in Louisiana, federally funded employment services 
     and workforce development services are provided by local 
     workforce development boards and the Louisiana Workforce 
     Commission, and federally funded social services are provided 
     by the Louisiana Department of Health; and
       Whereas, Louisianians seeking assistance with employment 
     and job training services, as well as social safety net 
     programs, are forced to seek these services at more than one 
     location of state and local government agencies, with little 
     to no consolidation or coordination of such services; and
       Whereas, the state of Louisiana desires to develop a 
     consolidation plan for the delivery of workforce development 
     and social services to its citizens in order to provide a 
     broader and more streamlined delivery of services to those 
     seeking these services. Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Congress to amend federal law 
     to allow states to provide for the consolidation of federally 
     funded workforce development services with federally funded 
     social safety net programs. Be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of 
     the United States House of Representatives, and to each 
     member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-135. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Michigan vehemently opposing the transfer of 
     mail processing operations from the Iron Mountain Processing 
     and Distribution Center to the Green Bay Processing and 
     Distribution Center in Wisconsin; to the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 12

       Whereas, The United States Postal Service has a long and 
     venerable tradition of serving as a great equalizer between 
     the people of our nation. Both the Articles of Confederation 
     and the Constitution of the United States gave Congress the 
     power to establish a system of post offices, and a Post 
     Office Department was first established by the Second 
     Continental Congress in 1775, with Benjamin Franklin 
     appointed to serve as the Postmaster General. Throughout its 
     250-year history. the Post Office has chosen time and time 
     again to prioritize service over profit, from President 
     Washington's support for the subsidization of stagecoaches in 
     the 1780s, to the construction of money-losing postal routes 
     to encourage settlement in the west during the mid-19th 
     century, to the creation of the Pony Express to deliver the 
     mail through extreme environments in 1860, to the elimination 
     of price differences based on the distance of a letter was to 
     travel in 1863. While free home delivery began in cities in 
     1863, it was not initially offered in rural areas, though 
     they paid the same rates. After initial experiments showed 
     how happy rural customers were to be given the same attention 
     as city-dwellers, rural free delivery became a permanent 
     service in 1902. It is the mission of the United States 
     Postal Service ``to bind the Nation together through the 
     personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence 
     of the people''; and
       Whereas, The Post Office is a service that we, as a 
     society, have chosen to provide to our people. There is no 
     constitutional mandate that the Post Office be run as a 
     profitable business enterprise; to the contrary, our history 
     shows that we have repeatedly used the Post Office to ensure 
     that every American, no matter where they live, is connected 
     through the post. The people can choose the level of postal 
     service that they want the United States Postal Service to 
     provide, and they can decide what costs they are willing to 
     bear to provide that service; and
       Whereas, Contrary to the desires of many that the United 
     States Postal Service put service first, there are those who 
     insist that it must be run like a business. The ``Delivering 
     for America'' plan, published in March 2021, emphasizes the 
     financial viability of the Postal Service, with a focus on 
     raising enough revenue to cover their operating costs and 
     fund new investments. The plan proudly proclaims that it will 
     enable the United States Postal Service to operate with a 
     positive net income, and the most recent report boasts that 
     it has reduced projected ten-year losses from 160 billion 
     dollars to 70 billion dollars. These publications read like a 
     corporate marketing pitch, establishing goals such as ``more 
     rational pricing approach,'' a ``stable and empowered 
     workforce'' and a ``bold approach to growth, innovation and 
     continued relevance.'' What these profit-minded advocates 
     seemingly fail to recognize is that lower-quality service and 
     higher prices drive customers away, decreasing use of the 
     postal service and thus decreasing revenue, while 
     simultaneously undermining the Postal Service's mission of 
     binding the nation together; and
       Whereas, The United States Postal Service's focus on 
     financial optimization has already had negative impacts on 
     those living in rural areas, such as Michigan's Upper 
     Peninsula. Local post offices have changed the time when mail 
     is gathered for delivery from the afternoon to the early 
     morning, meaning that a piece of mail dropped off during the 
     day will remain at the post office for far longer before the 
     shipping process begins. In practical effect, this adds one 
     day to shipping times even while allowing the Postal Service 
     to deny having done so for accounting purposes. Additionally, 
     one-day Priority Mail Express shipping, which was available 
     as recently as early January 2024, is no longer available 
     from the UP to anywhere in Michigan: instead, citizens are 
     being charged the same rate for two-day shipping. Combined 
     with the change in collection time above, next-day shipping 
     has essentially been transformed into three-day shipping. 
     This is extremely problematic for businesses and health 
     departments that need to collect samples of drinking water 
     and have them delivered to a laboratory for bacterial testing 
     within 24 hours of sampling. Delays in shipping also have 
     negative consequences for patients who receive medications 
     through the mail, for people who need to ensure their bills 
     are paid on time, and for businesses delivering frozen foods 
     such as the UP's beloved pasties. Focusing too much on the 
     postal network as a whole while ignoring the importance of 
     timely local shipping is not modernization; it is regression. 
     The people of the Upper Peninsula want what's best for their 
     communities, not what's best for the pocketbooks for those in 
     Washington; and
       Whereas, In January 2024, the United States Postal Service 
     announced plans to transfer some mail processing services, 
     including outgoing mail operations, from the Iron Mountain 
     Processing and Distribution Center in Kingsford, Michigan, to 
     the Green Bay Processing and Distribution Center in 
     Wisconsin. The Postal Service has justified this plan based 
     on the fact that a majority of the mail and packages sent 
     from the Iron Mountain area are destined for locations 
     outside the local area. While this might make sense from the 
     standpoint of the Postal Service as a nationwide business, it 
     does not make sense for the people of the Upper Peninsula, 
     for whom timely local delivery is essential. The notices that 
     have been published about this plan assure that, while five 
     craft employee positions will be eliminated, no management 
     positions will be eliminated. But the notices also indicate 
     that there will be reassignments, which means that some 
     employees could be left without a job if they are unwilling 
     to be reassigned to a post office far away. Furthermore, 
     recent changes to the Iron Mountain facility may have led to 
     inaccurate conclusions about the need for it, stacking the 
     deck so that the evidence would support the conclusion the 
     government was looking for. The capacity of the Green Bay 
     facility to handle the mail from the Iron Mountain area is 
     curiously left out of the government's preliminary findings. 
     When similar notices across the country all use identical, 
     buzzword-riddled language about efficiency, cost-
     effectiveness, modern strategies, and ``rightsizing'' the 
     postal workforce, it becomes difficult to trust that they 
     have made a careful, informed decision about the proper level 
     of services to provide at the Iron Mountain facility; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That we vehemently oppose the transfer of mail 
     processing operations from the Iron Mountain Processing and 
     Distribution Center to the Green Bay Processing and 
     Distribution Center in Wisconsin; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the Governor of Michigan, the President of the United States, 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, the members of the 
     Michigan congressional delegation, and the United States 
     Postmaster General.
                                  ____

       POM-136. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan vehemently opposing the transfer of mail processing 
     operations from the Iron Mountain Processing and Distribution 
     Center to the Green Bay Processing and Distribution Center in 
     Wisconsin; to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs.

                        Senate Resolution No. 92

       Whereas, The United States Postal Service has a long and 
     venerable tradition of serving as a great equalizer between 
     the people of

[[Page S4242]]

     our nation. Both the Articles of Confederation and the 
     Constitution of the United States gave Congress the power to 
     establish a system of post offices, and a Post Office 
     Department was first established by the Second Continental 
     Congress in 1775, with Benjamin Franklin appointed to serve 
     as the Postmaster General. Throughout its 250-year history, 
     the Post Office has chosen time and time again to prioritize 
     service over profit, from President Washington's support for 
     the subsidization of stagecoaches in the 1780s, to the 
     construction of money-losing postal routes to encourage 
     settlement in the west during the mid-19th century, to the 
     creation of the Pony Express to deliver the mail through 
     extreme environments in 1860, to the elimination of price 
     differences based on the distance a letter was to travel in 
     1863. While free home delivery began in cities in 1863, it 
     was not initially offered in rural areas, though they paid 
     the same rates. After initial experiments showed how happy 
     rural customers were to be given the same attention as city-
     dwellers, rural free delivery became a permanent service in 
     1902. It is the mission of the United States Postal Service 
     ``to bind the Nation together through the personal, 
     educational, literary, and business correspondence of the 
     people''; and
       Whereas, The Post Office is a service that we, as a 
     society, have chosen to provide to our people. There is no 
     constitutional mandate that the Post Office be run as a 
     profitable business enterprise; to the contrary, our history 
     shows that we have repeatedly used the Post Office to ensure 
     that every American, no matter where they live, is connected 
     through the post. The people can choose the level of postal 
     service that they want the United States Postal Service to 
     provide, and they can decide what costs they are willing to 
     bear to provide that service; and
       Whereas, Contrary to the desires of many that the United 
     States Postal Service put service first, there are those who 
     insist that it must be run like a business. The ``Delivering 
     for America'' plan, published in March 2021, and particularly 
     its `optimized collections plan', emphasizes the financial 
     viability of the Postal Service, with a focus on raising 
     enough revenue to cover their operating costs and fund new 
     investments. The plan proudly proclaims that it will enable 
     the United States Postal Service to operate with a positive 
     net income, and the most recent report boasts that it has 
     reduced projected ten-year losses from 160 billion dollars to 
     70 billion dollars. These publications read like a corporate 
     marketing pitch, establishing goals such as a ``more rational 
     pricing approach,'' a ``stable and empowered workforce'' and 
     a ``bold approach to growth, innovation and continued 
     relevance.'' What these profit-minded advocates seemingly 
     fail to recognize is that lower-quality service and higher 
     prices drive customers away, decreasing use of the postal 
     service and thus decreasing revenue, while simultaneously 
     undermining the Postal Service's mission of binding the 
     nation together; and
       Whereas, The United States Postal Service's focus on 
     financial optimization has already had negative impacts on 
     those living in rural areas, such as Michigan's Upper 
     Peninsula. Local post offices have changed the time when mail 
     is gathered for delivery from the afternoon to the early 
     morning, meaning that a piece of mail dropped off during the 
     day will remain at the post office for far longer before the 
     shipping process begins. In practical affect, this adds one 
     day to shipping times even while allowing the Postal Service 
     to deny having done so for accounting purposes. Additionally, 
     one-day Priority Mail Express shipping, which was available 
     as recently as early January 2024, is no longer available 
     from the UP to anywhere in Michigan; instead, citizens are 
     being charged the same rate for two-day shipping. Combined 
     with the change in collection time above, next-day shipping 
     has essentially been transformed into three-day shipping. 
     This is extremely problematic for businesses and health 
     departments that need to collect samples of drinking water 
     and have them delivered to a laboratory for bacterial testing 
     with 24 hours of sampling. Delays in shipping also have 
     negative consequences for patients who receive medications 
     through the mail, for people who need to ensure their bills 
     are paid on time, and for businesses delivering frozen foods 
     such as the UP's beloved pasties. Focusing too much on the 
     postal network as a whole while ignoring the importance of 
     timely local shipping is not modernization; it is regression. 
     The people of the Upper Peninsula want what's best for the 
     communities, not what's best for the pocketbooks of those in 
     Washington; and
       Whereas, In January 2024, the United States Postal Service 
     announced plans to transfer some mail processing services, 
     including outgoing mail operations, from the Iron Mountain 
     Processing and Distribution Center in Kingsford, Michigan, to 
     the Green Bay Processing and Distribution Center in 
     Wisconsin. The Postal Service has justified this plan based 
     on the fact that a majority of the mail and packages sent 
     from the Iron Mountain area are destined for locations 
     outside the local area. While this might make sense from the 
     standpoint of the Postal Services as a nationwide business, 
     it does not make sense for the people of the Upper Peninsula, 
     for whom timely local delivery is essential. The notices that 
     have been published about this plan assure that, while five 
     craft employee positions will be eliminated, no management 
     positions will be eliminated. But the notices also indicate 
     that there will be reassignments, which means that some 
     employees could be left without a job if they are unwilling 
     to be reassigned to a post office far away. Furthermore, 
     recent changes to the Iron Mountain facility may have led to 
     inaccurate conclusions about the need for it, stacking the 
     deck so that the evidence would support the conclusion the 
     government was looking for. The capacity of the Green Bay 
     facility to handle the mail from the Iron Mountain area is 
     curiously left out of the government's preliminary findings. 
     When similar notices across the country all use identical, 
     buzzword-riddled language about efficiency, cost-
     effectiveness, modern strategies, and ``rightsizing'' the 
     postal workforce, it becomes difficult to trust that they 
     have made a careful, informed decision about the proper level 
     of services to provide at the Iron Mountain facility; Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we vehemently oppose the 
     transfer of mail processing operations from the Iron Mountain 
     Processing and Distribution Center to the Green Bay 
     Processing and Distribution Center in Wisconsin; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the Governor of Michigan, the President of the United States, 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, the members of the 
     Michigan congressional delegation, and the United States 
     Postmaster General.
                                  ____

       POM-137. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of Guam 
     expressing support for the passage of measures by the United 
     States Congress during the 118th Congress which would amend 
     the ``Radiation Exposure Compensation Act'' to include the 
     people of Guam as ``downwinders'' of U.S. Pacific nuclear 
     test sites, extend the claims period, and improve 
     compensation and benefits; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                         Resolution No. 171-37

       Whereas, the United States government detonated sixty-seven 
     (67) nuclear devices in the Bikini and Enewetak Atolls of the 
     Republic of the Marshall Islands between the years of 1946 
     and 1962. These nuclear test sites in the Marshall Islands, 
     in addition to other locations in the Pacific Ocean, became 
     known as the ``Pacific Proving Grounds.'' On October 31, 1952 
     (GMT), one (1) U.S. nuclear test titled ``Operation Ivy'' was 
     conducted on Elugelab Island (``Flora'') in the Enewetak 
     Atoll, in which the first true thermonuclear hydrogen bomb (a 
     10.4 megaton device), code-named ``Mike,'' was detonated, 
     destroying the entire island, and leaving behind a crater six 
     thousand two hundred forty (6,240) feet across and one 
     hundred sixty-four (164) feet deep in its aftermath; and
       Whereas, radioactive fallout occurs after a detonation of a 
     nuclear bomb where radioactive particles and earth debris, 
     which form the mushroom cloud, are released into the 
     atmosphere, and remain there for about twenty-four (24) hours 
     before descending back to Earth. Before the descent back to 
     Earth, these radioactive particles can be carried through 
     jet-streams in the atmosphere to locations over a thousand 
     miles away from the actual test site and settle into the 
     environment causing multiple health and environmental 
     problems; and
       Whereas, in a 2005 Assessment of the Scientific Information 
     for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program 
     reported by the National Research Council on behalf of the 
     Committee to Assess the Scientific Information for the 
     Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program and Board 
     on Radiation Effects Research Division on Earth and Life 
     Studies, it was confirmed that Guam ``did receive radioactive 
     debris from fallout during the nuclear-weapons testing in the 
     Pacific Ocean'' and was a harbor for the decontamination of 
     ships present in the Marshall Islands during the nuclear 
     testing; and
       Whereas, in the sworn testimony of retired U.S. Navy 
     Lieutenant Charles Bert Schreiber on the fallout of the first 
     hydrogen bomb test, the detonation of Operation Ivy's Mike, 
     he states, ``I was the Radiological Safety Officer for the 
     Headquarters Command Guam. On or about November 3, 1952, 1 
     was making my monthly check sitting at the desk in that 
     office that was about five (5) feet from the window screens 
     that covered the wall all the way down to about a couple of 
     inches from the floor. I took out the metal calibration rod 
     (about as big as a normal soda straw and about six (6) inches 
     long) stored in the instrument that has a small radioactive 
     source on its end. I put the counter on the low setting (it 
     has three (3); low, medium, and high) and was ready to place 
     the rod near the detection windows (two (2) of them), but the 
     dial needle was way over on the scale and the audible signal 
     was clicking like mad, or almost a continuous sound; sounds 
     like constant static on a radio. My original thought was that 
     the counter was malfunctioning, but when I raised it up and 
     put it nearer the screen window, the dial needle swung even 
     further over, and the sound increased still further. I then 
     put it close to the screen near the floor and the needle went 
     off the scale (as far as it could swing right). I knew it was 
     not the counter, but that there was some radioactivity 
     outside. I panicked. My first thought was that Guam had been 
     subjected to some radioactive dust attack''; and
       Whereas, Guam's local residents were never warned or 
     informed by the U.S. Navy of an increase in radioactivity, 
     and documents with this information were classified until 
     1994; and

[[Page S4243]]

       Whereas, on October 15, 1990, H.R. 2372 (U.S. Public Law 
     101-426), relative to the ``Radiation Exposure Compensation 
     Act'' (RECA), was enacted. The law covered some of those who 
     were affected by nuclear fallout during atmospheric testing 
     in Nevada and the Marshall Islands. RECA established the 
     Radiation Exposure Compensation Program (RECP) with the Civil 
     Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to administer its 
     responsibilities under RECA; and
       Whereas, on July 10, 2000, an amendment to RECA (U.S. 
     Public Law 106-245) broadened the scope of eligibility for 
     benefit coverage to include new victim categories, and to 
     modify the eligibility criteria for compensation. The 
     amendment extended the time-period for consideration and 
     compensation, and included other individuals who 
     experienced radiation exposure, such as uranium miners, 
     uranium millers, ore transporters, and ``downwinders''; 
     and
       Whereas, to address the issue of eligibility under RECA, 
     the Board on Radiation Effects Research (BRER) Committee 
     invited Guam's Mr. Robert N. Celestial and then-Guam Delegate 
     Madeleine Z. Bordallo to give oral and written testimonies in 
     2004. After completing both testimonies, an independent 
     committee was convened. Its conclusions are documented in the 
     Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP) 
     Report 2005, which states: ``As a result of its analysis, the 
     committee concludes that Guam did receive measurable fallout 
     from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. 
     Residents of Guam during that period should be eligible for 
     compensation under RECA in a way similar to that of persons 
     considered to be downwinders''; and
       Whereas, the Guam Legislature supports extension of RECA 
     coverage to claimants who were residents of Guam for at least 
     one (1) year from 1946 to 1962 and diagnosed with a RECA 
     covered illness as ``downwinders'' of U.S. Pacific nuclear 
     test sites; an increase of RECA awards for ``downwinders'' 
     from Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) to One Hundred Fifty 
     Thousand Dollars ($150,000); coverage for additional forms of 
     cancer and medical benefits; and an extension of the fund 
     claims period for nineteen (19) more years; and
       Whereas, the cancer diagnoses eligible under RECA include 
     leukemia, multiple myeloma, lymphoma (other than Hodgkin's 
     disease), and primary cancers of the thyroid, male or female 
     breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, 
     pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder, salivary gland, urinary 
     bladder, brain, colon, ovary, liver (except if cirrhosis or 
     hepatitis B is indicated), and lung; and
       Whereas, incidence data reported from Guam to the Pacific 
     Regional Central Cancer Registry between 2007 and 2018 shows 
     that seven (7) of the top ten (10) adult cancers in Guam are 
     compensable under RECA; now therefore, be it
       Resolved, that I Mina'trentai Siette Na Liheslaturan Guahan 
     (the 37th Guam Legislature) does hereby, on behalf of the 
     people of Guam, express support for the passage of measures 
     by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives 
     during the 118th Congress which would amend the ``Radiation 
     Exposure Compensation Act'' to include Guam as a 
     ``downwinder'' of U.S. Pacific nuclear test sites, extend the 
     fund claims period, improve compensation to One Hundred Fifty 
     Thousand Dollars ($150,000), and provide medical benefits; 
     and does further support the extension of RECA coverage to 
     those persons who were present in Guam for at least one (1) 
     year from 1946 to 1962 and diagnosed with a RECA covered 
     illness; and be it further
       Resolved, that the Speaker certify, and the Legislative 
     Secretary attest to, the adoption hereof, and that copies of 
     the same be thereafter transmitted to the Honorable Joseph R. 
     Biden, President, United States of America; to the Honorable 
     Kamala Harris, Vice President, United States of America; to 
     the Honorable Patty Murray, President Pro Tempore, U.S. 
     Senate; to the Honorable Ben Ray Lujan, New Mexico Senator, 
     U.S. Senate; to the Honorable Dick Durbin, Chairperson, U.S. 
     Senate Committee on the Judiciary; to the Honorable Teresa 
     Leger Fernandez, New Mexico Representative, U.S. House of 
     Representatives; to the Honorable Jim Jordan, Chairperson, 
     U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary; to 
     the Honorable Virginia Foxx, Chairperson, U.S. House of 
     Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce; to 
     the Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chairperson, U.S. House 
     of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce; to the 
     Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker, U.S. House of 
     Representatives; to the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic 
     Leader, U.S. House of Representatives; to the Honorable 
     Burgess Owens, U.S. House of Representatives; to the 
     Honorable Bob Good, Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus; to 
     the Honorable James C. Moylan, Guam Delegate, U.S. House of 
     Representatives; to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 
     the Interior; to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular 
     Affairs; to the U.S. Attorney General, Department of Justice; 
     to Mr. Robert N. Celestial, President, Pacific Association of 
     Radiation Survivors (PARS); and to the Honorable Lourdes A. 
     Leon Guerrero, I Maga'hagan Guahan.
                                  ____

       POM-138. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Colorado concerning the designation of March 4, 
     2024, as ``Colorado Aerospace Day''; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                   Senate Joint Resolution No. 24-012

       Whereas, Our nation and the world have significantly 
     benefitted from technological and scientific advances 
     resulting from space exploration and aerospace activities; 
     and
       Whereas, Colorado ranks first in the nation for aerospace 
     employment concentration; and
       Whereas, There are over 37,000 Coloradans who are directly 
     employed in aerospace, with the aerospace cluster supporting 
     over 250,000 jobs; and
       Whereas, Colorado is home to the nation's top aerospace 
     companies, including Ball Aerospace, Blue Origin, Boeing, 
     L3Harris, Lockheed Martin Space, Maxar Technologies, Northrop 
     Grumman, Raytheon, Sierra Space, and United Launch Alliance, 
     and close to 500 additional companies that support the 
     aerospace sector by providing services and developing 
     products, including spacecraft, launch vehicles, satellites, 
     command and control software, sensors, and navigation 
     operations; and
       Whereas, Colorado is a strategic location for national 
     space and cyber activity, with five key military commands: 
     North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the United 
     States Northern Command, the Joint Functional Component 
     Command for Integrated Missile Defense, the United States 
     Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic 
     Command, and the permanent home of United States Space 
     Command, and three space-related United States Space Force 
     bases: Buckley, Peterson, and Schriever; and
       Whereas, The United States Air Force Academy, along with 
     Colorado's colleges and universities, including the 
     University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado at 
     Colorado Springs, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State 
     University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, 
     University of Denver, Colorado Mesa University, and Fort 
     Lewis College, provides access to world-class aerospace-
     related degrees and offers aerospace companies one of the 
     country's most educated workforces; and
       Whereas, Various organizations are key to Colorado's 
     prominence in aerospace, such as the American Institute of 
     Aeronautics and Astronautics, the world's largest aerospace 
     technical society; the Colorado Space Coalition, a group of 
     industry stakeholders working to grow and promote Colorado as 
     a center of excellence for aerospace; the Colorado chapter of 
     Citizens for Space Exploration, housed within the Colorado 
     Business Roundtable, whose mission is to promote better 
     understanding of aerospace and its importance in our economy 
     and daily lives, as well as promoting the importance of human 
     space exploration; and the Colorado Space Business 
     Roundtable, an organization that works to convene 
     stakeholders from industry, government, and academia to 
     advance aerospace business and workforce opportunities 
     throughout the state. Together, these organizations form the 
     Colorado chapter of the Aerospace States Association, a 
     nonpartisan organization of lieutenant governors and 
     associate members from aerospace organizations and academia 
     who represent states' interests in federal aerospace and 
     aviation policy development, currently led by Colorado 
     Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera; and
       Whereas, The Colorado Air and Space Port seeks to serve as 
     America's hub for commercial space transportation, research, 
     and development. This horizontal launch facility will have 
     the potential to become the foundation for a global 
     suborbital transportation network connecting Colorado 
     globally; now, therefore,
       Be it Resolved by the Senate of the Seventy-Fourth General 
     Assembly of ale State of Colorado, the House of 
     Representatives concurring herein.
       That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly:
       (1) Strongly urge and request the government of the United 
     States of America to take action to preserve and enhance 
     American leadership in space, spur innovation, and ensure our 
     continued national and economic security by increasing 
     funding for space exploration and activities;
       (2) Congratulate NASA and Lockheed Martin Space on the 
     return of its mission OSIRIS-ReX to earth on September 24, 
     2023, after its six-year journey from Bennll with the first-
     ever sample return from an asteroid;
       (3) Recognize and appreciate the Colorado companies, 
     including Ball Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin Space, 
     Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, United Launch Alliance, and 
     others, that are key to enabling human exploration throughout 
     our solar system, supporting NASA's Artemis Program to take 
     humans to the moon and beyond. These companies' work 
     continues to expand our understanding of the universe, 
     enabling a new generation of groundbreaking research with 
     innovations like the James Webb Space Telescope, and will 
     help lead the way in the search for life beyond our planet 
     with the Habitable Worlds Observatory;
       (4) Recognize and appreciate the exciting new innovations 
     such as the successful inaugural flight of the United Launch 
     Alliance Vulcan Centaur Rocket on January 8, 2024, as well as 
     the upcoming inaugural flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner 
     Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station and the 
     upcoming inaugural flight of the Sierra Space Dream Chaser, 
     the world's only winged commercial spaceplane, to the 
     International Space Station, both of which will launch on a 
     United Launch Alliance rocket; and

[[Page S4244]]

       (5) Hereby declare March 4, 2024, to be ``Colorado 
     Aerospace Day''.
       Be it Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint 
     Resolution be sent to President Joseph Biden, Jr.; Vice 
     President Kamala Harris; Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives Mike Johnson; House Minority Leader Hakeem 
     Jeffries; Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer; Senate 
     Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; Senator John Hickenlooper; 
     Senator Michael Bennet; Congresswoman Diana DeGette; 
     Congressman Joe Neguse; Congresswoman Lauren Boebert; 
     Congressman Ken Buck; Congressman Doug Lamborn; Congressman 
     Jason Crow; Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen; Congresswoman 
     Yadira Caraveo; Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator; Michael 
     Whitaker, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration; 
     Governor Jared Polis; Lieutenant Governor and Co-chair, 
     Colorado Space Coalition, Dianne Primavera; Brigadier General 
     Laura Clellan, The Adjutant General of Colorado; General 
     Stephen N. Whiting, Commander, U.S. Space Command; Colonel 
     Marcus Jackson, Buckley Garrison Commander, Buckley Space 
     Force Base; Dr. Christopher Scolese, Director, National 
     Reconnaissance Office; Ross B. Garelick Bell, Executive 
     Director, Aerospace States Association; Heather Pringle, 
     Chief Executive Officer, Space Foundation; Dr. Ronald M. 
     Sega, Co-chair, Colorado Space Coalition; Michael Gass, Co-
     chair, Colorado Space Coalition; Debra Wilcox, Chair, 
     Colorado Space Business Roundtable; Christie Lee and Stacey 
     DeFore, Co-chairs, Colorado Citizens for Space Exploration; 
     Marshall Lee, Chair, AIAA Rocky Mountain Section; Jeff 
     Kloska, Director, Colorado Air and Space Port; and Debbie 
     Brown, President, Colorado Business Roundtable.
                                  ____

       POM-139. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan urging the United States Congress to fund the 
     construction of a new air traffic control tower for the 
     Gerald R. Ford International Airport; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                       Senate Resolution No. 122

       Whereas, The Gerald R. Ford International Airport, located 
     in Cascade Township near Grand Rapids, Michigan, is the 
     largest commercial airport in western Michigan and second 
     largest airport in the state. This airport has been ranked by 
     the Federal Aviation Administration as one of the fastest 
     growing airports in the United States. The Gerald R. Ford 
     International Airport, originally named the Kent County 
     Airport, was built in 1963 and is in desperate need of an 
     update to its air traffic control tower; and
       Whereas, The current air traffic control tower in use at 
     the Gerald R. Ford International Airport is over six decades 
     old, making it the second-oldest control tower in the 
     nation's top 100 markets. Recent terminal upgrades mark this 
     airport as dedicated to setting the bar high regarding the 
     quality of the services it provides. Securing funding for a 
     new air traffic control tower would ensure that the Gerald R. 
     Ford International Airport maintains this trend; Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we urge Congress to fund the 
     construction of a new air traffic control tower for the 
     Gerald R. Ford International Airport; 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, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-140. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress 
     to support the extension of funding for the Affordable 
     Connectivity Program of 2021, which provides Louisiana 
     residents access to broadband services; to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4

       Whereas, on August 29, 2019, by executive order, Governor 
     John Bel Edwards created the Broadband for Everyone in 
     Louisiana Commission, which facilitates private-sector 
     providers, public entities, and other broadband stakeholders 
     to improve both the adoption and availability of broadband 
     service for Louisiana residents by providing universal access 
     to broadband service; and
       Whereas, during the 2020 Second Extraordinary Session of 
     the Legislature of Louisiana, the office of broadband and 
     connectivity was created within the governor's office to 
     promote and encourage broadband adoption for households in an 
     effort to eliminate the digital divide in Louisiana by 2029; 
     and
       Whereas, the office of broadband and connectivity's mission 
     is to coordinate federal, state, and municipal efforts by 
     identifying best practices and tactics necessary to reach 
     their goal; and
       Whereas, in 2021, as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure 
     Investment and Jobs Act's historic investment in broadband 
     infrastructure and digital equity, Congress appropriated more 
     than fourteen billion dollars for the ACP; and
       Whereas, Congress assigned the Federal Communications 
     Commission to administer the ACP, the successor program to 
     the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which helped almost nine 
     million households afford internet access during the 
     pandemic; and
       Whereas, under the ACP, eligible households can receive a 
     discount of up to thirty dollars per month for internet 
     services and up to seventy-five dollars per month for 
     households on qualifying tribal lands; and
       Whereas, eligible households may also receive a one-time 
     discount of up to one hundred dollars to purchase a laptop, 
     desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers; and
       Whereas, Louisiana was the first state to receive broadband 
     award approval from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment 
     and Jobs Act and is number one in the nation for ACP 
     enrollment with an estimated forty-six percent of eligible 
     households enrolled; and
       Whereas, currently, there are more than nine hundred 
     thousand eligible households within the state that may 
     qualify for the ACP and four hundred twenty-two thousand two 
     hundred fifty-seven households that have enrolled; and
       Whereas, based on current take rates, more than fourteen 
     billion dollars in funding appropriated for the ACP program 
     could be exhausted in late 2023 or early 2024; and
       Whereas, the ACP has been a critical tool in helping bridge 
     the digital divide that exists between those who have access 
     to modern information and communications technology and those 
     who do not. Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes 
     the Congress of the United States to support continued 
     funding of the ACP so that low-income Louisiana households 
     can continue to receive the support they need to participate 
     in the digital marketplace; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of 
     the United States House of Representatives and to each member 
     of the Louisiana congressional delegation to the United 
     States Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-141. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Hawaii endorsing the participation of Taiwan 
     as an observer in the United Nations Framework Convention on 
     Climate Change, International Civil Aviation Organization, 
     World Health Organization, and International Criminal Police 
     Organization; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 2

       Whereas, the United States and Republic of China, also 
     commonly known as Taiwan, are bonded by a shared commitment 
     to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and a free 
     market economy; and
       Whereas, for years, Taiwan has actively engaged in climate 
     change research, supported anti-terrorism cooperation, and 
     worked with its partners to tackle transnational crime; and
       Whereas, Taiwan's meaningful participation in bodies such 
     as the World Health Organization, International Criminal 
     Police Organization, United Nations Framework Convention on 
     Climate Change, and International Civil Aviation Organization 
     would make international mechanisms even more global; and
       Whereas, the Congress of the United States passed the 
     landmark Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, which is the 
     foundation of United States--Taiwan relations as it promotes 
     a close bilateral relationship that advances mutual security 
     and commercial interests between the United States and 
     Taiwan; and
       Whereas, preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan 
     Strait is crucial to the maintenance of a free and open 
     IndoPacific, and Taiwan is an indispensable partner in this 
     endeavor; and
       Whereas, Taiwan is the ninth largest trade partner of the 
     United States, with bilateral trade totaling $135,500,000,000 
     in 2022; and
       Whereas, Taiwan supports the United States-led Indo-Pacific 
     Economic Framework, as it will help bolster the economic 
     potential of the region by defining shared trade objectives 
     among partners and addressing standards for technology, 
     supply chains, the digital economy and clean energy; and
       Whereas, the United States--Taiwan Initiative on 21st-
     Century Trade intends to develop concrete methods to deepen 
     their economic and trade relationship, advance mutual trade 
     priorities based on shared values, and promote innovative and 
     inclusive economic growth for workers and businesses, 
     including through new trade agreements; and
       Whereas, to strengthen bilateral trade, the government of 
     Taiwan has expressed its desire for a Bilateral Trade 
     Agreement, Bilateral Investment Agreement, and an Avoidance 
     of Double Taxation Agreement; and
       Whereas, since establishing a sister-state relationship in 
     1993, Hawaii and Taiwan have developed an enduring and 
     mutually beneficial friendship exemplified by the Taiwan 
     government's generous $500,000 contribution to Hawaii in the 
     aftermath of the disastrous Maui wildfire in 2023; and
       Whereas, Taiwan is Hawaii's tenth largest import partner 
     and its ninth largest export partner, as Taiwan imported 
     $54,000,000 worth of goods, with award-winning Kona coffee 
     beans being the most popular, and exported $13,000,000 worth 
     of goods in 2023; and
       Whereas, the State of Hawaii Office in Taipei and the 
     Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu have been 
     working together to promote substantial cooperation and 
     exchanges in the areas of tourism, agriculture, culture, 
     education, and trade between Hawaii and Taiwan; and
       Whereas, the United States--Taiwan Education Initiative was 
     launched in 2020 to strengthen cooperation in international 
     education and highlight Taiwan's capacity to provide Mandarin 
     language instruction; and
       Whereas, given Mandarin's designation as a critical 
     language and Taiwan's plans to be

[[Page S4245]]

     bilingual by 2030, schools and institutions of higher 
     education in both Hawaii and Taiwan are encouraged to enhance 
     their exchanges, as exemplified by the partnership between 
     the University of Hawaii and the National Tsing Hua 
     University; and
       Whereas, Taiwan has established the Gift Scholarship at the 
     University of Hawaii to sponsor Language Flagship for 
     students interested in Mandarin immersion programs in Taiwan, 
     and the University of Hawaii and the National Taiwan Ocean 
     University have signed a memorandum of understanding on 
     Academic Cooperation and an Agreement of Cooperative 3+2 
     Master Programs, which will further improve the bilateral 
     exchange of education; and
       Whereas, the United States has assisted Taiwan in 
     participating in the World Health Organization, International 
     Civil Aviation Organization, and International Criminal 
     Police Organization and will continue to support Taiwan's 
     meaningful participation in these and other international 
     organizations; now, therefore, and be it
       Resolved, By the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of 
     the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of 
     Representatives concurring, that this body endorses the 
     participation of Taiwan as an observer in the United Nations 
     Framework Convention on Climate Change, International Civil 
     Aviation Organization, World Health Organization, and 
     International Criminal Police Organization; and be it further
       Resolved, That this body supports the further progress on 
     the United States--Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade 
     and a speedy conclusion to this negotiation and encourages 
     the United States Trade Representative to commence 
     negotiations to enter into a bilateral trade agreement with 
     Taiwan; and be it further
       Resolved, That this body supports the State's thirty-first 
     anniversary of sister-state relations with Taiwan and 
     commemorates the forty-fifth anniversary of the Taiwan 
     Relations Act; and be it further
       Resolved, That certified copies of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States; President of the United States Senate; Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives; United States 
     Secretary of State; members of Hawaii's congressional 
     delegation; Governor; and Director of Business, Economic 
     Development, and Tourism.
                                  ____

       POM-142. A resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors 
     of the City and County of San Francisco, California, urging 
     the President of the United States and the United States 
     Congress to amend specified provisions of the federal Social 
     Security Act to allow recipients of disabled adult child 
     benefits under the act to continue to receive those benefits 
     upon marriage; to the Committee on Finance.

                          ____________________