[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 26088]
[From the U.S. 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-367. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California relative to trucks entering 
     California from foreign nations; to the Committee on Finance.

                    Assembly Joint Resolution No. 16

       Whereas, A recent study by the United States Government 
     Accounting Office (GAO) found that Mexican commercial trucks 
     entering the United States often fail to meet basic safety 
     standards; and
       Whereas, The GAO reported that Mexican trucks entering the 
     United States may have serious safety violations impacting 
     highway safety, including broken suspension systems, 
     substandard tires, inoperable brakes, overweight loads, and 
     improperly maintained hazardous material loads; and
       Whereas, The report of the federal Office of the Inspector 
     General titled, ``Motor Carrier Safety Program for Commercial 
     Trucks at U.S. Borders,'' issued on December 28, 1998, 
     identified California as the only state that enforces the 
     Federal Operating Authority Regulation and complimented 
     California for having both the best inspection practices and 
     the lowest out-of-service rate; and
       Whereas, Mexico has no automated system by which California 
     law enforcement officials can determine whether a Mexican 
     commercial driver has a valid license or a driving or 
     criminal record; and
       Whereas, The government of Mexico has no laws limiting the 
     maximum number of hours that drivers may safely operate a 
     commercial vehicle and no system of worker's compensation 
     insurance to protect drivers who are injured while at work; 
     and
       Whereas, Mexico's mandatory alcohol and drug testing 
     program does not adequately test commercial drivers and its 
     substance-abuse testing laboratory has not been certified by 
     the United States Department of Transportation to meet 
     internationally agreed-upon standards for accuracy; and
       Whereas, ``Operation Alliance,'' a federally sponsored 
     drug-enforcement coordinating agency and the United States 
     Customs Service drug-inspection program found that drug 
     traffickers are becoming owners of, or are obtaining 
     controlling interests in, transportation businesses, such as 
     trucking companies, warehouses, and semi-trailer 
     manufacturing companies, in order to take advantage of the 
     increased trucking trade authorized by the North American 
     Free Trade Agreement; and
       Whereas, The Southern California Association of Governments 
     recently passed a resolution authorizing its regional council 
     to alert the President of the United States to the ``major 
     safety issues involved in trucking regulations under the 
     North American Free Trade Agreement''; and
       Whereas, The federal government has chosen not to implement 
     the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
     that call for unlimited access by Mexican trucks to the 
     territory of the State of California; now therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature memorializes the 
     President and the Congress of the United States to maintain 
     the existing restrictions on trucks from Mexico and other 
     foreign nations entering California and to continue efforts 
     to ensure full compliance by the owners and drivers of those 
     trucks with all highway safety, environmental, and drug-
     enforcement laws; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the President and the Vice 
     President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House 
     of Representatives, to each Senator and Representative from 
     California in the Congress of the United States, and to the 
     Governor.
                                  ____

       POM-368. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan relative to block grant 
     amounts to the states through the Temporary Assistance to 
     Needy Families program; to the Committee on Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 48

       Whereas, A key component of the welfare reforms enacted in 
     1996 is the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block 
     grant program. The levels of these block grants were 
     guaranteed for a five-year period as a means to help in the 
     transformation of the nation's approach to welfare and 
     helping people help themselves; and
       Whereas, A proposal has surfaced in Washington to have the 
     states return unobligated balances from the TANF block grant 
     funding. The proposal has raised the concerns and opposition 
     of state policymakers around the country who do not want the 
     success of welfare reform to be derailed or threatened by 
     reductions in this funding. This funding, as well as the 
     flexibility to administer federal programs, is critical to 
     genuine, meaningful, longstanding welfare reform; and
       Whereas, Discussions on altering or reducing block grant 
     programs for needy families also include proposed changes in 
     Medicaid options, social services block grants, child support 
     initiatives, and efforts to secure health insurance coverages 
     for children. The possibility of bringing new conditions for 
     the expenditure of funds or cuts in the amounts of block 
     grants has generated considerable concern across the country; 
     and
       Whereas, The reforms brought to the country's approach to 
     welfare in 1996 also represented a significant step in the 
     relationship between Washington and the states. This new 
     partnership allowed and even encouraged the ``laboratories of 
     democracy'' to find solutions that account for the unique 
     resources and needs of each state. Michigan's success and the 
     similar achievements across the nation should not be 
     jeopardized by Washington reclaiming money promised to the 
     states; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we 
     memorialize the Congress of the United Stats to reject any 
     reduction in block grant amounts to the states through the 
     Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program or any 
     changes in conditions or requirements that reduce the 
     flexibility of the states, 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.

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