[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15445-15447]
[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-599. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Alaska relative to the Exxon Mobil Corporation; to 
     the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-600. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Alaska relative to fair trade between the United 
     States and Canada; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-601. A petition from the Native Hawaiian Convention 
     concerning the reestablishment of a Native Hawaiian Nation; 
     to the Committee on the Judiciary.
       POM-602. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Illinois relative to industrial 
     hemp; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                        House Resolution No. 553

       Whereas, Industrial hemp refers to varieties of the 
     cannabis plant that have a low content of 
     tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and that are cultivated for fiber 
     and oil; and
       Whereas, Industrial hemp should not be confused with 
     varieties of cannabis that have high content of 
     tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and that are commonly referred to 
     as marijuana; and
       Whereas, The commercial production and cultivation of 
     industrial hemp is now permitted in Canada, under licenses 
     and authorizations issued by Health Canada; and
       Whereas, Health Canada controls, through rules, all 
     activities relating to the importation, exportation, 
     possession, production, sale, provision, transportation, 
     sending, delivering, and offering for sale of industrial 
     hemp; and
       Whereas, Industrial hemp is grown legally throughout Europe 
     and Asia; and

[[Page 15446]]

       Whereas, Many farmers facing uncertain times in the 
     agricultural marketplace view the reintroduction of 
     industrial hemp as another potentially alternative crop that 
     will have long-term economic benefits to the farmers who 
     produce hemp and the persons who use hemp in the production 
     of textiles, paper products, concrete reinforcement, 
     automobile parts, plastic, cosmetics, organic foods, and 
     natural body products; and
       Whereas, Congress never originally intended to prohibit the 
     production of industrial hemp when restricting the 
     production, possession, and use of marijuana; therefore be it
       Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-
     First General Assembly of the State of Illinois, That we urge 
     the United States Congress to acknowledge the difference 
     between the hallucinogenic drug know as marijuana and the 
     agricultural crop known as industrial hemp; to acknowledge 
     that allowing and encouraging farmers to produce industrial 
     hemp will improve the balance of trade by promoting domestic 
     sources of industrial hemp; and to assist United States' 
     producers by clearly authorizing the commercial production of 
     industrial hemp and by being the leading advocate for the 
     industrial hemp industry; and be it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
     delivered to the President pro tempore of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the chairmen of the Agriculture Committees 
     of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, the 
     United States Secretary of Agriculture, and each member of 
     the Illinois congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-603. A resolution adopted by the House of the 
     Legislature of the State of Louisiana relative to the 
     preservation of liberty; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                        House Resolution No. 33

       Whereas, the Preamble to the Constitution of the United 
     States of America, which became effective on March 4, 1789, 
     declares that the people of the United States have 
     established that constitution with the stated purposes of 
     forming a more perfect union, establishing justice, insuring 
     domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, 
     promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of 
     liberty; and
       Whereas, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States of America, which became effective on December 
     15, 1791, provides, in part, that ``the right of the people 
     to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, 
     against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
     violated . . .''; and
       Whereas, on November 19, 1863, in his Address of 
     Gettysburg, President Abaham Lincoln noted that our nation 
     was conceived in liberty and spoke of the need for those who 
     heard his words to resolve ``. . . that this nation, under 
     God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government 
     of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not 
     perish from the earth''; and
       Whereas, these noble and lofty ideals, upon which our 
     nation was founded and preserved, of liberty and government 
     for the people, appear to be in danger as the echoes of the 
     increasing raids against the citizens of our country, the 
     latest of which was in Miami, reverberate across our land; 
     and
       Whereas, our nation must always be prepared to do the 
     things which are necessary to preserve our liberty, but in 
     preserving the liberty of the nation, the rights of the 
     individuals must also be preserved; and
       Whereas, certain actions by certain agents of our federal 
     government have risen to an unhealthy fear of our government 
     among the citizens of our nation; and
       Whereas, the United States Congress should take the lead in 
     preserving the liberties of our nation as a whole and the 
     liberties of the individual citizens of our nation: 
     Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Louisiana House of Representatives does 
     hereby memorialize the United States Congress to take such 
     steps as are necessary to preserve the liberties of our 
     nation as a whole and the liberties of the individual 
     citizens of our nation; be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this Resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the presiding officer of each house of the 
     United States Congress and to each member of the Louisiana 
     delegation of the United States Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-604. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly of 
     the State of New Jersey relative to the Voting Rights Act of 
     1965; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                       Assembly Resolution No. 90

       Whereas, On August 6, 1965, United States President Lyndon 
     B. Johnson signed the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) into 
     law; and
       Whereas, The purpose of this landmark legislation was to 
     ensure that the voting rights of African-American citizens, 
     as guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, to 
     the United States Constitution, are preserved and strongly 
     enforced; and
       Whereas, Prior to the passage of the VRA, many areas of the 
     United States were in the grip of oppressive state laws that 
     purposely hindered and abridged the right of African-
     Americans to register and vote by imposing demeaning tests 
     and devices that kept them away from the polls on election 
     day and permitted white voters to have control over the 
     electoral process and the candidates for elective office; and
       Whereas, For example, before the passage of the VRA, only 
     29 percent of African-Americans were registered to vote in 
     Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, 
     South Carolina and Virginia compared over 73.4 percent of 
     whites, and within two years after the passage of the law, 
     more than 52 percent of African Americans were registered to 
     vote in those states; and
       Whereas, When the VRA was adopted, Section 4 of the law 
     abolished literacy tests and all other similar devices used 
     to discriminate against minority voters; and
       Whereas, Section 5 of the law was designed to ensure that 
     minority voters would have the opportunity to register to 
     vote and fully participate in this county's electoral process 
     free of discrimination; and
       Whereas, Section 5 mandated that any change in election law 
     in states that had a history of electoral discrimination--
     including something as small as moving a polling place--must 
     be precleared, either through the federal Department of 
     Justice or through the federal district court in the District 
     of Columbia, to ensure that the change did not abridge 
     minority voting rights; and
       Whereas, In the wake of the passage of the VRA, the federal 
     Department of Justice has used it to stop or remove a large 
     number of the discriminatory practices that diluted the 
     voting strength of African-Americans or prevented them from 
     achieving electoral victories; and
       Whereas, These practice include racial gerrymandering--
     drawing Congressional or legislative district boundaries with 
     race as the primary consideration--and the use of at-large 
     elections in counties and municipalities, whereby 
     representatives are elected from the political subdivision as 
     a whole, instead of from districts within it, so that a 
     majority of white voters always defeat African-Americans 
     candidates; and
       Whereas, New Jersey has long had an interest in ensuring 
     that African-Americans are permitted to exercise their 
     constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote, as evidenced by 
     the honor given to Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, the 
     first African-American to vote in the United States after the 
     passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States 
     Constitution in March 1870; and
       Whereas, Given that the civil rights community believes 
     that the VRA has allowed African-Americans in this country to 
     fully exercise their right to vote and have an important role 
     in this country's democratic process, it is fitting and 
     proper for this State to acknowledge the year 2000 as the 
     35th anniversary of the VRA; now, therefore be it
       Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New 
     Jersey:
       1. This House acknowledges the year 2000 as the 35th 
     anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
       2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by 
     the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk 
     thereof, shall be transmitted to every presiding officer of 
     the Congress of the United States, every member thereof 
     elected from this State and to the executive officers of the 
     largest civil rights organizations in the United States and 
     this State.
                                  ____

       POM-605. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly of 
     the State of New Jersey relative to the proposed ``Justice 
     for Holocaust Survivors Act''; to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary.

                       Assembly Resolution No. 58

       Whereas, During the tragic events we now call the 
     Holocaust, in which the Nazi dictatorship in Germany 
     illegally expropriated private property and murdered six 
     million Jews as part of a systematic program of genocide; and
       Whereas, Five million others were also murdered by the 
     Nazis; and
       Whereas, There are thousands of Holocaust survivors living 
     in the United States who are being denied restitution for 
     their pain and suffering during the Holocaust; and
       Whereas, This situation affects many survivors who have 
     come to the United States during the last 50 years, as well 
     as thousands of survivors from the former Union of Soviet 
     Socialist Republics who have arrived here during the last 
     decade and who have experienced a disproportionate refusal 
     rate by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against 
     Germany; and
       Whereas, Many Holocaust survivors are indigent and in need 
     of financial assistance; and
       Whereas, Current United States law precludes lawsuits 
     against sovereign governments such as the Federal Republic of 
     Germany; and
       Whereas, H.R. 271 of 1999, the Justice for Holocaust 
     Survivors Act, would amend the federal Foreign Sovereigns 
     Immunity Act to permit U.S. citizens who are victims of the 
     Holocaust, whether or not they were citizens of the United 
     States during World War II, to sue the Federal Republic of 
     Germany for compensation in U.S. courts; now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New 
     Jersey:
       1. The President and the Congress of the United States are 
     respectfully memorialized

[[Page 15447]]

     to enact H.R. 271 of 1999, the Justice for Holocaust 
     Survivors Act, which would permit U.S. citizens who are 
     victims of the Holocaust, whether or not they were U.S. 
     citizens during World War II, to sue the Federal Republic of 
     Germany for compensation in U.S. courts of law.
       2. A copy of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the 
     General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be 
     transmitted to the President of the United States, the 
     President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives and every member of 
     Congress elected from this State.
                                  ____

       POM-606. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Virginia relative to voluntary school 
     prayer; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     House Joint Resolution No. 71

       Whereas, the framers of the Constitution, recognizing free 
     exercise of religion as an unalienable right, secured its 
     protection with the First Amendment of the Constitution of 
     the United States; and
       Whereas, statements of belief in a Supreme Power and the 
     virtue of seeking strength and protection from that Power are 
     prevalent throughout our national history; and
       Whereas, today there are numerous signs of harmonious 
     church/state coexistence, including organized prayer at every 
     Congressional session, the use of the Bible while 
     administering the oath of office, and the imprinting of ``In 
     God we trust'' on the national currency; and
       Whereas, prayer in public schools existed for nearly 200 
     years before the United States Supreme Court ruled in Engel 
     v. Vitale that a government-composed nondenominational 
     ``Regents'' prayer recited by students was unconstitutional 
     as a violation of the establishment of the religion clause of 
     the First Amendment; and
       Whereas, this decision has severely constrained the 
     exercise of religious freedom guaranteed by the First 
     Amendment; and
       Whereas, in the aftermath of the recent tragic events at 
     Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and Westside 
     Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, many believe that 
     providing for school prayer would help to prevent these 
     incomprehensible acts of violence from recurring at other 
     schools; and
       Whereas, several resolutions have been introduced during 
     the 106th Congress, proposing an amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States to allow for individual or 
     group prayer in public schools and other public institutions; 
     and
       Whereas, the proposed amendments would not prescribe the 
     content of the prayer, endorse one religion over another, or 
     require any person to participate in prayer; and
       Whereas, voluntary prayer is a beneficial practice that 
     provides the opportunity for free expression of religion and 
     rebuilding a moral emphasis needed in a country troubled by 
     outbreaks of unprecedented school violence; now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the House of delegates, the Senate concurring, 
     That the Congress of the United States be urged to propose an 
     amendment to the Constitution of the United States to allow 
     for voluntary school prayer; and, be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates 
     transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the 
     House of Representatives, the President of the United States 
     Senate, and the members of the Virginia Congressional 
     Delegation in order that they may be apprised of the sense of 
     the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.

                          ____________________