[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19610-19612]
[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-242. A concurrent resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the Legislature of the State of Hawaii 
     relative to Title IX; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
     Labor, and Pensions.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 31

       Whereas, Title IX, recently renamed the Patsy Takemoto Mink 
     Equal Opportunity in Education Act, was adopted in 1972 to 
     prohibit gender discrimination in programs that receive 
     federal funds; and
       Whereas, Title IX's impact on athletics has led to a vast 
     increase in girls' participation in high school athletics, 
     college athletics, and women's professional athletics; and
       Whereas, in 1972, fewer than thirty-two thousand women 
     competed in intercollegiate athletics, women received only 
     two percent of schools' athletic budgets, and athletic 
     scholarships for women were nonexistent; and
       Whereas, today, thanks to the doors opened by Title IX, 
     high school female sports participation has increased eight 
     hundred percent, from three hundred thousand in 1971 to 
     2,800,000 in 2002; and
       Whereas, the number of college women participating in 
     competitive athletics is nearly five times as great as it was 
     before Title IX; and
       Whereas, while sports are the most visible benefit of Title 
     IX, women's gains in college-level academics have been 
     substantial; and
       Whereas, Title IX's antidiscrimination provisions apply to 
     every single aspect of education, including admissions and 
     recruitment, comparable facilities, access to course 
     offerings, access to schools of vocational education, 
     counseling and counseling materials, financial assistance, 
     student health and insurance benefits and services, housing, 
     marital and parental status of students, physical education 
     and athletics, education programs and activities, and 
     employment, providing a fair and equal benefit for a 
     generation of women; and
       Whereas, girls and women who attended schools prior to 
     Title IX experienced sex-segregated classes, denial of 
     admissions to certain vocational education classes, lack of 
     access to advanced mathematics and science courses, and overt 
     discrimination in medical schools and other predominantly 
     male institutions; and
       Whereas, after Title IX women in post-secondary education 
     shot up dramatically, rising from forty-four percent of all 
     undergraduates in 1972 to fifty-six percent of all 
     undergraduates today; and
       Whereas, since the inception of Title IX, the amount of 
     scholarship money for women has increased from $100,000 in 
     1972 to $179 million in 1997; and
       Whereas, women made significant jumps in areas 
     traditionally thought of as male, such as engineering, 
     medicine, and law: in 1970 women earned 0.7 percent of 
     bachelor's degrees in engineering while today women earn 20 
     percent of these degrees; and in 1972, women received only 9 
     percent of all medical degrees and 7 percent of all law 
     degrees, whereas in 1996, women received 41 percent of all 
     medical degrees and 44 percent of all law degrees, and
       Whereas, Title IX has also benefited men and boys by 
     eliminating the barriers and stereotypes that limit the 
     opportunities and choices of both sexes; and
       Whereas, the Bush administration has convened a Commission 
     on Opportunity in Athletics to consider changes to Title IX; 
     and
       Whereas, this controversial commission has made 
     recommendations that would seriously dilute the power of 
     Title IX; and
       Whereas, proponents of Title IX charge that the commission 
     is an attempt to weaken the law after repeated court 
     challenges over the past thirty years have failed; and
       Whereas, Title IX is an Act of Congress and should not be 
     subject to modification by an executive branch commission; 
     and
       Whereas, the people of Hawaii have experienced the great 
     benefits of Title IX, the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal 
     Opportunity in Education Act, and strongly support its full 
     implementation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-
     second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 
     2003, the Senate concurring, That the State of Hawaii urges 
     Congress to maintain Title IX, the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal 
     Opportunity in Education Act, in its original form and to 
     take a firm stand opposing any recommendations that would 
     weaken it; and be it further
       Resolved, That certified copies of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States, the Secretary of Education of the United States, 
     President of the Senate of the United States Congress, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States 
     Congress, and the members of Hawaii's congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-243. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Kentucky relative to a constitutional 
     amendment allowing the exercise of religion in public places; 
     to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                            Joint Resolution

       Whereas, the Ten Commandments appear over the bench where 
     the United States Supreme Court Justices sit, thus showing 
     the source from whence our laws and the government power of 
     the state are derived; and
       Whereas, America's colonial governments adopted the Ten 
     Commandments not as an object of worship or an icon, but as 
     the basis for their civil and criminal law, as illustrated on 
     April 3, 1644, when the New Haven Colony Charter was adopted 
     establishing that: ``the judicial laws of God, as they were 
     delivered to Moses be a rule to all courts in this 
     jurisdiction''; and
       Whereas, when signing the Declaration of Independence on 
     August 2, 1776, Samuel Adams, the ``Father of the 
     Revolution'' emphasized its Biblical presuppositions: ``We 
     have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to 
     be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the 
     setting of the sun, let His kingdom come''; and
       Whereas, on August 20, 1789, Congressman Fisher Ames from 
     Massachusetts proposed the wording of the First Amendment 
     which was adopted by the House of Representatives in the 
     first session of the Congress of the United States; and his 
     writings clearly demonstrate that the Framers never intended 
     the First Amendment to be so interpreted as to remove the 
     Bible from the public buildings: ``We are spending less time 
     in the classroom on the Bible which should be the principal 
     text in our schools . . .''; and
       Whereas, in a letter dated August 18, 1790, President 
     George Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in 
     Newport, Rhode Island, ``All possess alike liberty if 
     conscience and immunities of citizenship . . . May the 
     children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, 
     continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other 
     inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his 
     own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him 
     afraid''; and
       Whereas, in his ``Farewell Address of September 19, 1796, 
     George Washington pointed out the connection between the 
     faith of the Nation and its political prosperity when he 
     declared. ``Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to 
     political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable 
     supports . . .'', and
       Whereas, acknowledging the Bible as an integral part of the 
     fabric of our society on

[[Page 19611]]

     September 11, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a 
     resolution to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland and Scotland, 
     as the colonies were at war with England; and
       Whereas, On May 29, 1845, the day before his death, 
     President Andrew Jackson stated: ``My lamp of life is nearly 
     out, and the last glimmer has come. I am ready to depart when 
     called. The Bible is true. The principles and statutes of the 
     Holy Book have been the rule of my life, and I have tried to 
     conform to its spirit as nearly as possible. Upon that scared 
     volume I rest my hope for eternal salvation through the 
     merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus 
     Christ''; and
       Whereas, President John Quincy Adams, the sixth President 
     of the United States, wrote concerning the civil function of 
     the Mosaic law. ``The law given from Sinai was a civil and 
     municipal as well as a moral and religious code: It contained 
     many statutes . . . of universal application--laws essential 
     to the existence of men in society and most of which have 
     been enacted by every nation which ever professed any code of 
     laws''; and
       Whereas, in a June, 1778 letter to her son, John Quincy 
     Adams, Abigail Adams reinforced noble values and a sense of 
     ultimate accountability to God which she believed to be the 
     foundation of true greatness: ``Great learning and superior 
     abilities, should you ever possess them, will be of little 
     value and small estimation, unless virtue, honor, truth, and 
     integrity are added to them. Adhere to those religious 
     sentiments and principles which were early instilled into 
     your mind, and remember that you are accountable to your 
     Maker for all your words and actions''; and
       Whereas, on February 29, 1892, the United States Supreme 
     Court, in a unanimous decision, which has never been 
     overruled, cited sixty-six organic authorities which show the 
     Bible's singular influence on America: ``There is no 
     dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal 
     language pervading them all having one meaning: they affirm 
     and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not 
     individual sayings, declarations of private persons; they are 
     organic utterances; they speak the voice of the entire group. 
     These authorities were collected to support the historical 
     conclusion that `no purpose of action against religion can be 
     imputed to any legislation, state or nation, because this is 
     a religious people. This is historically true. From the 
     discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a 
     single voice making this affirmation . . . we find everywhere 
     a clear recognition of the same truth . . . this is a 
     Christian nation'''; and
       Whereas, on May 7, 1911, President Woodrow Wilson, 
     addressing the Tercentenary Celebration of the Translation of 
     the Bible into the English language, stated, ``Moreover, the 
     Bible does what is so invaluable in human life--it classifies 
     moral values. It apprises us that men are not judged 
     according to their wits, but according to their characters--
     that the last of every man's reputation is his truthfulness, 
     his squaring his conduct with the standards that he knew to 
     be the standards of purity and rectitude. How many a man we 
     appraise, ladies and gentlemen, as great today whom we do not 
     admire as noble! A man may have great power and small 
     character''; and ``The bible has had a critical impact upon 
     the development of Western civilization. Western literature, 
     art and music are filled with images and ideas that can be 
     traced to its pages. More important, our moral tradition has 
     been shaped by the laws and teachings it contains. It was a 
     biblical view of man--one affirming the dignity and worth of 
     the human person, made in the image of our Creator--that 
     inspired the principles upon which the United States is 
     founded. President Jackson called the Bible `the rock on 
     which our republic rests' because he knew that it shaped the 
     Founding Fathers' concept of individual liberty and their 
     vision of a free and just society. The Bible has not only 
     influenced the development of our Nation's values and 
     institutions, but also enriched the daily lives of millions 
     of men and women who have looked to it for comfort, hope and 
     guidance. On the American frontier, the Bible was often the 
     only book a family owned. For those pioneers living far from 
     any church or school, it served both as a source of religious 
     instruction and as the primary text from which children 
     learned to read. The historical speeches of Abraham Lincoln 
     and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., provide compelling evidence 
     of the role Scripture played in shaping the struggle against 
     slavery and discrimination. Today the Bible continues to give 
     courage and direction to those who seek truth and 
     righteousness. In recognizing its enduring value, we recall 
     the words of the prophet Isaiah, who declared `The grass 
     withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall 
     stand forever.' Containing revelations of God's intervention 
     in human history, the Bible offers moving testimony to His 
     love for mankind. Treasuring the Bible as a source of 
     knowledge and inspiration, President Abraham Lincoln called 
     this Great Book `the best gift God has given to man.' 
     President Lincoln believed that the Bible not only reveals 
     the infinite goodness of our Creator, but also reminds us of 
     our worth as individuals and our responsibilities toward one 
     another''; and
       Whereas, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights states, 
     ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
     religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 
     abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the 
     right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition 
     the Government for a redress of grievances''; and
       Whereas, recent court rulings have prevented the displaying 
     of the Ten Commandments and have been the cause of the 
     removal of these documents from public buildings; and
       Whereas, eighty percent of the people are in favor of 
     displaying the Ten Commandments in public places; and
       Whereas, the General Assembly finds the Ten Commandments to 
     be the precedent legal code of the Commonwealth which has 
     provided the foundation for many of the civil and criminal 
     statutes enacted into law throughout the history of the 
     Commonwealth; and
       Whereas, under Article V of the Constitution of the United 
     States, Amendments to said Constitution may be proposed by 
     the United States Congress whenever two-thirds of both 
     chambers deem it necessary: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
     Kentucky:
       Section 1. The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
     Kentucky, a majority of all members of the chambers voting 
     separately to concur herein, hereby petitions the United 
     States Congress to propose an Amendment to the Constitution 
     of the United States, for submission to the several States 
     for ratification, to allow the people of the United States 
     and the several States the freedom to exercise their religion 
     in public places.
       Section 2. The text of the proposed Amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States should read substantially 
     as follows:
       ``Nothing in the Constitution shall be construed to 
     prohibit or otherwise limit the practice of individual or 
     group prayer, the reading of the posting of the Ten 
     Commandments, the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance, and 
     the display of the motto `In God We Trust' or similar phrases 
     from historical documents referencing God in any public 
     place, including a school; nor shall it require any person to 
     join in prayer or other religious activity.''
       Section 3. Certified copies of this joint resolution shall 
     be transmitted by the Secretary of State to the Administrator 
     of General Services of the United States, to the President of 
     the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives of the United States, to each member of the 
     Commonwealth's delegation to the Congress of the United 
     States, and to the presiding officer of each house of each 
     state legislature of the several States.
                                  ____

       POM-244. A resolution adopted by the Evanston City Council 
     of Cook County of the State of Illinois relative to a repeal 
     of the USA Patriot Act; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
                                  ____

       POM-245. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Hawaii relative to improving benefits for 
     Filipino Veterans of World War II; to the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 76

       Whereas, on February 11, 2003, Representative Neil 
     Abercrombie, along with other members, introduced H.R. 664 in 
     the United States House of Representatives, which bill was 
     then referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs; and
       Whereas, H.R. 664 proposes to amend title 38 of the United 
     States Code, to improve benefits for Filipino veterans of 
     World War II and for the surviving spouses of those veterans; 
     and
       Whereas, H.R. 664 would mandate the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs to provide hospital and nursing home care and medical 
     services for service-connected disabilities for any Filipino 
     World War II veteran who resides in the United States and is 
     a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident alien; 
     and
       Whereas, H.R. 664 would further increase the rate of 
     payment of dependency and indemnity compensation of surviving 
     spouses of certain Filipino veterans; and
       Whereas, H.R. 664 would also increase the rate of payment 
     of compensation benefits and burial benefits to certain 
     Filipino veterans designated in title 38 United States Code 
     section 107(b) and referred to as New Philippine Scouts: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-
     second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 
     2003, the Senate concurring, That the United States Congress 
     is respectfully urged to support the passage of H.R. 664, to 
     improve benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II and 
     the surviving spouses of those veterans; and be it further
       Resolved, That certified copies of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the members of Hawaii's congressional 
     delegation, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

[[Page 19612]]

     
                                  ____
       POM-246. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Hawaii relative to improving benefits for 
     Filipino veterans for World War II; to the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 77

       Whereas, on January 7, 2003, Senator Daniel K. Inouye 
     introduced S. 68 in the United States Senate, which bill was 
     read twice and then referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs; and
       Whereas, S. 68 proposes to amend title 38 of the United 
     States Code, to improve benefits for Filipino veterans of 
     World War II and for the surviving spouses of those veterans; 
     and
       Whereas, S. 68 would increase the rate of payment of 
     compensation benefits to certain Filipino veterans, 
     designated in title 38 United States Code section 107(b) and 
     referred to as New Philippine Scouts, who reside in the 
     United States and are United States citizens or lawful 
     permanent resident aliens; and
       Whereas, S. 68 would further increase the rate of payment 
     of dependency and indemnity compensation of surviving spouses 
     of certain Filipino veterans; and
       Whereas, S. 68 would further make eligible for full 
     disability pensions certain Filipino veterans who reside in 
     the United States and are United States citizens or lawful 
     permanent resident aliens; and
       Whereas, S. 68 would further mandate the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs to provide hospital and nursing home care 
     and medical services for service-connected disabilities for 
     any Filipino World War II veteran who resides in the United 
     States and is a United States citizen or lawful permanent 
     resident alien; and
       Whereas, S. 68 would further require the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs to furnish care and services to all Filipino 
     World War II veterans for service-connected disabilities and 
     nonservice-connected disabilities residing in the Republic of 
     the Philippines on an outpatient basis at the Manila VA 
     Outpatient Clinc; Now therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-
     second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 
     2003, the Senate concurring, That the United States Congress 
     is respectfully urged to support the passage of S. 68 to 
     improve benefits for certain Filipino veterans of World War 
     II; and be it further
       Resolved, That certified copies of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the members of the Hawaii congressional 
     delegation, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

                          ____________________