[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5342-5343]
[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-295. A resolution adopted by the Board of County 
     Commissioners of Miami-Dade County of the State of Florida 
     urging the Florida Legislature to strengthen mortgage fraud 
     laws; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
     Affairs.
        POM-296. A resolution adopted by the Board of County 
     Commissioners of Miami-Dade County of the State of Florida 
     urging the Florida Legislature to include venture capital 
     firms that are developing alternative and renewable energy 
     sources in the Florida Opportunity Fund; to the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources.
        POM-297. A resolution adopted by the Board of 
     Commissioners of Ferry County of the State of Washington 
     relative to federal lands in the County; to the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources.
        POM-298. A resolution adopted by the Board of County 
     Commissioners of Miami-Dade County of the State of Florida 
     urging the Florida Legislature to designate a portion of 
     State Road 934 as ``Rev. Dr. CP. Preston, Jr. Street''; to 
     the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
        POM-299. A petition from a nongovernmental entity relative 
     to Iranian Kurdish refugees currently residing in a camp 
     between the Jordan and Iraq border; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.
        POM-300. A resolution transmitted by a private citizen 
     relative to the Uintah Treaty; to the Committee on Indian 
     Affairs.
        POM-301. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging Congress to 
     enact legislation to change the computation of the State 
     Federal Medical Assistance Percentage; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 243

       Whereas, the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) 
     determines the distribution of federal matching funds for 
     medical assistance programs, including Medicaid. The United 
     States Department of Health and Human Services calculates the 
     FMAP annually for each state. The formula for calculating the 
     FMAP is determined by a state's per capita income as 
     calculated by the United States Department of Commerce. In 
     2003, the state lost about $160 million in federal Medicaid 
     funds when General Motors made a one-time $16 billion payment 
     to its underfunded pension plan. This one-time payment was 
     included and skewed the calculation of the state's per capita 
     income; and
       Whereas, recent contract negotiations between three 
     domestic automakers and the UAW will generate large one-time 
     payments beginning in 2010 to a Volunteer Employee Benefits 
     Association (VEBA) trust fund to be administered by the 
     union. These payments will be similar in character to the 
     payment made by General Motors for underfunded pension 
     liabilities that skewed the FMAP calculation of state per 
     capita income in 2003; and
       Whereas, State and local governments are encouraged to 
     prefund their retiree health benefits as a result of the 
     Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) 45 reporting 
     requirement. These payments will be similar in character to 
     the General Motors one-time payment for underfunded pension 
     liabilities that skewed the FMAP calculation of state per 
     capita income; and
       Whereas, the combined contributions of the automobile 
     companies will result in over $60 billion that will overstate 
     the state's personal income by billions of dollars. The 
     prefunding of public employee retirement by state and local 
     governments will result in an exponential increase in this 
     overstatement. This would place the state at risk of a 
     decline in its FMAP for the three years that these 
     contributions affect personal income calculations; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we 
     memorialize Congress to enact legislation to change the 
     computing of state Federal Medical Assistance Percentage by

[[Page 5343]]

     disregarding employer contributions toward retiree health 
     care in calculating Medicaid; 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-302. A concurrent resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to 
     eliminate provisions of law which reduce social security 
     benefits for those receiving benefits from government 
     retirement systems; to the Committee on Finance.

                    House Concurrent Resolution No. 7

        Whereas, the Congress of the United States has enacted 
     both the Government Pension Offset (GPO), reducing the 
     spousal and survivor social security benefit, and the 
     Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), reducing the earned 
     social security benefit for persons who also receive federal, 
     state, or local retirement; and
        Whereas, the intent of Congress in enacting the GPO and 
     the WEP provisions was to address concerns that a public 
     employee who had worked primarily in federal, state, and 
     local government employment might receive a public pension in 
     addition to the same social security benefit as a worker who 
     had worked only in employment covered by social security 
     throughout his career; and
        Whereas, the purpose of Congress in enacting these 
     reduction provisions was to provide a disincentive for public 
     employees to receive two pensions; and
        Whereas, the GPO negatively affects a spouse or survivor 
     receiving federal, state, or local government retirement 
     benefits who would also be entitled to a social security 
     benefit earned by a spouse; and
        Whereas, the GPO formula reduces the spousal or survivor 
     social security benefit by two-thirds of the amount of the 
     federal, state, or local government retirement benefit 
     received by the spouse or survivor, in many cases completely 
     eliminating the social security benefit; and
        Whereas, the WEP applies to those persons who have earned 
     federal, state, or local government retirement benefits, in 
     addition to working in covered employment and paying into the 
     social security system; and
        Whereas, the WEP reduces the earned social security 
     benefit using an averaged indexed monthly earnings formula 
     and may reduce social security benefits for such persons by 
     as much as one-half of the uncovered public retirement 
     benefits earned; and
        Whereas, because of these calculation characteristics, the 
     GPO and WEP have a disproportionately negative effect on 
     employees working in lower-wage government jobs; and
        Whereas, Louisiana is making every effort to improve the 
     quality of life of its citizens and to encourage them to live 
     here lifelong. Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the Congress of the United States to review the 
     GPO and WEP social security benefit reductions and to 
     consider eliminating them. 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.

                          ____________________