[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12784-12785]
[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-124. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to pass the New 
     Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 
     2009 (H.R. 1835 and S. 1408); to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 14

       To memorialize the United States Congress to take necessary 
     actions to promptly consider and pass the New Alternative 
     Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009 (H.R. 
     1835 and S. 1408) and to urge each member of the Louisiana 
     congressional delegation to express their support for the Act 
     by becoming a cosponsor.
       Whereas, located in Desoto Parish, Louisiana, the 
     Haynesville Shale is the largest natural gas field in the 
     continental United States; and
       Whereas, the Haynesville Shale holds approximately two 
     hundred and fifty-one trillion cubic feet of recoverable 
     natural gas; and
       Whereas, drilling and recovery technology allows natural 
     gas to be utilized in an environmentally safe and 
     economically viable manner; and
       Whereas, domestic gas is the only resource that can replace 
     imported gasoline and diesel as a transportation fuel; and
       Whereas, Congress is currently considering the New 
     Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (H.R. 
     1835 and S. 1408) which provides incentives to move cars and 
     light trucks as well as heavy-duty trucks from imported 
     gasoline or diesel to domestic natural gas and encourages 
     development of engines that reduce emissions, improve 
     performance and efficiency, and lower cost: Therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes 
     the United States Congress to take such actions as are 
     necessary to promptly consider and pass the New Alternative 
     Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009 (H.R. 
     1835 and S. 1408) and to urge each member of the Louisiana 
     congressional delegation to express their support for the Act 
     by becoming a cosponsor; 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.
                                  ____

       POM-125. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to consider 
     recommendations to amend the Stafford Act regarding disaster 
     recovery in Louisiana; to the Committee on Homeland Security 
     and Governmental Affairs.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 96

       To memorialize the Congress of the United States to 
     consider recommendations to amend the Stafford Act regarding 
     disaster recovery for Louisiana.
       Whereas, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and subsequent 
     national disasters has brought extensive criticism of the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
     Act (``Stafford Act'') as an inadequate and ineffective legal 
     standard for federal response to a national disaster that 
     causes population displacement and significant damage to 
     property and infrastructure, and that overwhelms the 
     capacities of state and local governments to achieve 
     recovery; and
       Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to the 
     provisions of the Stafford Act which do not require any 
     action remotely approaching a comprehensive, centralized, and 
     integrated disaster mitigation, response, and recovery 
     program with massive resources that can only be provided by 
     the federal government; and
       Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to the 
     provisions of the Stafford Act which delegate the 
     responsibility for recovery to state governments and 
     establish a bureaucratic process for state requests for 
     federal assistance, which have led to confusion and inaction, 
     with essential assistance delayed and in many instances pleas 
     for help being ignored; and

[[Page 12785]]

       Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to the 
     provisions of the Stafford Act which create neither an 
     individual right to assistance nor a process for governmental 
     accountability, thereby leaving people with few avenues of 
     legal recourse for disaster relief; and
       Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to provisions 
     in the Stafford Act that do not address the specific material 
     and humanitarian needs of people struggling to restore their 
     lives and communities; and
       Whereas, the Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps (``KCLC'') 
     has embarked on a course of developing policy recommendations 
     for amending the Stafford Act to achieve effective disaster 
     mitigation, response, and recovery; and
       Whereas, the KCLC report, What It Takes to Rebuild a 
     Village after a Disaster: Stories from Internally Displaced 
     Children and Families of Hurricane Katrina (July 2007), 
     presents the recommendations for a national disaster standard 
     that support the fair and equitable restoration of lives and 
     communities harmed by a national disaster; and
       Whereas, the KCLC, U.S. Conference of Mayors, United States 
     Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Internal Displacement 
     Project of Brookings Institution make recommendations that 
     can support unified work to improve the current legal 
     standard for addressing the country's response to a national 
     disaster: Therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the Congress of the United States to consider 
     recommendations to amend the Stafford Act regarding disaster 
     recovery in Louisiana; 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-l26. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to remove the 
     financial eligibility requirements for patients stricken with 
     amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be approved to receive 
     Medicaid; to the Committee on Finance.

                  Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 23

       To memorialize the Congress of the United States to remove 
     the financial eligibility requirements for patients stricken 
     with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be approved to receive 
     Medicaid.
       Whereas, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is better 
     known as ``Lou Gehrig's disease''; and
       Whereas, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease 
     characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the lower 
     motor neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horns of the 
     spinal cord; and
       Whereas, the initial symptom of ALS is weakness of skeletal 
     muscles, especially those of the extremities; and
       Whereas, as ALS progresses, the patient experiences 
     difficulty in swallowing, talking, and breathing; and
       Whereas, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy, and the 
     patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and
       Whereas, research indicates that military veterans are at a 
     fifty percent greater risk of developing ALS than those who 
     have not served in the military; and
       Whereas, ALS does not affect a patient's mental capacity, 
     so that the patient remains alert and aware of his loss of 
     motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued 
     deterioration and death; and
       Whereas, on average, patients diagnosed with ALS only 
     survive two to five years from the time of diagnosis; and
       Whereas, ALS has no known cause, means of prevention, or 
     cure; and
       Whereas, there can be significant costs for medical care, 
     equipment, and home health caregiving later in the disease; 
     and
       Whereas, many families deplete their life savings 
     attempting to pay for the care of their loved ones; and
       Whereas, the financial burden associated with ALS for 
     American families is enormous: Therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes 
     the Congress of the United States to remove the financial 
     eligibility requirements for patients stricken with 
     amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be approved to receive 
     Medicaid; 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-l27. A joint resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Colorado recognizing the 
     bravery and sacrifice of the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo and 
     designating January 23rd each year as ``U.S.S. Pueblo Day''; 
     to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                   House Joint Resolution No. 10-1007

       Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo was originally launched as a 
     United States Army cargo ship in 1944 but was transferred to 
     the United States Navy and renamed the U.S.S. Pueblo in 1966; 
     and
       Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo was named for the city of 
     Pueblo, Colorado, and the county of Pueblo, Colorado, and was 
     the third ship in the naval fleet to bear the name Pueblo; 
     and
       Whereas, After leaving Japan in early January 1968 on an 
     intelligence mission, the U.S.S. Pueblo was attacked by the 
     North Korean military on January 23, 1968; and
       Whereas, According to United States Naval authorities and 
     the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo, the ship was in international 
     waters at the time of the attack; and
       Whereas, One crew member of the U.S.S. Pueblo was killed 
     during the attack, and eighty crew members and two civilian 
     oceanographers were captured and held for eleven months by 
     the North Korean government; and
       Whereas, This year marks the forty-second anniversary of 
     North Korea's attack on the U.S.S. Pueblo and her crew; and
       Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo is still in commission in the 
     United States Navy, but continues to be held by the North 
     Korean government and is currently a museum in Pyongyang, 
     North Korea: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-
     seventh General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate 
     concurring herein:
       (1) That we, the members of the General Assembly, recognize 
     the bravery and sacrifice of the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo; 
     and
       (2) That we take pride in the fact that the U.S.S. Pueblo 
     bears the name of a city and a county in Colorado, and, 
     therefore, the citizens of Colorado should be aware of the 
     incident that occurred with the U.S.S. Pueblo forty-two years 
     ago; and
       (3) That we hereby designate January 23 each year as 
     ``U.S.S. Pueblo Day'' as a day to remember and honor the 
     brave crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to 
     President Barack Obama, Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., President 
     Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Robert C. Byrd, 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy 
     Pelosi, and the members of Colorado's congressional 
     delegation.

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