[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10132-10134]
[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-48. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of New Mexico requesting Congress allow for payments 
     from both the survivor benefit plan and the dependency and 
     indemnity compensation; to the Committee on Armed Services.

                       House Joint Memorial No. 1

       Whereas, the legislature recognizes the pain and suffering 
     of military widows and widowers whose spouses have died on 
     the battlefield or through other service to the United States 
     of America; and
       Whereas, this nation has an obligation to care for its 
     military widows and widowers; and
       Whereas, military widows and widowers are unfairly deprived 
     of monetary benefits from the survivor benefit plan, which 
     their military spouses purchased and earned, when they 
     receive dependency and indemnity compensation payments from 
     the federal department of veterans affairs; and
       Whereas, survivor benefit plan payments are reduced by the 
     amount of the payments received from the dependency and 
     indemnity compensation; and
       Whereas, that reduction does not apply to veterans or 
     military retirees employed as federal government civil 
     servants enrolled in the civil service survivor benefit plan; 
     and
       Whereas, often the dependency and indemnity compensation 
     payment completely offsets the survivor benefit plan payment; 
     and
       Whereas, many military widows and widowers are elderly and 
     live on a fixed income and are in need of payments from both 
     the survivor benefit plan and the dependency and indemnity 
     compensation; and
       Whereas, a federal court of appeals decision will require 
     the department of defense to eliminate the dependency and 
     indemnity compensation offset for widows and widowers who 
     remarry at or after the age of fifty-seven; and
       Whereas, President Abraham Lincoln committed this nation 
     ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his 
     widow and his orphan'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico, 
     That the United States congress be requested to allow for 
     payments from both the survivor benefit plan and the 
     dependency and indemnity compensation; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to 
     the president of the United States, the speaker of the United 
     States house of representatives, the president of the United 
     States Senate and the New Mexico congressional delegation.

[[Page 10133]]

     
                                  ____
       POM-49. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of New Mexico requesting Congress expedite the passage 
     of legislation and appropriations to enact the necessary 
     funding for the reclamation of abandoned uranium mines and 
     the remediation of uranium mill tailings; to the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources.

                             House Memorial

       Whereas, the Grants mineral belt, situated between Gallup 
     and the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, contains one of the 
     world's richest uranium deposits; and
       Whereas, dating back to the 1940s, states such as New 
     Mexico mined uranium for the benefit of the atomic energy 
     commission and the federal government's nuclear weapons 
     program; and
       Whereas, beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, private 
     companies began extensive exploration, mining and milling 
     activities related to the uranium deposits located in the 
     Grants mineral belt on private, state, federal and tribal 
     lands; and
       Whereas, these activities continued through the 1990s, 
     resulting in the mining and milling of more than one hundred 
     seventy-five thousand tons of uranium ore from lands located 
     in New Mexico; and
       Whereas, unremediated contamination resulting from past 
     uranium exploration, mining and milling activities 
     constitutes a continuing threat to the health and well-being 
     of residents of northwestern New Mexico; and
       Whereas, state and federal studies have repeatedly shown 
     that surface water, ground water and soils were and remain 
     contaminated by past uranium mining and milling activities; 
     and
       Whereas, the federal government and others have direct 
     responsibility to provide funding, both for the initial 
     surveying of these mines and for potential subsequent 
     reclamation and remediation where warranted; and
       Whereas, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 
     1977 is a federal law that mandates a reclamation fee on each 
     ton of coal produced in the country, and Title IV of that act 
     provides for abandoned mine reclamation; and
       Whereas, in 2006, the United States congress passed 
     amendments to Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and 
     Reclamation Act of 1977, providing that the funds collected 
     from the reclamation fees will now go directly to the states 
     rather than be appropriated by congress, and those amendments 
     limit uncertified states, such as New Mexico, from using the 
     funds available through the Surface Mining Control and 
     Reclamation Act of 1977 for non-coal mine reclamation; and
       Whereas, H.R. 785, introduced in the United States House of 
     Representatives, would address the need for uncertified 
     states to use Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 
     1977 funding for non-coal mine reclamation; and
       Whereas, under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control 
     Act of 1978, which established two programs, the United 
     States department of energy is charged with completing 
     surface reclamation at inactive uranium mill tailings piles; 
     and
       Whereas, various federal agencies were made aware of the 
     tremendous need for the uranium legacy cleanup in the Grants 
     mineral belt by the uranium mining and tailings task force 
     established by the New Mexico legislative council in 2009, 
     and the agencies have since made the uranium legacy cleanup 
     in the Grants mineral belt a high priority; and
       Whereas, as a result of the activities of the uranium 
     mining and tailings task force, the United States 
     environmental protection agency, specifically region six, 
     took the lead to coordinate various federal, state and tribal 
     agencies to be responsible for the uranium legacy cleanup and 
     for publishing a multi-agency, five-year plan to address the 
     uranium legacy cleanup; and
       Whereas, New Mexico regulates uranium mining and milling 
     activities through the department of environment and the 
     energy, minerals and natural resources department; and
       Whereas, the department of environment and the mining and 
     minerals division of the energy, minerals and natural 
     resources department have entered into cooperative agreements 
     with various federal agencies to address the uranium legacy 
     cleanup; and
       Whereas, funding is a major limitation to completing the 
     reclamation of abandoned uranium mines and the remediation of 
     uranium mill tailings in the Grants mineral belt: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 
     New Mexico, That congress be requested to expedite the 
     passage of legislation and appropriations to enact the 
     necessary funding for the reclamation of abandoned uranium 
     mines and the remediation of uranium mill tailings; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the department of environment and the 
     energy, minerals and natural resources department report on 
     any funding received from the federal government and other 
     sources since 2009 that may be used for the uranium legacy 
     cleanup and that the departments provide a detailed 
     presentation on the specific standards used to determine the 
     expenditures of federal funds by November 1, 2011 to the 
     appropriate interim legislative committee; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to 
     the director of the superfund division of region six of the 
     United States environmental protection agency, the secretary 
     of environment, the secretary of energy, minerals and natural 
     resources, the speaker of the United States house of 
     representatives, the president pro tempore of the United 
     States senate and the New Mexico congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-50. A memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State 
     of New Mexico urging the President to consult with state and 
     local interests, tribes and other interested parties when 
     designating national monuments; to the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources.

                             House Memorial

       Whereas, the federal Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the 
     president of the United States to designate as national 
     monuments ``historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric 
     structures and other objects of historic or scientific 
     interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled 
     by the Government of the United States'' in the state of New 
     Mexico and elsewhere; and
       Whereas, the president has previously exercised this 
     authority to protect some of New Mexico's most cherished and 
     significant places, including Chaco canyon, Carlsbad caverns 
     and White Sands national monument; and
       Whereas, the state probably contains additional sites on 
     federal land that meet the criteria for national monument 
     designation; and
       Whereas, the residents of New Mexico have a clear and 
     compelling interest in how federal lands in the state are 
     managed; and
       Whereas, the federal Antiquities Act of 1906 requires 
     national monument lands to be ``confined to the smallest area 
     compatible with proper care and management of the objects to 
     be protected'' and necessary to preserve and protect the 
     historical sites or objects; and
       Whereas, the residents of New Mexico wholeheartedly embrace 
     the opportunity to engage constructively and participate in 
     identifying and recommending sites and boundaries of 
     potential national monument designations; and
       Whereas, the president of the United States should 
     recognize and take steps to ensure the interests of the 
     residents of New Mexico in the process of designation of 
     national monuments in the state; and
       Whereas, sustainable land management and conservation 
     policies are best developed and administered with local 
     government and community support and commitment to those 
     policies: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 
     New Mexico, That it request formal consultation and 
     coordination among the president of the United States, the 
     governor of New Mexico, the New Mexico congressional 
     delegation, the New Mexico legislature, local officials and 
     interested conservation, industry, Indian nations, tribes or 
     pueblos and user groups ensuring transparency and open public 
     participation prior to any designation of national monuments 
     in New Mexico; and, be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to 
     the president of the United States, the secretary of the 
     interior, the president pro tempore of the United States 
     senate, the speaker of the United States house of 
     representatives and members of the New Mexico congressional 
     delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-51. A memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State 
     of New Mexico urging Congress to reauthorize the Water 
     Resources Development Act of 2007, Section 5065, and to 
     appropriate sufficient funds to investigate and address 
     salinity sources affecting water quality in the Pecos River; 
     to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                             House Memorial

       Whereas, the Pecos river is a tributary of the Rio Grande 
     that flows between New Mexico and Texas; and
       Whereas, the Pecos river is known for its naturally high 
     salinity, but as human needs and environmental concerns 
     relating to the river continue to increase, the adverse 
     economic and environmental impacts of the river's naturally 
     high salinity have become a much greater issue; and
       Whereas, much of the natural salinity in the Pecos river 
     enters the river in localized areas where geologic brines 
     from ancient salt-bearing formations naturally discharge to 
     the surface, which presents an opportunity for engineered 
     solutions to intercept such brines before they enter the 
     Pecos river; and
       Whereas, the Pecos River Compact between Texas and New 
     Mexico provides that ``New Mexico and Texas shall cooperate 
     with agencies of the United States to devise and effectuate 
     means of alleviating the salinity conditions of the Pecos 
     river''; and
       Whereas, congress began that process by enacting Section 
     729 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 and by 
     developing a program in Section 5056 of the Water Resources 
     Development Act of 2007 that directs the secretary of the 
     army to rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitats 
     and to implement long-term monitoring, data collection and 
     analysis, applied research and

[[Page 10134]]

     adaptive management within the Rio Grande basin; and
       Whereas, a successful technical program to identify 
     salinity sources and potential remedies on the Rio Grande in 
     the New Mexico-Texas border region has been underway since 
     2008, under Section 729 of the Water Resources Development 
     Act of 1986; and
       Whereas, it is imperative that funding and continuing 
     authority for Section 5056 of the Water Resources Development 
     Act of 2007, which is set to expire in 2011, be reenacted so 
     that efforts to address salinity issues in the Rio Grande and 
     its tributaries can continue: Now therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 
     New Mexico, That congress be requested to reauthorize Section 
     5056 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and to 
     appropriate sufficient funds to carry out work related to 
     that legislation; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to 
     the president of the United States, the speaker of the United 
     States house of representatives, the president of the United 
     States senate and the members of the New Mexico congressional 
     delegation.

                          ____________________