[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17019-17020]
[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-102. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the President 
     of the United States and the United States Congress to take 
     action to halt the illegal dumping of foreign steel into the 
     U.S. market; to the Committee on Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 87

       Whereas, Steel is the backbone of the modern economy, and 
     it contributes to every level of daily life. It supports our 
     bridges, takes our buildings to new heights, and can be found 
     in the everyday appliances in our homes. Michigan's strong 
     manufacturing sector, particularly our automotive industry, 
     relies extensively on the metal, as does the energy sector's 
     domestic oil and gas extraction efforts. In fact, in 2014, 
     Michigan and Minnesota shipped 93 percent of usable iron ore 
     products in the United States; and
       Whereas, Iron ore mining and manufacturing has been 
     significantly undermined by low-price steel imports from 
     foreign nations. Companies in places like China, South Korea, 
     India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, and Saudi 
     Arabia are selling their products in the United States at 
     predatory prices. Some estimates state that certain Chinese 
     steel firms retail their products in the United States at 75 
     percent of the domestic cost of production. A South Korean 
     firm recently retailed its products even lower at 48 percent 
     of the domestic cost of production. This unfair trade puts 
     American mills, and the mines that feed them, at risk; and
       Whereas, The economic consequences of steel dumping have 
     begun and will have a lasting detrimental impact on the 
     Michigan economy and the entire nation. Across the Midwest, 
     thousands of steelworkers have already been laid off in 
     recent years, and as mills continue to operate well below 
     their operational capacity, more steelworkers and miners are 
     at risk. As the percentage of foreign steel used in the 
     United States increases, the impacts on American 
     manufacturing will only increase. This could lead to the 
     erosion of enterprises that are critical to our economy and 
     national defense; and
       Whereas, The dumping of foreign steel into the United 
     States is a violation of international trade agreements and 
     must be halted, Article VI of the General Agreement on 
     Tariffs and Trade 1994 states that products from another 
     country shall not be introduced into the commerce of another 
     country at a value less than the product's normal price in 
     the destination country. The Department of Commerce has used 
     the provisions of this article to investigate and take anti-
     dumping measures against nations in the past. However, this 
     process is slow. So, while nations and companies are being 
     identified, investigated, and punished, American workers are 
     being laid off. Action must be taken to more aggressively 
     identify those violating international trade agreements and 
     punish them accordingly: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     President and Congress of the United States to take action to 
     halt the illegal dumping of foreign steel into the U.S. 
     market; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution 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 the members of the Michigan 
     congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-103. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California urging the President of the United 
     States and the United States Congress to enact S. 664, the 
     Foster Care Tax Credit Act, which would provide tax relief to 
     short-term foster parents by helping to cover the actual 
     costs of caring for a foster child; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                    Assembly Joint Resolution No. 17

       Whereas, Foster parents make a positive and tremendous 
     difference in the lives of so many vulnerable children by 
     opening their hearts and homes, and yet California faces 
     constant challenges in recruiting and retaining enough foster 
     families to ensure each child is placed in a family-like 
     setting; and
       Whereas, Caring for a child in foster care can be more 
     expensive than caring for one's own biological children. 
     Children placed into foster care often have experienced 
     significant emotional and physical trauma and have higher 
     incidences of medical and behavioral health issues, resulting 
     in additional costs to foster parents. On average, current 
     foster care rates would have to increase almost 40 percent 
     nationwide to provide for basic care; and
       Whereas, Foster parents do not always begin full-time 
     foster parenting immediately. It is not uncommon for foster 
     parents to first provide shorter-term respite or emergency 
     care before ``graduating'' into more full-time foster 
     parenthood. Likewise, foster parents may intend to be full-
     time; however, children placed with them may be reunified 
     with their biological families after short lengths of time. 
     Foster parents may have multiple placements for three to four 
     months at a time. According to the Public Policy Institute of 
     California, in California in 2010, 31 percent of children 
     left foster care within three months; and
       Whereas, The shortage of foster homes has been widely 
     reported. According to the Los Angeles Times in 2015, 
     ``Demand for foster beds exceeds supply by more than 30% 
     nationally. Forty percent of parents withdraw during their 
     first year, and an additional 20% say they want out, national 
     studies show. Those families that remain are often stuck in 
     deep poverty themselves''; and
       Whereas, Encouraging individuals to become foster parents 
     can contribute to a greater number of children being adopted 
     from foster care. According to the United States Department 
     of Health and Human Services, of the children adopted from 
     foster care in 2012, 54 percent were adopted by former foster 
     parents. In 2012, that would have equated to 27,358 children 
     adopted by former foster parents; and
       Whereas, Senate Bill 664 of the 114th United States 
     Congress, known as the federal Foster Care Tax Credit Act, 
     would seek to help the many families who care for foster 
     children for six months or less, who unlike longer term 
     foster, families, are not eligible for tax credit assistance 
     under the federal Child Tax Credit, to cover the actual cost 
     of caring for foster children; and
       Whereas, The Foster Care Tax Credit Act provides tax relief 
     to short-term foster parents and helps cover the actual costs 
     of caring for a foster child by establishing an inflation-
     adjusted, refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 per year, per 
     foster child, which is prorated by the number of months a 
     foster child is in a family's care; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of 
     California, jointly, That because foster parents make 
     significant and meaningful contributions to the lives of so 
     many vulnerable children by opening their hearts and homes, 
     the Legislature urges the President and the Congress of the 
     United States to enact Senate Bill 664 of the 114th United 
     States Congress, known as the Foster Care Tax Credit Act, 
     which would provide tax relief to short term foster parents 
     by helping to cover the actual costs of caring for a foster 
     child; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President 
     of the United States, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the 
     House of Representatives, the

[[Page 17020]]

     Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate, and each 
     member of the California delegation to the United States 
     Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-104. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan urging the United States Congress to reject the 
     U.S.-led nuclear agreement with Iran and press for a new 
     agreement that will prevent all pathways to an Iranian 
     nuclear weapon; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                       Senate Resolution No. 104

       Whereas, On July 14, 2015, a six-member coalition of 
     nations, including the governments of Great Britain, France, 
     Russia, China, and Germany and led by the United States, 
     reached an agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This 
     agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of 
     Action, seeks to limit Iran's capacity to refine, store, and 
     use weapons-grade nuclear material and develop nuclear 
     weapons in exchange for international sanctions relief; and
       Whereas, The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly 
     referred to as the Iranian nuclear agreement, is not in the 
     strategic interest of the United States and its allies. With 
     the notable exception of the Arak heavy-water nuclear 
     facility, this agreement leaves in place much of Iran's 
     nuclear infrastructure, including 5,060 centrifuges. 
     Moreover, this deal allows Iran to continue researching and 
     developing advanced centrifuges capable of refining weapons-
     grade nuclear material for use in intercontinental ballistic 
     missiles that can strike the United States and short-range 
     missiles capable of hitting targets throughout the Middle 
     East. This creates a direct threat to our national security 
     at home and the national security interests of Israel and 
     other allies; and
       Whereas, The Iranian nuclear agreement legitimizes Iran's 
     nuclear program and does not definitively block a path to a 
     nuclear weapon. While the agreement restricts the amount of 
     nuclear material Iran may store and allows for international 
     inspections, these provisions will slow--but not halt--the 
     advancement of Iran's weapons program. The inspections also 
     do not meet the ``anytime, anywhere'' standard needed in this 
     case, but rather uses the ``managed access'' approach that is 
     insufficient to ensure Iran is not developing or hiding 
     nuclear weaponry and weapon components. Given Iran's history 
     of deceiving the International Atomic Energy Agency and its 
     refusal to recognize its nuclear program's military 
     dimension, the international community will be challenged 
     keeping Iran's nuclear weapons program in line with the 
     agreement. With some of the toughest restrictions ending in 
     ten years, Iran is 15 years from manufacturing a nuclear 
     arsenal, which could sink the Middle East into a nuclear arms 
     race; and
       Whereas, International sanctions relief would allow Iran to 
     further support terrorist organizations. The Joint 
     Comprehensive Plan of Action, if enacted, would unfreeze an 
     estimated $150 billion in assets currently isolated in 
     foreign banks almost immediately. These assets, alongside 
     additional revenue from sanctions relief, could be redirected 
     by the Iranian government to more substantially support 
     terrorist organizations in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, 
     Palestine, and others. Sanctions relief could also allow more 
     money to support a domestic military build-up that could be 
     used against area nations, like Israel, which Iran has long 
     committed to destroying. This emboldens the autocratic state 
     to continue its conflict with the United States, destabilize 
     the region, and marginalize Iranian moderates; and
       Whereas, The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is not the 
     best agreement for the United States, the Middle East, and 
     the world. The agreement fails to set free imprisoned 
     Michigan resident and former Marine Amir Hekmati and other 
     Americans. It fails to address Iran's human rights situation, 
     a situation that, according to a 2015 State Department 
     report, continues to deteriorate. The agreement does not 
     allow the inspection of Iranian military installations, which 
     are needed to ensure secret research is not conducted and 
     weaponry and components are not hidden; and
       Whereas, Israel's support of the Iranian nuclear agreement 
     is crucial to reaching long-term peace. However, the 
     agreement does not have the support necessary to reach that 
     goal. Repeated Israeli public opinion polls have shown a 
     broad consensus, seemingly traversing conventional political 
     divides, against the Iranian nuclear deal: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we to urge the Congress of the 
     United States to reject the U.S.-led nuclear agreement with 
     Iran and press for a new agreement that will prevent all 
     pathways to an Iranian nuclear weapon; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution he 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-105. A petition by a citizen from the State of Texas 
     urging the United States
     Congress to propose an amendment to the United States 
     Constitution which would require both houses of Congress 
     approve, by a three-fifths vote of all members elected and 
     serving in each body, any declaration of martial law, or 
     suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, by the President of 
     the United States, and further providing that such 
     Congressionally-approved martial law declaration, or 
     suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, not exceed 30 days 
     duration, and clearly describe the geographic territory 
     covered by such declaration or suspension; to the Committee 
     on the Judiciary.
  

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