[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 390-391]
[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-126. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Illinois applying to the United States Congress, 
     pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United 
     States, for the calling of a convention for proposing 
     amendments; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 42

       Whereas, The first President of the United States, George 
     Washington, stated in his Farewell Address: ``The basis of 
     our political systems is the right of the people to make and 
     to alter their Constitutions of Government.''; and
       Whereas, It was the stated intention of the framers of the 
     Constitution of the United States of America that the 
     Congress of the United States of America should be 
     ``dependent on the people alone'' (James Madison, Federalist 
     52); and
       Whereas, That dependency has evolved from a dependency on 
     the people alone to a dependency on those who spend 
     excessively in elections, through campaigns or third-party 
     groups; and
       Whereas, The United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens 
     United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), 
     removed restrictions on amounts of independent political 
     spending; and
       Whereas, Article V of the United States Constitution 
     requires the United States Congress to call a convention for 
     proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the 
     legislatures of the several states for the purpose of 
     proposing amendments to the United States Constitution; and
       Whereas, The State of Illinois sees the need for a 
     convention to propose amendments in order to address concerns 
     such as those raised by the decision of the United States 
     Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election 
     Commission and related cases and events, including those 
     occurring long before or afterward, or for a substantially 
     similar purpose, and desires that the convention should be so 
     limited; and
       Whereas, The State of Illinois desires that the delegates 
     to the convention shall be comprised equally from individuals 
     currently elected to State and local office, or be selected 
     by election in each Congressional district for the purpose of 
     serving as delegates, though all individuals elected or 
     appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be 
     prohibited from serving as delegates to the Convention, and 
     intends to retain the ability to restrict or expand the power 
     of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and
       Whereas, The State of Illinois intends that this be a 
     continuing application, considered together with applications 
     calling for a convention currently pending in the 188th 
     Massachusetts legislature as S.1727 and H.3190, the 2013-2014 
     Vermont legislature as J.R.S. 27, and the 2013-2014 
     California legislature as AJR 1, and all other passed, 
     pending, and future applications, the aforementioned concerns 
     of Illinois notwithstanding until such time as two-thirds of 
     the several states have applied for a Convention and that 
     Convention is convened by Congress; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate of the Ninety-Eighth General 
     Assembly of the State of Illinois, the House Of 
     Representatives concurring herein, that we, the legislature 
     of the State of Illinois, hereby make application to the 
     Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the 
     Constitution of the United States, for the calling of a 
     convention for proposing amendments; and be it further
       Resolved, That this application shall be deemed an 
     application for a convention to address each and any of the 
     subjects listed in this resolution; for purposes of 
     determining whether two-thirds of the states have applied for 
     a convention addressing any subject, this application is to 
     be aggregated with the applications of any other state 
     legislatures limited to one or more of the subjects listed in 
     this resolution; and be it further
       Resolved, That this resolution constitutes a continuing 
     application and remains in effect until rescission by any 
     sitting session of the legislature of this State; this 
     application does not constitute a recognition that any 
     particular activity or activities currently undertaken by the 
     federal government is or are authorized by the Constitution; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
     delivered to the President and Secretary of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the House of Representatives 
     of the United States Congress, and the Archivist of the 
     United States; to the members of the United States Senate and 
     House of Representatives from this State; and to the 
     presiding officers of each of the legislative chambers in the 
     several states, requesting their cooperation.
                                  ____

       POM-127. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the United 
     States Senate to concur with the United States House of 
     Representatives and repeal the country-of-origin labeling 
     regulations; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry.

                        House Resolution No. 184

       Whereas, The United States and Canada have the largest 
     trading relationship in the world, with bilateral trade 
     valued at $759 billion in 2014, an association that benefits 
     the economies of both countries. Michigan's merchandise 
     exports to Canada in 2014 were valued at $25.4 billion, and 
     259,000 Michigan jobs depend on trade and investment with 
     Canada; and
       Whereas, The U.S. has implemented mandatory country-of-
     origin labeling (COOL) rules requiring meats sold at retail 
     stores to

[[Page 391]]

     be labeled with information on the source of the meat. The 
     World Trade Organization (WTO) has repeatedly ruled that COOL 
     discriminates against imported livestock and is not compliant 
     with international trade obligations. Due to the WTO rulings, 
     the U.S. may be subject to $3.6 billion in retaliatory 
     tariffs sought by Canada and Mexico; and
       Whereas, COOL regulations also jeopardize the viability of 
     the U.S. packing and feeding industries. The additional $500 
     million in annual compliance costs could lead to significant 
     job losses and plant closures with potentially devastating 
     impacts to local and state economies. All this for an issue 
     the United States Department of Agriculture has clearly 
     indicated is not about food safety; and
       Whereas, The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2393 
     to repeal the mandatory labeling for certain meats in June 
     2015 with 300 votes, showing a strong recognition across 
     party lines, as well as regionally, that COOL must be 
     repealed. However, the U.S. Senate appears less inclined to 
     repeal the COOL requirement, risking the American economy to 
     billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs; Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     United States Senate to concur with the United States House 
     of Representatives and repeal the country-of-origin labeling 
     regulations; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-128. 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 clarify that a 
     declaration of martial law, or a suspension of the writ of 
     habeas corpus, does not immunize the President of the United 
     States from any process of involuntary removal from the 
     office of President that is contained within the 
     Constitution; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

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