March 27, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 53 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 53
(Senate - March 27, 2019)
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[Pages S2040-S2042] From the Congressional Record Online through the 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-16. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey urging the United States Congress to enact the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act; to the Committee on Armed Services. Assembly Resolution No. 85 Whereas, under current federal law, survivors of deceased military members are required to forfeit part or all of their Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity when they are awarded Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); and Whereas, currently, surviving spouses of active duty or retired members who died of a service-connected cause are required to forfeit $1 of their SBP annuity for each $1 received in DIC; and Whereas, for FY 2017, the DIC was approximately $1,258 a month and the offset wiped out most if not all of the SBP annuity compensation for a majority of survivors; and Whereas, Congress has made attempts to help some of the survivors by: raising the lump-sum death gratuity for deaths after October 2001; ending the offset for survivors who remarry after age 57; and authorizing the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA), a modest monthly rebate (approximately $310 in FY 2017) to SBP-DIC recipients subjected to this in equity; and Whereas, however, the lump-sum increases in the death gratuity did not help the 95% of survivors whose spouses died of service-caused conditions before 2001. Forced to forfeit $1,258 a month, survivors view the SSIA $310 rebate a poor effort at restitution. Moreover, SSIA will terminate in May 2018 if Congress does not extend the allowance; and Whereas, in 2007, the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission was asked to review the inequity and determined that when military service causes a member's death, the DIC should be paid in addition to the SBP annuity, not subtracted from it; and Whereas, the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act is currently pending in Congress to: repeal certain provisions that require the offset of money paid in DIC compensation from SBP annuities for surviving spouses under 60 years of age; prohibit requiring repayment of certain monies previously paid to SBP recipients; and require certain military departments to pay the dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse; and Whereas, this House urges Congress to pass the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act because our nation's military personnel risk their lives to defend our nation and our freedoms and they should be able to trust that the benefits they designate for their families will be provided; Now, therefore, be it Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. This House urges Congress to enact the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act. 2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, every member of Congress elected from this State, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. ____ POM-17. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of Alaska urging the implementation of an oil and gas leasing program in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. [[Page S2041]] Senate Joint Resolution No. 7 Whereas, in 16 U.S.C. 3143 (sec. 1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act), the United States Congress reserved the right to permit oil and gas development and production in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Whereas, in 16 U.S.C. 3142 (sec. 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act), the United States Congress authorized nondrilling exploratory activity in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Whereas sec. 20001 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97) requires the United States Secretary of the Interior to establish and administer a competitive oil and gas program for the leasing, development, and production of oil and gas in and the transportation of oil and gas from the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Whereas sec. 20001 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97) requires that at least two lease sales be held by December 22, 2024, and that each sale offer for lease at least 400,000 acres of land with the highest hydrocarbon potential in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, allowing for up to 2,000 acres of federal land, which is equivalent to .01 percent of the 19,300,000- acre refuge, to be covered by production and support facilities; and Whereas the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contains an estimated 7,687,000,000 barrels of recoverable oil and 7,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas; and Whereas the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is predicted to generate 1,430 direct jobs and 6,350 indirect jobs annually and 2,480 direct jobs and 10,100 indirect jobs at peak employment; and Whereas the estimated potential government revenue from petroleum development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge through 2050, including revenue to the North Slope Borough, the state, and the federal government from royalties, income taxes, production taxes, and property taxes, equals $104,673,000,000; and Whereas oil and gas development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has the potential to extend the life of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and increase throughput, which has declined from a peak of 2,033,000 average barrels of oil a day in 1988 to 509,000 average barrels of oil a day in 2018; and Whereas oil and gas development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has the potential to enhance the economic viability of the proposed Alaska liquefied natural gas project; and Whereas oil and gas development on the coastal plain would strengthen national security and provide long-lasting benefits to the national economy by creating thousands of jobs nationwide, generating billions of dollars in government revenue, providing affordable energy to American consumers, and decreasing dependence on foreign energy; and Whereas advances in extended-reach and directional drilling technology have greatly reduced the impact area of oil and gas activities, including shrinking the average drilling pad size by more than 80 percent, from 65 acres in 1970 to 12 acres today, and increasing the subsurface area accessible from modern drilling pads by nearly 2,000 percent, from three square miles in 1970 to 60 square miles today; and Whereas safe and responsible oil and gas exploration, development, and production has been demonstrated by over 50 years of activity on the North Slope of Alaska without adverse effects on the environment or wildlife populations; and Whereas the state continues to strive to ensure the ongoing health and productivity of the Porcupine and Central Arctic caribou herds and the protection of land, water, and wildlife resources during the exploration and development of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Whereas polling consistently shows Alaskans overwhelmingly support responsible oil and gas development in the non- wilderness portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Whereas, while most Alaskans support development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, many do so with the understanding that the state's workforce will be used to the maximum extent possible if the leasing program moves forward; and Whereas the proposed leasing area of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located in the North Slope Borough, and many residents of the borough, the population of which is predominantly Inupiat, are supportive of development in the non-wilderness area of the coastal plain; be it further Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature requests that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, implement an oil and gas leasing program in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as outlined in the December 2018 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement; and be it further Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature requests that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, in its consideration of action alternatives outlined in the December 2018 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement, take into account the long history of safe and responsible oil and gas development on Alaska's North Slope, the enormous benefits development of oil and gas resources in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would bring to the state and the nation, the advances in oilfield technology that continue to shrink the impact area of oil and gas activities, and the support of residents from the North Slope Borough and across the North Slope of Alaska for oil and gas development in a portion of the coastal plain. Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President of the United States; the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable David Bernhardt, Acting United States Secretary of the Interior; Brian Steed, Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior; and Nicole Hayes, Coastal Plain Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office, U.S. Department of the Interior. ____ POM-18. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota urging the United States Congress to amend the Social Security Act to allow states to provide Medicaid services to those persons presumed innocent in jail awaiting trial; to the Committee on Finance. =========================== NOTE =========================== On page S2041, March 27, 2019, at the bottom of the second column, the following appears: POM-18. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota urging the United States Congress to amend the Social Security Act to allow states to provide Medicaid services to those persons presumed innocent in jail awaiting trail; to the Committee on Finance. The online Record has been corrected to read: POM-18. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota urging the United States Congress to amend the Social Security Act to allow states to provide Medicaid services to those persons presumed innocent in jail awaiting trial; to the Committee on Finance. ========================= END NOTE ========================= Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 8 Whereas, a basic principle of the United States judicial system is that citizens charged with a crime are innocent until proven guilty; and Whereas, the United States and South Dakota have determined it is right and appropriate to care for our most vulnerable citizens through the Medicaid program, and county jails are populated by many persons who have serious medical conditions and mental illnesses or who are the parents of small children who qualify for Medicaid benefits; and Whereas, the jail population in the United States is growing faster than the prison population, and approximately two-thirds of the jail population consists of those pending disposition who remain innocent until proven guilty and who are currently not being treated equally to those awaiting trial who obtained bail and were released awaiting adjudication; and Whereas, providing Medicaid services to persons in jail pending disposition will increase the likelihood that the provision of services is continuous once the person reenters the community; and Whereas, section 1905(a)(A) of the Social Security Act prevents South Dakota from providing Medicaid services to persons in jail pending disposition who would otherwise be covered under the Medicaid policies of South Dakota: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, By the Senate of the Ninety-Fourth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the Legislature requests the United States Congress to amend the Social Security Act to allow states to provide Medicaid services to those persons presumed innocent in jail awaiting trial; and be it further Resolved, That the secretary of the senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and to the South Dakota congressional delegation. ____ POM-19. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of California urging the United States Congress and the President of the United States to support a woman's right to make reproductive health decisions and access reproductive healthcare; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Senate Resolution No. 7 Whereas, January 22, 2019, marks the 46th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) 410 U.S. 113, which affirmed that every woman has a fundamental right to control her own reproductive decisions and to decide whether to [end or to continue pregnancy,] continue a pregnancy or obtain an abortion, and is an occasion deserving of acknowledgment; and Whereas, Roe v. Wade has been the cornerstone of women's ability to control their reproductive lives, allowing every woman in the United States the right to decide when, if, and with whom to have children, and how many children to [have;] have, and has helped facilitate women's economic and societal participation in the United States; and [Whereas, Women's ability to control their reproductive lives has helped and facilitated their participation in the economic and social life of our nation; and] Whereas, In the years prior to the Roe v. Wade [has drastically reduced the maternal mortality rate for women terminating their pregnancies in the United States. In the years prior to the] decision, illegal abortion accounted for approximately 17 percent of all reported deaths attributable to pregnancy and childbirth, and many women were severely injured as a result of ``back alley'' abortion procedures; and Whereas, Interference with a woman's right to choose causes women to be forced into illegal and dangerous abortions, as they often were in the United States before the [[Page S2042]] Roe v. Wade decision. Many women are forced to make these decisions today in countries where abortion is illegal and where the unsafe methods of illegal abortion lead to 13 percent of global maternal deaths annually, or eight maternal deaths every [hour. Many survivors of an illegal abortion suffer serious and often permanent injuries;] hour; and Whereas, Roe v. Wade continues to protect the health and freedom of women throughout the United [States;] States. National peer-reviewed studies show abortion is a safe medical procedure, increasingly provided through outpatient medication, that nearly one in four women in the United States will access; and Whereas, Roe v. Wade is in serious jeopardy of being overturned or further eroded due to President Donald J. Trump's appointment of two justices to the United States Supreme Court who have a record of being hostile to a woman's constitutional right to choose, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh; and Whereas, States are passing legislation that creates barriers to abortion and there are more than a dozen cases limiting abortion rights that could be considered by the Supreme Court of the United States; and Whereas, Providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare are still under serious, unrelenting attack for providing essential information and services, such as abortion, as evidenced by bomb threats, arson, and vandalism in California and the fact that death threats against abortion providers doubled, and incidents of clinic obstruction tripled, nationally from 2016 to 2017 alone; and Whereas, The State of California stands in strong support of every woman's fundamental right, as confirmed in Roe v. Wade, to make [her own] decisions regarding [her pregnancy;] pregnancy and commits to boldly advance access to sexual and reproductive healthcare within our state; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate urges the President of the United States and the United States Congress to express their support for a woman's fundamental right to control her own reproductive decisions, as well as their support for access to comprehensive reproductive [health care,] healthcare, including the services provided by Planned Parenthood; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution. ____ POM-20. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey urging the United States Congress to pass legislation that would automatically enroll veterans for benefits in the Department of Veterans Affairs system; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Assembly Resolution No. 163 Whereas, Military service members are eligible for a range of United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits when they are discharged; and Whereas, Currently, those benefits may include, but are not limited to, healthcare, disability, educational, and employment benefits; and Whereas, Under the VA pre-discharge program, members are encouraged to apply for each type of benefit they are entitled to prior to their discharge, and are encouraged to work with an accredited representative during this process; and Whereas, While helpful to service members, the process in place for applying for each type of benefit can be time consuming and burdensome, especially as service members are making a transition from military to civilian life; and Whereas, Providing for automatic enrollment of veterans for the VA benefits they are entitled to would facilitate this process and ease the transition to civilian life: Now, therefore, Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. This House urges the United States Congress to pass legislation to automatically enroll veterans for benefits they are entitled to in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs system. 2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the House Minority Leader, the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and each member of Congress elected from this State. ____ POM-21. A petition from a citizen of the State of Ohio relative to tax incentives on American-made automobiles; to the Committee on Finance. ____________________
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