June 25, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 117 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 117
(Senate - June 25, 2020)
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[Pages S3309-S3311] 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-210. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana memorializing its support for the annual Gulf Hypoxia Mapping Cruise conducted by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, and urging the United States Congress to authorize continued funding; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. House Concurrent Resolution No. 64 Whereas, the growth of a large area of low-oxygen off Louisiana's coast, known as the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone or ``Dead Zone'', has been a long-standing issue of concern for the state because of the risks it poses for our commercial and recreational fishing and seafood industries, and its wider impacts on marine life in the Gulf; and Whereas, the summer cruises to map the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone, conducted by scientists at the LUMCON in Cocodrie, Louisiana, have been carried out each year since 1985, providing a consistent and long-term baseline and record of data on the annual extent and formation of the zone, which has in turn aided the development of models to predict its yearly size and future growth; and Whereas, these cruises, utilizing Louisiana scientists, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and cooperating universities and other partners, are the primary means of measuring the size of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone and its growth or reduction, as well as the progress of efforts to [[Page S3310]] reduce it, including the efforts of the state-federal Gulf Hypoxia Task Force with which the state of Louisiana has been a participant since 1997; and Whereas, the LUMCON mapping cruises have been largely funded through the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reflecting the importance of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone and Louisiana's coastal fishery and waters as resources of national concern; and Whereas, because this federal funding is at risk of discontinuation, and the annual LUM CON summer mapping cruise was cancelled in 2016 for only the second time in thirty-one years, the continuation of this vital work is itself at risk. Therefore, be it Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express its support for the annual Gulf Hypoxia Mapping Cruise conducted by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, in recognition of the important role it plays in the understanding and conserving of our coastal resources, as well as its support for continued funding for this important effort by memorializing the United States Congress and the Louisiana congressional delegation to authorize continued funding for this most important endeavor; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the officers of both houses of the United States Congress and each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation. ____ POM-211. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana urging the United States Congress to take such actions are necessary to review the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision Social Security benefit reductions and to consider eliminating or reducing them by supporting S. 521 of the 116th Congress, the Social Security Fairness Act; to the Committee on Finance. House Concurrent Resolution No. 9 Whereas, the Congress of the United States of America has enacted both the Government Pension Offset (GPO), reducing the spousal and survivor Social Security benefit, and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), reducing the earned Social Security benefits payable to any person who also receives a public pension benefit; and Whereas, the GPO negatively affects a spouse or survivor receiving a federal, state, or local government retirement or pension benefit who would also be entitled to a Social Security benefit earned by a spouse; and Whereas, the GPO formula reduces the spousal or survivor Social Security benefit by two-thirds of the amount of the federal, state, or local government retirement or pension benefit received by the spouse or survivor, in many cases completely eliminating the Social Security benefit even though their spouses paid Social Security taxes for many years; and Whereas, the GPO has a harsh effect on hundreds of thousands of citizens and undermines the original purpose of the Social Security dependent/survivor benefit; and Whereas, according to recent Social Security Administration figures, more than half a million individuals nationally are affected by the GPO; and Whereas, the WEP applies to those persons who have earned federal, state, or local government retirement or pension benefits, in addition to working in employment covered under Social Security and paying into the Social Security system; and Whereas, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefit using an averaged indexed monthly earnings formula and may reduce Social Security benefits for affected persons by as much as one-half of the retirement benefit earned as a public servant in employment not covered under Social Security; and Whereas, the WEP causes hardworking individuals to lose a significant portion of the Social Security benefits that they earn themselves; and Whereas, according to recent Social Security Administration figures, more than one and a half million individuals nationally are affected by the WEP; and Whereas, in certain circumstances both the WEP and the GPO can be applied to a qualifying survivor's benefit, each independently reducing the available benefit and in combination eliminating a large portion of the total Social Security benefit available to the survivor; and Whereas, because of the calculation characteristics of the GPO and the WEP, they have a disproportionately negative effect on employees working in lower-wage government jobs, like policemen, firefighters, teachers, and state employees; and Whereas, Louisiana is making every effort to improve the quality of life of its citizens and to encourage them to live here lifelong, yet the current GPO and WEP provisions compromise their quality of life; and Whereas, the number of people affected by GPO and WEP is growing every day as more and more people reach retirement age; and Whereas, individuals drastically affected by the GPO or WEP may have no choice but to return to work after retirement in order to make ends meet, but the earnings accumulated during this return to work can further reduce the Social Security benefits the individual is entitled to; and Whereas, the GPO and WEP are established in federal law, and repeal of the GPO and the WEP can only be enacted by congress: Now, therefore be it Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to review the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision Social Security benefit reductions and to consider eliminating or reducing them by supporting S.521 of the 116th Congress, the Social Security Fairness Act; and be it further Resolved, that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation. ____ POM-212. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of Michigan denouncing the violent activities of extremist organizations, urging the United States Congress to redouble its efforts to combat the spread of all forms of domestic terrorism; to the Committee on the Judiciary. Senate Resoulution No. 122 Whereas, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press are hallmarks of our First Amendment rights and founding principles of this great nation. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963 reaffirms, ``Every person may freely speak, write, express and publish his views on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of such right; and no law shall be enacted to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press.''; and Whereas, It is a fundamental responsibility of government to protect citizens thereby creating an environment that allows and encourages peaceful speech and peaceful protest; and Whereas, Extremist organizations, including Antifa, White supremacist groups such as Boogaloo, and others, represent opposition to the democratic ideals of peaceful assembly and free speech for all. These organizations, because they believe that free speech is equivalent to violence, have used threats of violence and online harassment in the pursuit of suppressing opposing political ideologies; and Whereas, Federal statute defines the term ``domestic terrorism'' to mean activities that involve ``acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State and those acts appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or to affect the conduct of government . . .''; and Whereas, Extremist organizations, including Antifa and White supremacist groups such as Boogaloo, and others, have traded civil protest for violence on multiple occasions, endangering public welfare and wreaking havoc on cities across America to advance their political ideologies. These organizations have participated in attacks on civilians, members of the press, law enforcement, and our men and women in uniform. Their violence detracts from peaceful gatherings, endangering individuals using civil protest as a means of expression; and Whereas, Their use of violence as a means of furthering their political agenda has been denounced by various leaders and groups across the political spectrum; and Whereas, There is no place for violence in the discourse between people in a civil society. The use of violence by extremist organizations represents a significant threat to public safety as well as the First Amendment rights of all people; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate, That we unequivocally condemn and denounce the violent actions of extremist organizations as unacceptable; and be it further Resolved, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to redouble its efforts, using all available and appropriate tools, to combat the spread of all forms of domestic terrorism; and be it further Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the chair and ranking member of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation. ____ POM--213. A resolution adopted by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts urging the Administration and the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize the use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic benefits transfer cards for the online purchase of groceries and other essentials in the commonwealth; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Resolutions Whereas, the Trump Administration and United States Secretary of Agriculture have the power to authorize the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program electronic benefits transfer cards for the online purchase of groceries and other essentials; and Whereas, the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, presents a particular risk to individuals with comorbidities, including diabetes and asthma, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants often have higher rates of diabetes and asthma than individuals who do not participate; and [[Page S3311]] Whereas, people of color suffer from higher rates of diabetes and asthma and, according to the Boston Public Health Commission, the 4 neighborhoods in the city of Boston with the largest populations of people of color also have the highest number of documented COVID-19 cases; and Whereas, social distancing reduces the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 and avoiding unnecessary travel to grocery stores and other public locations can help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants reduce exposure to the virus; and Whereas, the United States Department of Agriculture's Pilot Program allowing the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program electronic benefits transfer cards for online purchases was created on April 18, 2019 and is currently in place in a number of other states; therefore be it Resolved, That the Massachusetts General Court hereby calls upon the Trump Administration and the United States Secretary of Agriculture to Authorize The use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program electronic benefits transfer cards for the online purchase of groceries and other essentials in the commonwealth; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded by the clerk of the Senate to United States President Donald J. Trump, United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation. POM-214. A resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, California, urging the United States Congress to mandate that all employers provide their employees an additional fourteen days of paid leave during public health emergencies; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. POM-215. A resolution adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Mahwah, New Jersey, recognizing June 5, 2020, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day; to the Committee on the Judiciary. POM-216. A resolution adopted by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Gautier, Mississippi relative to assessments on tenants, owners, or occupiers of the Singing River Mall site; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. ____________________
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