The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S5737-S5738 on May 20, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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-122. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia relative to the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993; to the Committee on Finance.
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Senate Joint Resolution No. 490
Whereas, prior to 1993, federal Medicaid regulations allowed states flexibility in the treatment of assets in determining eligibility; and
Whereas, Connecticut, New York, Indiana, and California were able to establish public/private long-term care partnerships to provide incentives for the purchase of long-term care insurance; and
Whereas, under these partnership programs, if a policyholder requires long-term care and eventually exhausts his private insurance benefits, the policyholder is permitted to keep more of his assets while still qualifying for Medicaid coverage; and
Whereas, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 included a provision, Sec. 13612 (a) (C), that discourages additional states from implementing such partnerships; and
Whereas, this provision requires states to make recovery from the estates of persons who had enjoyed enhanced Medicaid asset protection, thereby making the asset protection provided by the public/private partnerships only temporary; and
Whereas, the General Assembly, pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution No. 365 (1997), urged Congress to repeal Sec. 13612 (a) (C) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; and
Whereas, the Governor has requested that Congress remove Sec. 13612 (a) (C) and allow additional states to establish asset protection programs for individuals who purchase qualified long-term care insurance policies without requiring that states recover such assets upon a beneficiary's death; and
Whereas, the removal of Sec. 13612 (a) (C) would make such partnerships much more attractive to potential participants, especially if they are motivated by a desire to pass some of their assets on to their children; and
Whereas, having long-term care insurance reduces the possibility that individuals will spend down to Medicaid eligibility levels; and
Whereas, long-term care insurance, by reducing the Medicaid expenditures for policyholders, helps states control Medicaid costs; and
Whereas, Congress has not yet acted to repeal Sec. 13612
(a) (C) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate the House of Delegates concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to establish a limited pilot program which exempts the Commonwealth of Virginia from the provisions of Sec. 13612 (a) (C) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 requiring states to make recovery from the estates of persons who had enjoyed enhanced Medicaid asset protection; and, be it
Resolved Further, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Congressional Delegation of Virginia in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.
POM-123. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Maine relative to the interstate truck weight limits; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
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Joint Resolution
We, your Memorialists, the Members of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Legislature of the State of Maine, now assembled in the First Regular Session, most respectfully present and petition the President of the United States and the United States Congress, as follows:
Whereas, the issue of interstate truck weight limits is of great concern for a number of reasons; and
Whereas, economic development interests in northern and central Maine are increasingly frustrated at their loss of transportation productivity due to the disparity in weight limits between the state highways and the Interstate Highway System; and
Whereas, this disparity has resulted in the diversion of heavy through trucks from the Interstate Highway System to more congested State highways, raising safety concerns in the Legislature and in municipal groups. A fatal crash on Route 9 in Dixmont and a fuel truck crash in Augusta have further raised concern; and
Whereas, an increase in the interstate gross vehicle weight limit for 6-axle combination vehicles, from 80,000 pounds to between 90,000 and 95,000 pounds, is supported by an engineering review that was recently conducted by the Maine Department of Transportation; and
Whereas, a recommendation to increase interstate weight limits is also supported by the Maine State Police, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the Maine Turnpike Authority, the Maine Better Transportation Association, the Maine Chamber and Business Alliance and the Maine Motor Transportation Association, now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That We, your Memorialists, request that the President of the United States and the United States Congress amend federal law to increase the interstate gross vehicle weight limits for 6-axle combination vehicles to between 90,000 and 95,000 pounds and maintain the current freeze on longer combination vehicles; and be it further
Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States; the President of the United States Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States and each member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.
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