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 Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S18918-S18919 on Dec. 19, 1995.
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-483. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry:
``Legislative Resolve No. 18
``Whereas the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, has issued a new strategic plan known as
``Reinvention of the Forest Service''; and
``Whereas this plan has far-reaching implications and was developed without consultation with key elected leaders, including state governors, members of the United States Congress, or community, tribal government, and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) corporate leaders in contradiction of President Clinton's Executive Order No. 12875 ``Enhancing Intergovernmental Partnerships''; and
``Whereas Vice-President Gore's ``Report on Reinventing Government'' was developed with the promised intent of empowering local governments and decentralizing decision-making power; and
``Whereas the ``Reinvention of the Forest Service'' strategic plan approved by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, just before his resignation, eliminates the very foundation of locally based authority that had the responsibility of working with states, local communities, tribal governments, and ANCSA corporations and masks and diffuses decision-making authority and withdraws it to Washington, D.C., making the Forest Service less responsive to local concerns; and
``Whereas moving the Alaska Region Forest Service office to Portland, Oregon, is an example of the flawed science being used to define ecosystems and ecological boundaries; and
``Whereas the newly defined purpose of the Forest Service to promote the sustainability of ecosystems without specifically retaining the traditional Forest Service objective of promoting community stability has already created problems and crises for hundreds of communities dependent upon the national forests and state and private forest ecosystems; and
``Whereas the new strategic plan has seemingly turned away from commitment towards providing a continuous flow of renewable resources to meet the public need, as directed in the Organic Act, Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960, the National Forest Management Act, and other Acts of the Congress; and
``Whereas, under the new strategic plan, the Forest Service is more inclined to present a nebulous plan for ecosystem management where resource yields are simply the by-products of management, with no predictable flows or commitments to supply levels to sustain human life: Be it
``Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature calls upon the newly designated Secretary of Agriculture to suspend implementation of the reinvention project's strategic plan approved by Secretary Espy to allow for Congressional review and for consultation with local governments; and be it further
``Resolved, That the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, conduct true partnership meetings with states, communities, tribal governments, and ANCSA corporations to develop a new strategic plan; and be it further
``Resolved, That the Forest Service acknowledge the United States Department of Agriculture's legal obligations to rebuild, restore, and promote the economic stability of forest dependent communities; and be it further
``Resolved, That, in keeping with federal law, timber commodities are a primary not a residual value of forest management; and be it further
``Resolved, That the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, through a true partnership with local communities, identify and implement strategies for decentralizing decision making and empowering state and local governments to more effectively manage forest ecosystems to assure community stability, improve service to the public, and reduce government cost.
``Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture; the Honorable Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior; Jack Ward Thomas, Chief of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.''
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POM-484. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
``Legislative Resolve No. 22
``Whereas 46 U.S.C. Appx. 861-889 (Merchant Marine Act of 1920), commonly known as the Jones Act, requires that seaborne shipping between United States ports be done on vessels that have been constructed in the United States and that are crewed by United States crews; and
``Whereas this requirement has resulted in much higher costs for shipping bulk commodities on United States vessels between domestic ports than for shipping those commodities on foreign carriers between United States and foreign ports; and
``Whereas there are currently no bulk carriers constructed in the United States that are capable of servicing the large-scale movement of Alaska coal and coal derived fuels; and
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``Whereas, because the transportation cost for a high-tonnage, low-value bulk commodity is often a significant part of the total delivered cost of that commodity, a higher shipping cost can frequently keep a bulk commodity from being competitive; and
``Whereas Alaska coal and coal derived fuels are a potential fuel source for utilities and industries on the west coast of the United States and in Hawaii; and
``Whereas the current difference between Jones Act shipping rates and foreign shipping rates has made the delivered cost of foreign coal significantly less expensive than domestic coal as evidenced by the current supply agreements between a Hawaiian independent power producer and an Indonesian coal supplier; and
``Whereas greatly increased coal usage figures prominently in the future generation plans for Hawaiian utilities and thus will create prospective markets for Alaska coal; and
``Whereas it is the policy of the State of Alaska under AS 44.19.035 to persuade the Congress to repeal the Jones Act: Be it
Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature opposes the application of the Jones Act to bulk commodities, such as coal and coal derived fuels, because of the Acts detrimental effect on Alaska commerce; and be it further
Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the Congress to pass legislation exempting Alaska bulk commodities, such as coal and coal derived fuels, from provisions of the Jones Act.
``Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Federico Pena, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Bob Dole, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; and the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.''
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POM-485. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:
``Legislative Resolve No. 26
``Whereas the State of Alaska entered into the Union on an equal footing with all other states, and the Statehood Compact specifically granted authority over fish and wildlife to the State of Alaska; and
``Whereas the issue of fisheries management was one of the most prominent justifications for statehood; and
``Whereas the State of Alaska contends that the Statehood Compact cannot be legally modified by either party without the consent of the other party; and
``Whereas the Congress and the President of the United States are presently embarking on a campaign to return rights and authority to the states; and
``Whereas Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA; P.L. 96-487), enacted in 1980, grants a subsistence priority on federal public land in Alaska; and
``Whereas the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture have threatened unilateral federal preemption of state fish and wildlife management on state and private land and water in Alaska; and
``Whereas the State of Alaska, the federal government, and other parties are attempting to sort out the complexities of the federal law related to jurisdictional issues created by ANILCA; and
``Whereas the legal process for developing a final resolution to the jurisdictional questions is extremely slow, and major social and economic disruption is imminent if the federal government continues on a course to illegally and unconstitutionally preempt state management of fish and wildlife; and
``Whereas the Congress specifically declined to grant preemption authority to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture in ANILCA; and
``Whereas the Congress specifically reemphasized that the jurisdiction and authority of the state were to be maintained; and
``Whereas the Alaska State Legislature is confident that the Alaska delegation in the Congress and the people of Alaska would never have agreed to the final compromise ANILCA package had they been advised that ANILCA contained provisions to allow federal preemption of all state fish and wildlife management in Alaska; and
``Whereas the federal agencies and some parties are arguing in recent court cases concerning state/federal jurisdiction that federal reserved water rights and the navigational servitude provide legal basis for a claim of federal title to land and resources; and
``Whereas this interpretation of federal laws related to federal reserved water rights and the navigational servitude is contrary to all existing related laws and policies adopted by the Congress and threatens to undermine existing reserved water rights and navigable waters policies that are critical to all western states: Be it
``Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature respectfully and urgently requests the Congress to amend the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to clarify that the original intent of the Congress was not to violate the Statehood Compact or to preempt state management of fish and wildlife in Alaska; and be it further
``Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that the Congress amend ANILCA to clarify that the definition of ``public lands'' means only federal public land and water; and be it further
``Resolved, That, while the federal courts are resolving the federal/state conflicts created by Title VIII of ANILCA, the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that the Congress amend ANILCA to expressly prohibit preemption of state jurisdiction on state and private land and water unless specifically authorized by the Congress and the State of Alaska; and be it further
``Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the Congress to clarify that neither ANILCA nor another federal law provides authority for the federal agencies to claim title to resources or land through federal reserved water rights or through the navigational servitude; and be it further,
``Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the Alaska delegation in Congress to oppose any other amendments to ANILCA until the Congress takes action to confirm state management and to limit the definition of
``public lands.''
``Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bob Dole, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
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