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 S8229-S8230 on June 21, 2007.
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-138. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado concerning the 2007 Farm Bill, and, in connection therewith, continuing support for the Federal food stamp program; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Senate Joint Memorial 07-003
Whereas, the provisions of the federal ``Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002'' (Farm Bill) that govern national food assistance programs are set to expire this year; and
Whereas, the Food Stamp Program (Program), our nation's first defense against hunger and a major component of the Farm Bill, bolsters the efforts of the national emergency food assistance system; and
Whereas, the Program is efficiently targeted to reach the urgent needs of people who have the most difficulty purchasing adequate food; and
Whereas, over 95% of benefits from the Program go to households with incomes below the poverty level, 80% of which benefits go to families with children, and nearly all of the remaining beneficiaries are elderly or disabled; and
Whereas, the error rates for overpayment and underpayment to beneficiaries under the Program have steadily declined for the last six years and are now at an all-time low; and
Whereas, the federal government fed some 26 million low-income people at a cost of $31 billion, nearly double the federal expenditure for welfare cash assistance programs; and
Whereas, $323 million in federal food stamp funds are currently received by Colorado, yet, if an additional 185,000 eligible individuals participated in the Program, as much as an additional $158 million from federal funds would flow into the state; and
Whereas, the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that, for every $5.00 in food stamp benefits, an additional $9.20 is generated in local economic activity; and
Whereas, the Program pays dividends for low-income consumers, food producers and manufacturers, grocery retailers, and communities; and
Whereas, as food stamp purchases made with Program benefits flow through grocery checkout lines, farmers' markets, and other outlets, those benefits generate almost double their value in economic activity, especially for many hard-pressed rural and urban communities desperately in need of business and job stimulus; and
Whereas, hunger has adverse consequences for all Coloradans, particularly for children and mothers; and
Whereas, too many people in our communities lack the resources to consistently put food on their tables for themselves and their families; and
Whereas, while the Program has substantially decreased malnutrition in our country and helps prevent the problem of hunger from becoming worse in our communities, the Program currently reaches only about one-half of eligible low-income working families; and
Whereas, food stamps outreach and nutrition education programs are useful tools in the fight against hunger, but these efforts need more resources in order to fully reach their potential; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-sixth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein,
(1) That we, the Colorado General Assembly, support the passage of the 2007 Farm Bill;
(2) That we strongly urge Congress to place top priority on implementing a section of the Farm Bill on nutrition that would renew the provisions of, and improve upon, the Program; and
(3) That we further urge Congress: To improve the adequacy of benefits to help reduce hunger and ensure that everyone in the Program has the resources to assist them in purchasing and preparing a nutritionally adequate diet; to simplify the Program for clients and their caseworkers; and to continue to simplify and streamline the administrative aspects of the Program; and, be it further
Resolved, That copies of this Joint Memorial be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, United States Senator Tom Harkin, United States Representative Collin Peterson, the Colorado Anti-Hunger Network, and to each member of Colorado's Congressional delegation.
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POM-139. A resolution .adopted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona urging Congress to take action regarding space exploration; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Senate Memorial 1005
Whereas, the United States is a nation of explorers; and
Whereas, when Christopher Columbus made his voyages across the Atlantic in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries his ships carried the inscription ``Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World''; and
Whereas, exploration and discovery have been especially important to the American experience, providing vision, hope and economic stimulus, from New World pioneers and American frontiersmen to the Apollo program; and
Whereas just as Lewis and Clark could not have predicted the settlement of the American west within a hundred years of the start of their famous nineteenth century expedition, the total benefits of a single exploratory undertaking or discovery cannot be predicted in advance; and
Whereas, the desire to explore is part of our character and history has shown that space exploration benefits all humankind through new technologies for everyday application, new jobs across the entire economic enterprise economic contributions through new markets, commercial products, education, inspiration, leadership, increased security and a legacy for future generations; and
Whereas, Arizona has been a leader in the exploration since the dawn of the space age, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in direct contracts in the entire state; and
Whereas, our nation's new vision for space exploration charts a new, ``building block'' strategy to explore destinations across our solar system with robots and humans, allowing our nation to remain competitive in the new industry of space commerce.
Wherefore your memorialist, the Senate of the State of Arizona, prays:
1. That the Congress of the United States enact and fully fund the proposed vision for space exploration, as submitted to Congress in the fiscal year 2008 budget of the United States government, to enable the United States to remain a leader in the exploration and development of space.
2. That the Secretary of State transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of the Congress from the State of Arizona.
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POM-140. A joint resolution adopted by the House of Representatives of the State of Maine urging Congress to raise the weight limit on Interstate 95; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Joint Resolution
Whereas, Interstate 95 in the State of Maine, which is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways and is governed by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, is central to Maine's commerce and industry; and
Whereas, the weight limit on the Interstate Highway System is set at 80,000 pounds by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and consequently by Maine statute, yet the State of Maine has a 100,000-pound limit on its secondary roads, which does not match the national limit; and
Whereas, the Federal Government has given the State of Maine an exemption from the 80,000-pound limit for the last 5 miles of the Maine Turnpike and Interstate 95, which allows for a 100,000-pound limit, and this exemption matches the limit for the rest of the State; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That We, your Memorialists, on behalf of the people we represent, take this opportunity to request that the United States Congress allow the State of Maine a 100,000-pound limit on all of the Interstate Highway System in Maine, not only the authorized 5 miles, and that the United States Congress review this request when the Highway Bill comes up for reauthorization; and be it further
Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and to each Member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.
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POM-141. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Maine urging Congress to enact the Social Security Fairness Act of 2007; to the Committee on Finance.
Joint Resolution
Whereas, Social Security is a trust fund that is intended as a compact between generations, yet it has not always been treated in a manner similar to other trust funds; and
Whereas, Maine's educators, transportation workers, police, firefighters and other civil servants, as well as their spouses, have collectively contributed tens of billions of dollars to Social Security and should in good faith receive such benefits as have been projected to them annually in their personalized Social Security statements; and
Whereas, the federal ``government pension offset provision'' and the federal ``windfall elimination provision,'' enacted, respectively, in 1977 and 1983, have effectively treated state government pensions as if they were a provenance of Social Security, which they are not, and have in this treatment appropriated hundreds of billions of dollars previously entrusted to Social Security by the civil servants of 15 states and by their spouses; and
Whereas, by unfairly taking these hundreds of billions of dollars from just 15 states, including Maine, these twin federal policies have adversely and disproportionately affected Maine's ability to attract and retain effective and qualified workers, as well as Maine's overall economy, its schools, its tax base and its taxpayers and other residents; and
Whereas, the State of Maine has worked hard, over generations, to attract, retain and provide for its state workers in their retirement and has scrupulously guarded and invested the funds entrusted to its retirement system, bringing those reserves to 100 times the value they had just 4 decades ago; and
Whereas, federal legislation has been introduced entitled the Social Security Fairness Act of 2007, proposing to repeal these unfair takings from Maine and from other states; and
Whereas, all Members of the Maine Congressional Delegation are cosponsors of this legislation, along with more than 200 other members of Congress as of mid-February; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That We, your Memorialists, respectfully urge and request that the United States Congress enact the Social Security Fairness Act of 2007; and be it further
Resolved, That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the Senate of the United State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States and each Member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.
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