[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9] [Senate] [Pages 12784-12785] [From the U.S. 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-124. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to pass the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009 (H.R. 1835 and S. 1408); to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 14 To memorialize the United States Congress to take necessary actions to promptly consider and pass the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009 (H.R. 1835 and S. 1408) and to urge each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation to express their support for the Act by becoming a cosponsor. Whereas, located in Desoto Parish, Louisiana, the Haynesville Shale is the largest natural gas field in the continental United States; and Whereas, the Haynesville Shale holds approximately two hundred and fifty-one trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas; and Whereas, drilling and recovery technology allows natural gas to be utilized in an environmentally safe and economically viable manner; and Whereas, domestic gas is the only resource that can replace imported gasoline and diesel as a transportation fuel; and Whereas, Congress is currently considering the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (H.R. 1835 and S. 1408) which provides incentives to move cars and light trucks as well as heavy-duty trucks from imported gasoline or diesel to domestic natural gas and encourages development of engines that reduce emissions, improve performance and efficiency, and lower cost: Therefore be it Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to promptly consider and pass the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009 (H.R. 1835 and S. 1408) and to urge each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation to express their support for the Act by becoming a cosponsor; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation. ____ POM-125. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to consider recommendations to amend the Stafford Act regarding disaster recovery in Louisiana; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 96 To memorialize the Congress of the United States to consider recommendations to amend the Stafford Act regarding disaster recovery for Louisiana. Whereas, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and subsequent national disasters has brought extensive criticism of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (``Stafford Act'') as an inadequate and ineffective legal standard for federal response to a national disaster that causes population displacement and significant damage to property and infrastructure, and that overwhelms the capacities of state and local governments to achieve recovery; and Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to the provisions of the Stafford Act which do not require any action remotely approaching a comprehensive, centralized, and integrated disaster mitigation, response, and recovery program with massive resources that can only be provided by the federal government; and Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to the provisions of the Stafford Act which delegate the responsibility for recovery to state governments and establish a bureaucratic process for state requests for federal assistance, which have led to confusion and inaction, with essential assistance delayed and in many instances pleas for help being ignored; and [[Page 12785]] Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to the provisions of the Stafford Act which create neither an individual right to assistance nor a process for governmental accountability, thereby leaving people with few avenues of legal recourse for disaster relief; and Whereas, such criticism is in part a reaction to provisions in the Stafford Act that do not address the specific material and humanitarian needs of people struggling to restore their lives and communities; and Whereas, the Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps (``KCLC'') has embarked on a course of developing policy recommendations for amending the Stafford Act to achieve effective disaster mitigation, response, and recovery; and Whereas, the KCLC report, What It Takes to Rebuild a Village after a Disaster: Stories from Internally Displaced Children and Families of Hurricane Katrina (July 2007), presents the recommendations for a national disaster standard that support the fair and equitable restoration of lives and communities harmed by a national disaster; and Whereas, the KCLC, U.S. Conference of Mayors, United States Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Internal Displacement Project of Brookings Institution make recommendations that can support unified work to improve the current legal standard for addressing the country's response to a national disaster: Therefore be it Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States to consider recommendations to amend the Stafford Act regarding disaster recovery in Louisiana; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress. ____ POM-l26. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana urging Congress to remove the financial eligibility requirements for patients stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be approved to receive Medicaid; to the Committee on Finance. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 23 To memorialize the Congress of the United States to remove the financial eligibility requirements for patients stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be approved to receive Medicaid. Whereas, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is better known as ``Lou Gehrig's disease''; and Whereas, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by degeneration of cell bodies of the lower motor neurons in the gray matter of the anterior horns of the spinal cord; and Whereas, the initial symptom of ALS is weakness of skeletal muscles, especially those of the extremities; and Whereas, as ALS progresses, the patient experiences difficulty in swallowing, talking, and breathing; and Whereas, ALS eventually causes muscles to atrophy, and the patient becomes a functional quadriplegic; and Whereas, research indicates that military veterans are at a fifty percent greater risk of developing ALS than those who have not served in the military; and Whereas, ALS does not affect a patient's mental capacity, so that the patient remains alert and aware of his loss of motor functions and the inevitable outcome of continued deterioration and death; and Whereas, on average, patients diagnosed with ALS only survive two to five years from the time of diagnosis; and Whereas, ALS has no known cause, means of prevention, or cure; and Whereas, there can be significant costs for medical care, equipment, and home health caregiving later in the disease; and Whereas, many families deplete their life savings attempting to pay for the care of their loved ones; and Whereas, the financial burden associated with ALS for American families is enormous: Therefore, be it Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes the Congress of the United States to remove the financial eligibility requirements for patients stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be approved to receive Medicaid; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress. ____ POM-l27. A joint resolution adopted by the House of Representatives of the State of Colorado recognizing the bravery and sacrifice of the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo and designating January 23rd each year as ``U.S.S. Pueblo Day''; to the Committee on the Judiciary. House Joint Resolution No. 10-1007 Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo was originally launched as a United States Army cargo ship in 1944 but was transferred to the United States Navy and renamed the U.S.S. Pueblo in 1966; and Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo was named for the city of Pueblo, Colorado, and the county of Pueblo, Colorado, and was the third ship in the naval fleet to bear the name Pueblo; and Whereas, After leaving Japan in early January 1968 on an intelligence mission, the U.S.S. Pueblo was attacked by the North Korean military on January 23, 1968; and Whereas, According to United States Naval authorities and the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo, the ship was in international waters at the time of the attack; and Whereas, One crew member of the U.S.S. Pueblo was killed during the attack, and eighty crew members and two civilian oceanographers were captured and held for eleven months by the North Korean government; and Whereas, This year marks the forty-second anniversary of North Korea's attack on the U.S.S. Pueblo and her crew; and Whereas, The U.S.S. Pueblo is still in commission in the United States Navy, but continues to be held by the North Korean government and is currently a museum in Pyongyang, North Korea: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the Sixty- seventh General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein: (1) That we, the members of the General Assembly, recognize the bravery and sacrifice of the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo; and (2) That we take pride in the fact that the U.S.S. Pueblo bears the name of a city and a county in Colorado, and, therefore, the citizens of Colorado should be aware of the incident that occurred with the U.S.S. Pueblo forty-two years ago; and (3) That we hereby designate January 23 each year as ``U.S.S. Pueblo Day'' as a day to remember and honor the brave crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo; and be it further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to President Barack Obama, Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Robert C. Byrd, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and the members of Colorado's congressional delegation. ____________________