Ocean State Today

Jack Reed was mentioned in PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS on pages S1253-S1255 covering the 1st Session of the 118th Congress published on April 19 in the Congressional Record.

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-12. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of Guam requesting the Secretary of the Interior to honor the Department of the Interior's responsibilities to Guam by directing the Offices of Insular Affairs and Environmental Policy and Compliance to review and assess the potential environmental impacts of the Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz Live-Fire Training Range Complex at Northwest Field, and the Hand Grenade Range at Andersen South, on the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, and provide guidance to the Department of the Navy prior to range operations that ensures the protection of Guam's water resources; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Resolution No. 464-36

Whereas, in August 2015, the U.S. Department of the Navy issued its Record of Decision based on the Guam and CNMI Military Relocation Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (2012 Roadmap Adjustments) (SEIS), pursuant to which the U.S. Department of Defense proposed to relocate approximately eight thousand six hundred (8,600) U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam; and as part of that action, to construct and operate a series of live-fire training ranges on Guam and CNMI. The massive Live-Fire Training Range Complex (LFTRC) and Hand Grenade Range are currently under construction and sit on top of the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer

(NGLA)--a critical resource that provides Guam residents with eighty-five percent (85%) of the island's fresh drinking water; and

Whereas, the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz LFTRC is located at Northwest Field on Andersen Air Force Base, and consists of five (5) separate firing ranges, including a Known Distance (KD) rifle range, a KD pistol range, a Modified Record of Fire Range (MRFR), a nonstandard small arms range, a Multipurpose Machine Gun (MPMG) range, and a stand-alone Hand Grenade Range that is located at Andersen South. Approximately one hundred eighty-seven (187) acres of pristine limestone forest have been cleared in support of the LFTRC; construction of the KD rifle range project is anticipated to be complete in 2022 and operational sometime between 2023-2024; and construction of the Multi-Purpose Machine Gun range is ongoing with expected completion in 2024; and

Whereas, according to the SEIS, up to 6.7 million lead bullets will be fired and four hundred twenty-one (421) hand grenades will be thrown over the aquifer each year, potentially threatening the community's primary water source, as well as the surrounding ocean areas; and

Whereas, the SEIS provides that range operations have the potential to leach munitions constituents into groundwater, such as lead, antimony, copper, and zinc. Munitions constituents are ``any materials originating from unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or other military munitions, including explosive and nonexplosive materials, and emission, degradation, or breakdown elements of such ordnance or munitions.'' 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2710(e)(3). The SEIS further discloses that munitions constituents specific to the explosives used at the Hand Grenade Range include trinitrotoluene (TNT), cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine

(High Melting Explosive, HMX), hexahydrotrinitrotriazine

(Royal Demolition Explosive, RDX), and perchlorate; and

Whereas, in addition to harmful munitions constituents, the SEIS states that the firing ranges would potentially increase the amount of petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POLs), hazardous waste, herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers being stored, transported, and utilized at the proposed facilities; and

Whereas, I Liheslaturan Guahan (the Guam Legislature) finds it concerning that the SEIS lacks a thorough discussion of range munitions constituents and omits available data regarding the potential for these chemical agents to remain in soils and leach into the groundwater. In January 2012, the United States Environmental Protection Agency published the ``EPA Federal Facilities Forum Issue Paper: Site Characterization for Munitions Constituents'' (EPA 2012 Paper), which compiles studies of military installations in the U.S and Canada and identifies a wide range of chemical agents left on surface soils surrounding firing ranges. The EPA 2012 Paper cites data showing that chemical components of explosives and propellants tend to be mobilized by heavy rainfall and may threaten groundwater supplies. This is of particular concern on Guam, as the karst limestone topography of the NGLA is especially porous, rendering the aquifer vulnerable to contamination; and

Whereas, I Liheslaturan Guahan also finds that the significance of the NGLA as Guam's sole source aquifer, the increased annual withdrawal of groundwater amounting to 1.7 million gallons each day as a result of the Guam and CNMI Military Relocation, and threats induced by climate change are critical factors that must be considered to determine the true and long-term impacts of the training ranges on Guam's water resources; and

Whereas, I Liheslaturan Guahan recognizes Guam's obligation to protect and preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the CHamoru people, and that the island and its resources are an inheritance from Guam's ancestors for the island's present and future generations, and must be safeguarded; and

Whereas, island nations all across the Pacific region are rising to fulfill that obligation and ensure community resilience and survival through climate change; and the Guam community joins the voices within the Pacific region and with those who have dedicated their lives to protecting this inheritance--Guam's lands and waters; and

Whereas, there is insufficient scientific data available to Guam residents to fully assess potentially irreversible impacts of the construction and operation of the firing ranges on the NGLA, and it is critical that the community is given reasonable time to review relevant and sound information before the ranges become operational: Now therefore, be it

Resolved, That I Mina'trentai Sais Na Liheslaturan Guahan

(the 36th Guam Legislature) does hereby, on behalf of the people of Guam, call on U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to honor the U.S. Department of the Interior's responsibilities to Guam and its residents by directing the Offices of Insular Affairs and Environmental Policy and Compliance to review and assess the potential environmental impacts of the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz Live-Fire Training Range Complex at Northwest Field, and the Hand Grenade Range at Andersen South, on the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, and provide guidance to the U.S. Department of the Navy prior to range operations that ensures the protection of Guam's water resources; and be it further

Resolved, That the Speaker certify, and the Legislative Secretary attest to, the adoption hereof, and that copies of the same be thereafter transmitted to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America; to the Honorable Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America; to the Honorable Deb Haaland, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior; to the Honorable Keone Nakoa, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior; to Stephen G. Tryon, Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, U.S. Department of the Interior; to the Honorable Jack Reed, Chairperson, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate; to the Honorable Adam Smith, Chairperson, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives; and to the Honorable Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, I Maga 'hagan Guahan.

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POM-13. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Illinois rescinding its 1863 ratification of the following proposition, known as the Corwin Amendment to the United States Constitution: ``Article XIII. No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.''; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 22

Whereas, On February 27, 1861, in an attempt to avert the secession of Southern states, United States Representative Thomas Corwin of Ohio proposed an amendment to the United States Constitution that would prohibit the United States Constitution from being amended in a manner that authorizes Congress to abolish or interfere with the states' domestic institutions, including slavery; and

Whereas, On March 2, 1861, the Corwin Amendment was approved by a joint resolution of the Thirty-Sixth United States Congress (12 Stat. 251) and was submitted to the states under Article V of the United States Constitution for ratification with no deadline given for completion of its ratification; and

Whereas, The Twenty-Third General Assembly of the State of Illinois ratified the Corwin Amendment in ``An Act ratifying a certain amendment to the Constitution of the United States'', in force June 2, 1863 (Public Laws 1863, p. 41); and

Whereas, The Corwin Amendment has not yet been ratified by three-fourths of the states and, therefore, is not part of the United States Constitution at this time; and

Whereas, It is still possible that a sufficient number of states could belatedly ratify the Corwin Amendment thereby adding it to the United States Constitution, as occurred with the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was first proposed in 1789 and was not ratified by a sufficient number of states until 1992; and

Whereas, With the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the actual 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865, the purposes of the Corwin Amendment have become moot: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, by the Senate of the One Hundred Second General Assembly of the State of Illinois, the House of Representatives Concurring Herein, That the State of Illinois rescinds its 1863 ratification of the following proposition, known as the Corwin Amendment to the United States Constitution:

``ARTICLE XIII. No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.''; and be it further

Resolved, That certified copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Archivist of the United States, the President of the United States, the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and each member congressional delegation with the request verbatim in the Congressional Record.

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POM-14. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey respectfully urging the United States Congress and the President of the United States to increase funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Assembly Resolution No. 165

Whereas, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA), established in 1958 to expand ``human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space,'' is a federal agency that invests in innovative activities that create jobs, jumpstart businesses, and grow the economy; and

Whereas, As part of its overall mission, NASA seeks to improve aeronautical and space vehicles capable of carrying living organisms, equipment, supplies, and instruments by studying and recognizing the interconnectedness of varied sciences; and

Whereas, The onset of the Space Race underscored the significance of NASA, as the agency's initial space and lunar expeditions captivated the psyche of the nation and catapulted the United States to the forefront of the scientific-technological revolution; and

Whereas, Another NASA innovation, known as the James Webb Space Telescope, has enabled humanity to see deep into the outer limits of space, reigniting the nation's hunger for exploration; and

Whereas, Today, NASA research and development projects tend to result in spinoff technologies in common use, including solar panels, medical imaging and dental x-ray devices, cell phone cameras, cordless vacuums, memory foam, and stronger tire material; and

Whereas, It is clear that there is an increased interest and demand in space craft, space flight, and satellite technology from the private sector, and increased funding for public-private partnerships could lead to further innovations that bring economic growth to New Jersey and the country as a whole; and

Whereas, New Jersey seeks to foster the next generation's expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by capitalizing on awe-inspiring NASA missions to demonstrate real-life applications of what is taught in the classroom; and

Whereas, The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the urgency for funding STEM education and career training as an investment in future health and prosperity, both short-term and long- term; and

Whereas, Climate uncertainty and extreme weather events heighten the necessity for investing in endeavors that lead to pioneering solutions to help humanity adapt with the planet we live on; and

Whereas, Despite the value that NASA continues to present to the American people and the economy, NASA's annual funding adjusted for inflation peaked in 1966 at $49 billion, in 2021 dollars, and has stagnated since 2000 at roughly $22 billion, in 2021 dollars; and

Whereas, President Biden's proposed federal fiscal year

(FY) 2023 funding for NASA will raise the agency's budget to

$26 billion, an eight percent increase over FY2022's $24 billion budget; and

Whereas, Increasing the administration's budget will lead to scientific and technological innovations that will create jobs, jumpstart businesses, grow the economy, and expand human understanding of our planet and universe; now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House respectfully urges the Congress and the President to increase funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the federal budget.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, each member of the United States Congress elected from this State, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

POM-15. A resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, California, condemning Azerbaijan's Blockade of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh

(Artsakh) and ongoing human rights violations; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 169, No. 65

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