		IV
		112th CONGRESS
		2d Session
		H. RES. 721
		IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

			June 29, 2012
			Mr. Clarke of
			 Michigan (for himself and Mr. Scott of
			 South Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was
			 referred to the Committee on Education and
			 the Workforce

		RESOLUTION
		Expressing the sense of the House of
		  Representatives that bolstering literacy among African-American and Hispanic
		  men is an urgent national priority.

		Whereas literacy is a vital skill for survival in the
			 United States;
		Whereas literacy is an essential tool for exercising
			 active citizenship and holding government officials accountable;
		Whereas universal literacy is a necessity for United
			 States competitiveness in the global economy;
		Whereas illiteracy is highly correlated with imprisonment,
			 given that 56 percent of United States adults in prison or jail in 2008 were
			 deemed to have very low literacy skills according to the National Commission on
			 Adult Literacy;
		Whereas illiteracy can be considered a major factor giving
			 rise to the phenomenon commonly referred to as the
			 school-to-prison-pipeline;
		Whereas according to the most recent national assessment
			 of adult literacy, 34,000,000 adults function at below basic literacy
			 levels;
		Whereas according to the Department of Education, 20
			 percent of African-Americans and 39 percent of Hispanics function at below
			 basic literacy levels;
		Whereas only 47 percent of African-American males and 44
			 percent of Hispanic males graduate from high school;
		Whereas 45 percent of adult literacy
			 students at community-based organizations are prime working age people between
			 the ages of 25 and 44;
		Whereas according to a July 2006 report in Stanford
			 Magazine, an increase in the percentage of poverty-stricken students in a
			 school is associated with the decline in performance on literacy tests;
		Whereas illiteracy is an intergenerational problem, as the
			 children of illiterate parents are less likely to receive the support they need
			 to attain reading proficiency;
		Whereas Federal, State, municipal, and community-based
			 literacy programs have been able to reach a small proportion of the total
			 illiterate population; and
		Whereas 74 percent of community-based organizations
			 focused on adult literacy have waiting lists: Now, therefore, be it

		That the House of
			 Representatives—
			(1)recognizes illiteracy as a national crisis,
			 which disproportionately affects African-American and Hispanic males;
			(2)affirms the goal
			 of reducing adult illiteracy by 50 percent in these target populations and by
			 25 percent throughout the United States in the coming decade;
			(3)encourages local,
			 State, and Federal agencies as well as the private sector to take on literacy
			 promotion initiatives in an effort to resolve this crisis;
			(4)encourages Federal
			 agencies and private firms to support community-based organization programs and
			 the use of trained volunteers to work with the target populations; and
			(5)encourages the
			 establishment of local partnerships among service providers to better meet the
			 needs of adult learners.


I115th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 313IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 5, 2017Mrs. Blackburn (for herself and Mr. Hensarling) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and MeansA BILLTo amend title II of the Social Security Act to establish a Social Security Surplus Protection Account in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund to hold the Social Security surplus, to provide for suspension of investment of amounts held in the Account until enactment of legislation providing for investment of the Trust Fund in investment vehicles other than obligations of the United States, and to establish a Social Security Investment Commission to make recommendations for alternative forms of investment of the Social Security surplus in the Trust Fund.
1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Savings for Seniors Act of 2017. 2.Interim protections for social security trust fund surplus (a)In generalSection 201(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(d)) is amended—
(1)by striking It shall be the duty and inserting (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be the duty; and (2)by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(2)
(A)There is established in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund a Social Security Surplus Protection Account. As soon as practicable after each fiscal year after fiscal year 2017, the Managing Trustee shall transfer to the Account, from amounts otherwise available in the Trust Fund, amounts equivalent to the social security surplus for such fiscal year. Such amounts shall be transferred from time to time to the Account, such amounts to be determined on the basis of estimates by the Managing Trustee, and proper adjustments shall be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were in excess of or were less than the correct amount. (B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term social security surplus means, for any fiscal year, the excess, if any, of—
(i)the sum of— (I)the taxes imposed for such fiscal year by chapter 21 (other than sections 3101(b) and 3111(b)) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to wages (as defined in section 3121 of such Code) reported to the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegates pursuant to subtitle F of such Code, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury by applying the applicable rates of tax under such chapter 21 (other than sections 3101(b) and 3111(b)) to such wages, less the amounts specified in clause (1) of subsection (b) of this section for such fiscal year,
(II)the taxes imposed by chapter 2 (other than section 1401(b)) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to self-employment income (as defined in section 1402 of such Code) reported to the Secretary of the Treasury on tax returns under subtitle F of such Code, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury by applying the applicable rate of tax under such chapter (other than section 1401(b)) to such self-employment income, less the amounts specified in clause (2) of subsection (b) of this section for such fiscal year, and (III)the amount equivalent to the aggregate increase in tax liabilities under chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is attributable to the application of sections 86 and 871(a)(3) of such Code to payments from the Trust Fund, over
(ii)the sum of— (I)benefits paid from the Trust Fund during the fiscal year, and
(II)amounts authorized to be made available from the Trust Fund under subsection (g) of this section which are paid from the Trust Fund during such fiscal year. (C)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the balance in the Account shall not be available for investment by the Managing Trustee.
(D)
(i)The preceding provisions of this paragraph shall not apply with respect to fiscal years commencing with or after the first fiscal year, after fiscal year 2017, for which a provision of Federal law takes effect and authorizes, for amounts in the Trust Fund, an investment vehicle other than obligations of the United States resulting in the transfer of Trust Fund assets to the general fund of the Treasury. (ii)A provision of Federal law shall be deemed to meet the requirements of clause (i) if such provision includes the the following: This Act shall be considered to be a provision of Federal law meeting the requirements of section 201(d)(2)(D)(i) of the Social Security Act...
3.Social Security Investment Commission
(a)EstablishmentThere is established in the executive branch of the Government a Social Security Investment Commission. (b)Study and reportAs soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall conduct a study to ascertain the most effective vehicles for investment of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, other than investment in the form of obligations of the United States resulting in the transfer of Trust Fund assets to the general fund of the Treasury. Not later than October 1, 2017, the Commission shall submit a report to the President and to each House of the Congress setting forth its recommendations for such vehicles for investment, together with proposals for such administrative and legislative changes as the Commission determines necessary to authorize and implement such recommendations.
(c)CompositionThe Commission shall be composed of— (1)3 members appointed by the President, of whom 1 shall be designated by the President as Chairman;
(2)2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; (3)1 member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;
(4)2 members appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; and (5)1 member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
(d)Membership requirementsMembers of the Commission shall have substantial experience, training, and expertise in the management of financial investments and pension benefit plans. (e)Length of appointmentsMembers of the Commission shall serve for the life of the Commission. A vacancy on the Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made and shall be subject to any conditions that applied with respect to the original appointment.
(f)Administrative provisions
(1)MeetingsThe Commission shall meet— (A)not less than once during each month; and
(B)at additional times at the call of the Chairman. (2)Exercise of powers (A)In generalThe Commission shall perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Commission on a majority vote of a quorum of the Commission. Three members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(B)VacanciesA vacancy on the Commission shall not impair the authority of a quorum of the Commission to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Commission. (g)Compensation (1)In generalEach member of the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be compensated at the daily rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule for each day during which such member is engaged in performing a function of the Commission.
(2)ExpensesA member of the Commission shall be paid travel, per diem, and other necessary expenses under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while traveling away from such member's home or regular place of business in the performance of the duties of the Commission. (h)TerminationThe Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date of the submission of its report pursuant to subsection (b).


116 HRES 1270 IH: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that no taxpayer dollars will be used to enact sanctions that inflict suffering on civilian populations.
U.S. House of Representatives
2020-12-18
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV116th CONGRESS2d SessionH. RES. 1270IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESDecember 18, 2020Ms. Gabbard submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign AffairsRESOLUTIONExpressing the sense of the House of Representatives that no taxpayer dollars will be used to enact sanctions that inflict suffering on civilian populations.Whereas sanctions are an instrument of modern-day economic warfare, designed to inflict punishment on foreign populations by impeding the ability of those populations to access the basic necessities required for a decent life, such as food, medicine, hygiene and sanitary supplies, and fuel;Whereas the aim of sanctions is often to forcibly engineer regime change in foreign nations by inflicting maximum suffering on civilian populations in the hopes they will turn against their own government;Whereas the true victims of sanctions are innocent civilians subjected to collective punishment for the sins, real or perceived, of their governments;Whereas sanctions have accelerated migrant crises around the world, undermining stability everywhere from Europe, to the Middle East, to South America, by exacerbating the harsh conditions which give civilians no choice but to flee their homelands;Whereas the policy of punishing innocent civilians with cruel and counter-productive sanctions in the midst of a global pandemic has impeded the ability of civilian populations to obtain the medical, nutritional, hygienic resources needed to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which, given the transmissibility of the virus across national borders, ultimately harms the United States; Whereas the human toll in the countries targeted by the most draconian sanctions policies have caused immense suffering on vulnerable populations, including women, children, and the elderly;Whereas Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once opined that the price was worth it to impose devastating sanctions on Iraq, even as she acknowledged that the price was the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, and a further worsening of diplomatic relations that culminated in the disastrous U.S. invasion and occupation just a few years later; and Whereas public discussion of sanctions is too often impersonal and abstract, obscuring the devastating impact of this policy, and neglecting that the end-result is vulnerable populations like women and children freezing and starving to death: Now, therefore, be itThat it is the sense of the United States House of Representatives that no taxpayer dollars, government personnel or equipment shall be used to enact sanctions that inflict suffering on civilian populations by interfering with their ability to access food, electricity, power, clothing, medicine, medical care, transportation, financial transactions, supplies, or other basic human needs required for day-to-day survival.


		III
		109th CONGRESS
		2d Session
		S. RES. 522
		IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

			June 27, 2006
			Mr. Frist (for himself,
			 Mr. Alexander, Mr. Warner, and Mr.
			 Allen) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and
			 agreed to

		RESOLUTION
		Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the
		  cities of Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia.

		Whereas the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol,
			 Virginia were officially chartered in 1856, celebrated the Bristol Centennial
			 in 1956, and have organized to celebrate the Bristol Sesquicentennial in
			 2006;
		Whereas the Bristol Sesquicentennial theme,
			 Celebrating 150 Years of Heritage and Harmony underscores the
			 duality of Bristol as a cohesion of 2 separate cities with 1 communal
			 spirit;
		Whereas the Bristol Sign, listed in the
			 National Register of Historic Places, serves to exemplify the communal spirit
			 of Bristol, bridge the States of Tennessee and Virginia over the cooperatively
			 named State Street, and declare Bristol A Good Place to
			 Live;
		Whereas the people of Bristol continue to work to preserve
			 structures of historical significance, including the Paramount Theatre, the Old
			 Customs House, and the historic train station;
		Whereas the phonographic recordings known as the Bristol
			 Sessions launched the country music careers of the Carter Family, the
			 Stonemans, and Jimmie Rogers, and prompted historians to describe Bristol as
			 the Big Bang of modern country music;
		Whereas country music is a central part of the history of
			 Bristol, which Congress recognized as the Birthplace of Country
			 Music;
		Whereas the history and economic development of Bristol is
			 intimately tied to commercial transportation and Bristol countinues to serve as
			 an important commercial hub for the surrounding region; and
		Whereas automotive racing is integral to the identity of
			 Bristol and the World's Fastest Half-Mile at the Bristol Motor
			 Speedway continues to offer exciting events to scores of racing fans: Now,
			 therefore, be it

		That the Senate—
			(1)acknowledges the
			 cultural and historic achievements of the people of Bristol, Tennessee and
			 Bristol, Virginia; and
			(2)congratulates the
			 twin cities of Bristol on their sesquicentennial.