02/07/2002 03:13 PM House MLV
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND
VETERANS' AFFAIRS
February 7, 2002
3:13 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Chenault, Chair
Representative Lisa Murkowski
Representative Sharon Cissna
Representative Joe Hayes
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Beverly Masek
Representative Joe Green
Representative Pete Kott
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Richard Foster
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 20
Relating to declaring September 11, 2002, as Emergency Service
Providers and Armed Forces Appreciation Day.
- HEARD AND HELD
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 33
Expressing gratitude to President George W. Bush, to the
President's cabinet, and to the men and women of the United
States armed forces and declaring support for the war on
terrorism.
- MOVED CSHJR 33(MLV) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HCR 20
SHORT TITLE:EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDER DAY
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S)STEVENS
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/14/02 1946 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME -
REFERRALS
01/14/02 1946 (H) MLV
01/14/02 1946 (H) REFERRED TO MLV
01/29/02 (H) MLV AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 124
01/29/02 (H) Heard & Held
MINUTE(MLV)
02/07/02 (H) MLV AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 124
BILL: HJR 33
SHORT TITLE:SUPPORT WAR ON TERRORISM
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S)JAMES
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/22/02 2028 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME -
REFERRALS
01/22/02 2028 (H) MLV
01/22/02 2028 (H) REFERRED TO MLV
02/07/02 (H) MLV AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE GARY STEVENS
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 428
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HCR 20.
MARK JOHNSON, Chief
Community Health & Emergency Medical Services
Division of Public Health
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 110616
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0616
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the intent behind
HCR 20.
REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 214
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HJR 33.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-7, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIR MIKE CHENAULT called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 3:13 p.m.
Representatives Chenault, Murkowski, Cissna, and Hayes were
present at the call to order.
HCR 20 - EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDER DAY
Number 0077
CHAIR CHENAULT announced the first order of business, HOUSE
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 20, Relating to declaring September
11, 2002, as Emergency Service Providers and Armed Forces
Appreciation Day.
CHAIR CHENAULT pointed out a new proposed committee substitute
(CS) in packets. [Prepared by the committee aide, it bore the
title, "Relating to declaring September 11, 2002, as a Day of
Remembrance."]
Number 0116
REPRESENTATIVE GARY STEVENS, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor,
noted that HCR 20 had been discussed at a previous meeting. He
pointed out that [the proposed CS] asks the governor to declare
September 11, 2002, as a day of remembrance. Included are [the
people on] Flight 93 [which crashed in Pennsylvania on September
11, 2001], as well as those who were at the Pentagon. He stated
the intention of paying respect to and honoring the people who
were so deeply involved in that tragedy. He expressed
satisfaction with the new proposed CS.
CHAIR CHENAULT voiced appreciation for the cooperative effort to
try to "round this out" so it [encompasses] all of the groups
being discussed with regard to September 11.
Number 0239
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI referred to the second "Whereas" clause
in the proposed CS, relating to Flight 93; she suggested that
the name of the airline should be specified. She noted that
some people truly fought to take that plane down in order to
avoid the taking of more human life [by the hijackers]. At
first, she expressed concern that the resolution talks about
everybody on that flight; she then acknowledged that all the
people on the plane certainly sacrificed their lives.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS agreed it should say "American Airlines"
for clarity. He also agreed that everyone [on that flight]
sacrificed his or her life, even if unable to respond.
Number 0414
CHAIR CHENAULT clarified that the first "Whereas" clause deals
with New York City and the World Trade Center, specifying the
343 firefighters and 23 police officers. [In the following
"Whereas" clauses] Flight 93 is the flight [that went down] in
Pennsylvania, and those who died in the attack on the Pentagon
are included.
Number 0527
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES proposed recognizing the people on the
other planes as well.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS said that is a good point. He suggested
it may go best in the first "Whereas" clause, which deals with
New York City.
CHAIR CHENAULT offered that it could go after "collapsed". He
indicated perhaps the airlines and flight numbers should be
specified.
Number 0616
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI suggested that if it were to be put
chronologically, the first "Whereas" clause might recognize the
United Airlines and American Airlines flights that crashed into
the World Trade Center, as well as the lives lost onboard; the
second "Whereas" clause could cite the firefighters [and police
officers] who lost their lives there.
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI turned attention to the "Whereas"
clause that mentions the lives lost at the Pentagon. She said
it sounds impersonal to say "casualties". She proposed saying
that 125 lives were lost, so it sounds less like a military
statistic.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS replied that he was comfortable with
that. He specified that it could read, "125 lives were lost in
the terrorist attack on the Pentagon".
Number 0795
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked whether the 125 included the
people on the airliner as well as those in the Pentagon.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS offered his belief that it was a
cumulative total.
Number 0846
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES suggested specifying the flight number of
the plane [that crashed into the Pentagon], for consistency.
Number 0930
MARK JOHNSON, Chief, Community Health & Emergency Medical
Services, Division of Public Health, Department of Health &
Social Services, came forward to testify in support of the
intent behind the resolution. Mentioning that he hadn't seen a
copy of the proposed CS, he pointed out that he'd noted a couple
of items in the original bill that sound as if they have been
addressed. He mentioned law-enforcement people who died in New
York City as an example.
MR. JOHNSON also said he was pleased that the resolution
recognizes emergency responders in Alaska; many of them were
involved in responding to the events after September 11. He
expressed hope that the revision would include those as well.
He pointed out that most of the firefighters and EMS [emergency
medical service] providers in Alaska are volunteers.
Number 1016
CHAIR CHENAULT announced that the resolution would be fine-tuned
and then brought back before the committee on February 12.
Number 1062
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS recapped the earlier discussion. The
first "Whereas" clause would deal with the two airplanes that
struck the World Trade Center. What would become the third
"Whereas" clause would relate to Flight 93; American Airlines
would be added as a clarification. In the "Whereas" clause
about the Pentagon, included would be language about [the
people] aboard the flight, specifying the airline and the flight
number. He added that in response to Mr. Johnson's testimony,
he wanted to include a comment in the next-to-the-last "Whereas"
clause about Alaskan participants.
CHAIR CHENAULT added that "lives lost" would be a change in the
fourth "Whereas" clause.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS concurred. [HCR 20 was held over.]
HJR 33 - SUPPORT WAR ON TERRORISM
Number 1166
CHAIR CHENAULT announced the final order of business, HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 33, Expressing gratitude to President
George W. Bush, to the President's cabinet, and to the men and
women of the United States armed forces and declaring support
for the war on terrorism.
Number 1170
REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES, Alaska State Legislature,
sponsor of HJR 33, explained that the [terrorist attacks] on
September 11, 2001, forced recognition of how serious the
terrorist issue is globally. "They're in our midst, and they're
everywhere," she said. Emphasizing that time is of the essence,
she said this issue must be put on the top of the list.
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES suggested that the most discouraging aspect
is a feeling of powerlessness. Furthermore, a suspicion of
others "totally destroys our own basic freedoms that we have in
this country that we ... like so very much," she said.
Representative James proposed that a hard line must be taken in
order to defeat [the attitudes by the perpetrators that led to
the attacks]; she cited poverty and despair as factors in the
"fertile ground" that results in these kinds of problems in many
countries, which often are managed by dictatorships. She stated
the need for the nation to "reach our hand out to help some of
these other people be able to help themselves to rid themselves
of this scourge."
Number 1353
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES told members she believes the importance of
having a resolution is that "the people who are there with this
assignment didn't necessarily ask for this assignment when they
went there." She said almost everyone nationwide supports the
efforts to "rid ourselves of this scourge." She expressed her
belief that Alaskans are behind these efforts, as is the whole
nation. Even though Alaskans are a long way from [where the
particular attacks occurred], Valdez and the oil pipeline have
been listed as valid targets, she noted. Therefore, she is
voicing support and gratitude [through the resolution].
Number 1443
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES brought attention to an amendment proposed
by Representative Cissna [later adopted as Amendment 3], labeled
22-LS1314\A.1, Cook, 2/7/02, which read:
Page 1, line 3, following "terrorism":
Insert "and for the President's effort to support
democracies and promote peace worldwide"
Page 2, line 8, following "terrorism":
Insert "; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State
Legislature declares support for the President's
effort to support democracies and promote peace
worldwide"
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES advised members that she supports the idea
behind the amendment and believes it makes HJR 33 stronger.
Number 1490
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES remarked that she wouldn't be surprised to
wake up some morning to find [another attack], but emphasized
the importance of "getting on with our lives." She again
expressed gratitude that people are taking care of this issue in
a direct way, doing their best to try to get rid of this
scourge. She offered to answer questions.
Number 1552
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI noted that although perhaps Alaskans
feel a modicum of safety [from terrorist attacks] because of the
geographical location, many serious issues still arise. She
agreed that it is important to send a message thanking these
people for what they are doing. Calling it a timely resolution,
she suggested perhaps it should have been sent even earlier.
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI noted that HJR 33 specifically
recognizes the efforts of Secretary of State [Colin Powell],
Secretary of Defense [Donald Rumsfeld], and Director of Homeland
Security [Tom Ridge]; she suggested adding them to the
distribution list as well. She suggested perhaps doing the same
for the Joint Chief of Staff, so that the message could get to
the members of the armed services.
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI also proposed having a reference to the
National Guard. She said the guard certainly "hopped to" in all
50 states in order to address any contingencies.
Number 1681
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES indicated agreement. She added that the
National Guard will have an increasing role in protecting
[Americans]. She also noted that the President is encouraging
more people to go into the Peace Corps, for example. She
pointed out that not only must terrorism be fought, but also
there must be a plan "that helps these people to help themselves
in their freedom issues that they have and being able to ...
help these little places where they just don't have the
wherewithal or the power to make changes." She added, "If we
have people willing to go do that, I think we should probably
recognize that." She restated her willingness to add that as an
amendment.
Number 1779
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI moved to adopt [conceptual] Amendment
1, on page 2, line 2, after "Coast Guard", to insert "the
National Guard" and fix the grammar and commas.
CHAIR CHENAULT asked whether there was any objection. [No
objection was stated, and Amendment 1 was treated as adopted.]
Number 1824
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI moved to adopt [conceptual] Amendment
2, on page 2, line 12, after "Congress", to insert "Secretary of
State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,
Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge", and whoever the Joint
Chief of Staff is. There being no objection, Amendment 2 was
adopted.
Number 1874
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA moved to adopt Amendment 3, labeled 22-
LS1314\A.1, Cook, 2/7/02 [text provided previously].
CHAIR CHENAULT objected in order to ask whether this is the
correct format; he removed his objection after a brief
explanation was offered.
Number 2040
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES objected to Amendment 3, noting that
amendments he would offer may conflict. He expressed concern
about leaving out Congress. He suggested the first "Whereas"
clause could say "the federal government has shown leadership,
using their offices [and so forth]"; it then would list
President Bush, the Secretaries, and so on, and would include
Congress. The resolution would require another "Whereas" clause
discussing Congress also, which has just as much relevance in
this, he said, as the President and his cabinet. Furthermore,
under the "Be It Resolved" section, it would still need to
either say "the federal government, as [an] omnibus" or include
Congress.
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES explained that it is nice to recognize the
President by himself, but the current language leaves out a
large part [of the government]. He pointed out that if there
were a resolution recognizing Alaska's governor, legislators
would object [to not being included]. Furthermore, HJR 33 is to
be sent to Alaska's congressional delegation, although Congress
isn't even recognized in it.
Number 2135
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES respectfully disagreed, saying it isn't the
purpose for which she did it. "It's not to make a laundry list
of everyone who has participated and who hasn't," she said.
Although the majority of Congress has supported [the war on
terrorism], there has been some dispute, she noted. She said
she didn't think it was appropriate, although perhaps she could
think about it further. She suggested that if it would make
Representative Hayes happier, Alaska's congressional delegation
could be left out [of the distribution list] specifically, with
all members of Congress to receive a copy instead.
[Representative Hayes didn't respond verbally, but indicated he
didn't agree with this last suggestion.]
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES concluded by saying she didn't understand.
Number 2200
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES offered his understanding that as far as
the war on terrorism goes, there is no opposition in Congress;
rather, there is opposition regarding domestic policies that
have no relevance to the war on terrorism. In the federal
government, he noted, there has been quite of bit of
bipartisanship when it has involved financing the war on
terrorism and supporting the troops.
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES said he understood the desire to not have a
laundry list. He reiterated his earlier suggestion to begin the
resolution with the federal government, followed by specific
"Whereas" clauses [that include Congress].
Number 2250
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES responded that it isn't intended to be a
partisan issue. The President happens to be commander in chief
of the military, and that is where the leadership in this
particular issue comes from. She suggested that encouraging
[President Bush] fully regarding this issue covers the breadth
of the issue. She said everyone knows that other folks are
supporting this issue. "I don't want to make this appear to be
partisan or nonpartisan or bipartisan or partisan at all," she
added. "This has to do with the commander in [chief] and the
decisions that have been made at the top level," she concluded.
"And that was my intent."
Number 2316
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES replied that he wouldn't want to vote
against this or any other resolution. However, it would be
shortsighted to not recognize the work Congress did. At least
theoretically, if the plane [that crashed in Pennsylvania on
September 11, 2001] had found its target, there might not be a
Congress right now. "I think we should recognize the work that
those brave men and women are also doing," he added, noting that
the President has to obtain funds from Congress in order to
declare war. "The Congress is an integral part of this process,
and I just think that you have to recognize them - some way,
shape, or form - in this, or you're leaving out a large chunk of
your ... government," Representative Hayes concluded.
Number 2361
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI remarked that she understands where the
sponsor is coming from. President Bush represents and
symbolizes the government, in addition to being an individual.
She said she had no problem with singling him out, since he
leads "from the top down."
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI then suggested that Representative
Hayes could resolve his objection by adding Congress in the "Be
It Resolved" clause [page 2, beginning on line 4] where the
legislature is expressing gratitude to the President, his
cabinet, and the men and women of the armed forces for their
leadership and sacrifice.
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said she had no problem with that.
Number 2428
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES replied that it is acceptable to him to a
point. If it just expressed gratitude to the President for the
great job he has done, that would be fine with him. However, it
highlights [in the "Whereas" clauses and the title] his cabinet,
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Director of Homeland Security - who is new in the position and
hasn't really done a lot yet. If people other than the
President are included, then Congress also should be commended
for the bipartisan manner in which it worked to achieve victory
too. It should be either all or just the President, he again
proposed.
Number 2489
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI suggested another compromise, in the
first "Whereas" clause: "recognizing that [President] Bush has
shown leadership at home, using his office to rally the nation
and Congress". She explained that the President has rallied
Congress and set the example and tone; Congress, reasonably, has
followed. She added, "I think it's kind of superfluous myself."
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES proposed the wording, "rallied Congress and
the nation".
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said she would like to have Representative
Cissna's amendment [Amendment 3] approved.
Number 2560
CHAIR CHENAULT asked whether there was any objection to
Amendment 3. There being no objection, Amendment 3 was adopted.
Number 2570
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI came up with another proposal [to
address the concerns of Representative Hayes], on page 1, line
8, to have it say "shown leadership nationally and
internationally, building a broad coalition of nations to
support the fight against terrorism". She said [President Bush]
has shown leadership throughout the country, which is reflected
in Congress. Further in the resolution, then, Congress could be
thanked in the "Resolved" section.
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES indicated agreement with that idea, but
again pointed out that the "Whereas" section of the resolution
highlights three men from the President's cabinet; he said he
doesn't see why it can't include Congress there as well. He
reiterated that Congress is who presents the budget that allows
this war on terrorism.
Number 2651
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI moved to adopt Amendment 4, on page 2,
line 5 [in the "Be It Resolved" section], after "the President's
cabinet," to insert the U.S. Congress. There being no
objection, Amendment 4 was adopted.
Number 2685
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES indicated he needed more time to arrive at
wording regarding the addition of Congress in the "Whereas"
section. He asked whether the resolution could be held over.
CHAIR CHENAULT noted that the committee had moved in the
direction of including Congress by adopting Amendment 4. He
stated his intention of moving the resolution from committee,
however. He acknowledged that perhaps Representative Hayes
hadn't received his committee packet earlier enough to draft
amendments.
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES announced that he would come up with an
amendment for the House floor.
Number 2778
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI moved to report HJR 33, as amended, out
of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHJR
33(MLV) was reported from the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 3:57 p.m.
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