03.26.2007 - It has been reported that Idaho is one of 14 state legislatures where resolutions have been introduced to oppose the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and The North American Union (NAU). Only Idaho has completed the approval process. In Utah, the Senate failed to vote on that state's encouragement to have the U.S. withdraw from the SPP.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 51st Legislature (2007)

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION 10    By:    Brogdon

AS INTRODUCED

A Concurrent Resolution urging the United States to withdraw from the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and any other activity which seeks to create a North American Union; and directing distribution.

WHEREAS, President George W. Bush entered into the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America with the nations of Mexico and Canada on March 23, 2005; and

WHEREAS, the gradual creation of such a North American Union from a merger of the United States, Mexico, and Canada would be a direct threat to the United States Constitution and the national independence of the United States and would imply an eventual end to national borders within North America; and

WHEREAS, on March 31, 2006, a White House news release confirmed the continuing existence of the SPP and its “ongoing process of cooperation”; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Ron Paul has written that the key to the SPP plan is an extensive new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) super highway:  “Under this new ‘partnership’, a massive highway is being planned to stretch from Canada into Mexico, through the State of Texas”.  The super highway will also pass through Oklahoma; and

WHEREAS, this trilateral partnership to develop a North American Union has never been presented to Congress as an agreement or treaty, and has had virtually no Congressional oversight; and

WHEREAS, state and local governments throughout the United States would be negatively impacted by the SPP and North American Union process, such as the “open borders” vision of the SPP, eminent domain takings of private property along the planned super highways, and increased law enforcement problems along those same super highways.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE 1ST SESSION OF THE 51ST OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN:

THAT the Oklahoma State Legislature urges the United States Congress, especially Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation, to use all of their efforts, energies, and diligence to withdraw the United States from any further participation in the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.

THAT the Oklahoma State Legislature further urges Congress to withdraw the United States from any other bilateral or multilateral activity, however named, which seeks to advance, authorize, fund, or in any way promote the creation of any policy or structure to accomplish any form of North American Union as described in this resolution.

THAT a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to the members of Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation.

Office Information...

Bill Status

HJM005..............................................by REVENUE AND TAXATION
SECURITY AND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP OF NORTH AMERICA - Stating findings of
the Legislature and urging Congress to use all efforts, energies and
diligence to withdraw the United States from any further participation in
the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America or any other
bilateral or multilateral activity that seeks to advance, authorize, fund
or in any way promote the creation of any structure to create any form of
North American Union.
                                                                        
03/05    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/06    Rpt prt - to Transp
03/07    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/08    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/12    3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote
    Floor Sponsor - Wood(35)
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/13    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/21    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/22    10th Ord - ADOPTED - 24-10-1
      AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Cameron, Corder, Darrington, Davis,
      Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson,
      Keough, Lodge, Malepeai, McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce,
      Richardson, Siddoway
      NAYS -- Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett, Coiner, Kelly, Langhorst,
      Little, Stegner, Stennett, Werk
      Absent and excused -- Schroeder
    Floor Sponsor - Pearce
    Title apvd - to House
03/22    To enrol - Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/23    Pres signed

Bill Text

                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   First Regular Session - 2007
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                 HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 5
                                                                        
                             BY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                   A JOINT MEMORIAL
  2    TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED  STATES  IN  CONGRESS
  3        ASSEMBLED,  AND  TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
  4        IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
                                                                        
  5        We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of  the
  6    State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Fifty-ninth Idaho
  7    Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
                                                                        
  8        WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Commerce and
  9    the  U.S. Department of Homeland Security participated in the formation of the
 10    Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) on March 23,  2005,
 11    representing  a  trilateral  agreement  between  Canada, Mexico and the United
 12    States designed, among other things, to facilitate common  regulatory  schemes
 13    between these countries; and
 14        WHEREAS,  reports issued by the SPP indicate that it has implemented regu-
 15    latory changes among the three countries that circumvent United States  trade,
 16    transportation, homeland security and border security functions and that it is
 17    the  intention of SPP to continue toward a North American Union in the future;
 18    and
 19        WHEREAS, the actions taken by the SPP to  coordinate  border  security  by
 20    eliminating  obstacles to migration between Mexico and the United States actu-
 21    ally makes the United States-Mexico border less secure and more vulnerable  to
 22    possible  terrorist  activities,  and  Mexico is the primary source country of
 23    illegal immigrants, illegal drug entry and illegal human  smuggling  into  the
 24    United States; and
 25        WHEREAS,  according  to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States
 26    trade deficits with Mexico and Canada have significantly increased  since  the
 27    implementation  of  the  North  American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the
 28    volume of imports from Mexico  has  soared  since  NAFTA,  straining  security
 29    checks at the U.S. border; and
 30        WHEREAS,  the  economic  and  physical  security  of  the United States is
 31    impaired by the potential loss of control of its borders attendant to the full
 32    operation of NAFTA and the SPP; and
 33        WHEREAS, the regulatory and border security changes implemented  and  pro-
 34    posed by the SPP violate and threaten United States sovereignty; and
 35        WHEREAS,  the  NAFTA  Superhighway  System  from  the west coast of Mexico
 36    through the United States and into Canada has been  suggested  as  part  of  a
 37    North American Union to facilitate trade between the SPP countries; and
 38        WHEREAS,  the stability and economic viability of the U.S. ports along the
 39    western coast will be seriously  compromised  by  huge  cargos  off-loaded  at
 40    cheaper  labor cost from foreign traders into the ports of Mazatlan and Lazaro
 41    Cardenas; and
 42        WHEREAS, the state of Texas has already approved and begun planning of the
 43    Trans-Texas Corridor, a major multi-modal transportation project beginning  at
 44    the  United  States-Mexico  border, which would serve as an initial section of
                                                                        
                                       2
                                                                        
  1    the NAFTA Superhighway System; and
  2        WHEREAS, plans of Asian trading powers to divert  cargo  from  U.S.  ports
  3    such  as  Los  Angeles  to  ports  in  Mexico will only put pressure on border
  4    inspectors, interfering with their already overwhelming  job  of  intercepting
  5    the flow of drugs and illegals flowing into this country; and
  6        WHEREAS,  future  unrestricted foreign trucking into the United States can
  7    pose a safety hazard due to inadequate maintenance  and  inspection,  and  the
  8    Transportation  Security  Administration's (TSA) lack of background checks for
  9    violations in Mexico, lack of drug and alcohol testing, lack of enforcement of
 10    size and weight requirements and lack of national security  procedures,  which
 11    threaten  the  American  people  and  undermine  the  very charge given to our
 12    homeland security agency to defend our borders against these threats; and
 13        WHEREAS, the Eisenhower National  Highway  System  was  designed  for  the
 14    national  security of the United States for movement of the military, purposes
 15    of commerce from state to state, not from foreign countries, and this  highway
 16    system  should  not  be compromised by treaties or agreements with other coun-
 17    tries that would supplant the control and management of our nation's  highways
 18    by our U.S. Department of Transportation and the various states; and
 19        WHEREAS, we strongly object to any treaty or agreement, which threatens to
 20    violate national security, private property, United States commerce, constitu-
 21    tional  rights  and  American  sovereignty and emphasize our commitment to the
 22    Pacific Northwest  Economic  Region  (PNWER)  and  other  cooperative  working
 23    nations in mutual beneficial goals; and
 24        WHEREAS, this trilateral partnership to develop a North American Union has
 25    never been presented to Congress as an agreement or treaty, and has had virtu-
 26    ally no congressional oversight; and
 27        WHEREAS,  recent  reports  on  internet  news,  Friday,  January 26, 2007,
 28    WorldNetDaily, stating that Congressman Poe (R-Texas)  asked  about  the  U.S.
 29    Department of Transportation's work with the trade group North American Super-
 30    Corridor  Coalition,  Inc.  (NASCO)  and  the  department's plans to build the
 31    Trans-Texas Corridor, Congressman Poe was told that the NAFTA agreement super-
 32    highway corridor plans exist to move goods  from  Mexico  through  the  United
 33    States to Canada; and
 34        WHEREAS,  American citizens and state and local governments throughout the
 35    United States would be negatively impacted by the SPP process.
 36        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session
 37    of the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the House  of  Representatives  and  the
 38    Senate concurring therein, that we emphatically urge and petition the Congress
 39    of  the United States and particularly the congressional delegation represent-
 40    ing the state of Idaho to use all efforts, energies and diligence to  withdraw
 41    the  United States from any further participation in the Security and Prosper-
 42    ity Partnership of North America or any other bilateral or multilateral activ-
 43    ity that seeks to advance, authorize, fund or in any way promote the  creation
 44    of any structure to create any form of North American Union.
 45        BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED that House Concurrent Resolution 40 of the First
 46    Session of the 110th Congress addresses the concern herein  expressed  by  the
 47    state of Idaho.
 48        BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED that we are asking our congressional delegation,
 49    our U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters  and  President
 50    Bush  to  reject  appropriated  federal fuel tax dollars for such SPP or NAFTA
 51    when there is such a need for fuel tax dollars to be dedicated to the needs of
 52    the states in the U.S. in order to maintain our highway system.
 53        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the  House  of  Representa-
 54    tives  be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
 55    Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
                                                                        
                                       3
                                                                        
  1    sentatives of Congress, and  the  congressional  delegation  representing  the
  2    State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact

                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS 17145

The purpose of this legislation is to send the message to
the Congress of the United States, and particularly the
congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho that the
First Regular Session of the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the
Senate and the House of Representatives concurring therein, that
the Congress of the United States, and particularly the
congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho, are
hereby urged and petitioned to use all of their efforts to
withdraw the United States from any further participation in the
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and any
other bilateral or multilateral activity which seeks to advance,
authorize, fund or in any way promote the creation of any
structure to accomplish any form of North American Union. 


                           FISCAL NOTE

None




CONTACT:
Name: Representative JoAn Wood
Phone: 208-332-1000
Representative Cliff Bayer
Representative Marv Hagedorn
Senator Shirley McKague
Senator Monte Pierce
Senator Mel Richardson