1 State of Arkansas
2 94th General Assembly
3 Fiscal Session, 2024 SR 29
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5 By: Senator D. Wallace
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7 SENATE RESOLUTION
8 TO ENCOURAGE THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO ENACT A
9 TRADE POLICY THAT SUPPORTS UNITED STATES BUSINESSES
10 AND WORKERS WHILE PENALIZING GLOBAL POLLUTERS.
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13 Subtitle
14 TO ENCOURAGE THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
15 TO ENACT A TRADE POLICY THAT SUPPORTS
16 UNITED STATES BUSINESSES AND WORKERS
17 WHILE PENALIZING GLOBAL POLLUTERS.
18
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20 WHEREAS, on average, goods produced in:
21 (1) China generate three (3) times the emissions of equivalent
22 goods made in the United States; and
23 (2) Russia emit four (4) times the emissions of equivalent goods
24 made in the United States; and
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26 WHEREAS, minerals mined in China are more than two (2) times as
27 polluting as those mined in the United States; and
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29 WHEREAS, the average pollution intensity of Russian oil is at least
30 thirty-three percent (33%) higher than United States crude oil, and Russian
31 natural gas is sixty percent (60%) more pollution intensive than United
32 States natural gas; and
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34 WHEREAS, many rural Americans are suffering from severe poverty, poor
35 health care, and few economic opportunities, making them increasingly
36 vulnerable to crime and the opioid crisis; and
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2 WHEREAS, the average per capita income for rural Americans is only
3 fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) compared to approximately sixty-four
4 thousand dollars ($64,000) for all Americans; and
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6 WHEREAS, the poverty rate in rural America is fifteen point four
7 percent (15.4%) compared with twelve point eight percent (12.8%) nationwide;
8 and
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10 WHEREAS, United States rural communities have lower wages, property
11 taxes, and land prices, which should give them a competitive advantage in
12 attracting investments in manufacturing that provide revenue streams that
13 help fund local schools and infrastructure; and
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15 WHEREAS, manufacturing jobs play a more important role in the rural
16 economy than in urban areas, accounting for a greater share of jobs and
17 earnings; and
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19 WHEREAS, United States' trade policy, which has given foreign polluters
20 an unfair advantage over the past two (2) decades, has encouraged economic
21 restructuring across rural America that has resulted in manufacturing
22 employment falling by over twenty percent (20%); and
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24 WHEREAS, China has been the major beneficiary of this poorly designed
25 federal trade policy, with the United States losing roughly five million
26 (5,000,000) jobs in the last twenty (20) years, and half of those losses are
27 the result of the United States trade deficit with China; and
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29 WHEREAS, rewarding United States firms for their environmental
30 performance would bolster domestic manufacturing and generate well-paying
31 jobs, particularly in rural areas, and reduce dependence on imports from high
32 emitting producers like Russia and China,
33
34 NOW THEREFORE,
35 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
36 STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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2 THAT the Senate encourage the United States Congress to take such
3 actions as are necessary to enact a trade policy that holds high-polluting
4 countries like China and Russia accountable for their pollution output and
5 promotes American economic development and the rebuilding of United States
6 supply chains, particularly in rural communities, by rewarding American
7 businesses and workers for their superior environmental performance while
8 penalizing global polluters.
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10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption of this resolution, a copy be
11 provided to the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Clerk of the
12 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the Arkansas
13 delegation to the United States Congress by the Secretary of the Senate.
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