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PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY BURNETT, DOTZLER, SCHERRMAN, WHITEAD, KINZER,
1 3 MASCHER, FALLON, WITT, BERNAU, MORELAND, and SCHRADER
1 4 A Concurrent Resolution requesting that the Congress
1 5 of the United States propose a constitutional
1 6 amendment, for ratification by the states, which
1 7 would specify that the people of the United States
1 8 have a right to a clean and healthful environment.
1 9 WHEREAS, the triumph of freedom and justice
1 10 embodied in the Constitution of the United States of
1 11 America gives contemporary and future generations a
1 12 structure for ordered liberty that has served this
1 13 nation well; and
1 14 WHEREAS, historic decisions, augmented from time to
1 15 time by amendment, give the people a constitution
1 16 which permits each generation to overcome the great
1 17 social disturbances of its time; and
1 18 WHEREAS, the protection of the rights of speech and
1 19 assembly against overbearing government, the
1 20 liberation of enslaved Americans, the right of women
1 21 to vote, the restraints on the power of concentrated
1 22 wealth, the intelligent use of government to protect
1 23 the economic interests of all, and the use of national
1 24 military power here and abroad, have all been achieved
1 25 through this constitutional framework; and
1 26 WHEREAS, the American people have well understood
1 27 their Constitution and the values and powers it
1 28 embodies; and
1 29 WHEREAS, the goals of our generation and our hope
1 30 for future generations continue to be liberty,
2 1 justice, and physical and material security; and
2 2 WHEREAS, a constitution which protects our personal
2 3 security is the heart of the American system; and
2 4 WHEREAS, the Constitution seeks to ensure that each
2 5 person is free of the threat of attack and free of
2 6 actions by others that diminish life, liberty, health,
2 7 or property or that prevent the pursuit of happiness;
2 8 and
2 9 WHEREAS, the people of the United States of America
2 10 are increasingly besieged by attacks on their personal
2 11 security, their health, the health of their families,
2 12 and their right to enjoy the air, water, and natural
2 13 resources of the nation; and
2 14 WHEREAS, the continuing and growing threat to the
2 15 public health and the nation's natural resources is a
2 16 challenge to our generation of the kind other
2 17 generations faced and overcame; and
2 18 WHEREAS, the people are the custodians of the
2 19 health of their children, of future generations, whose
2 20 ability to breathe clean air, drink healthful water,
2 21 avoid poisons, and share in the spiritual regeneration
2 22 that comes from wilderness and nature is in danger;
2 23 and
2 24 WHEREAS, the people are obliged to protect each
2 25 citizen from these threats as surely as were previous
2 26 generations obliged to enhance freedom, justice, and
2 27 prosperity; and
2 28 WHEREAS, a constitutional remedy is necessary to
2 29 accomplish this goal; and
2 30 WHEREAS, the decision to seek a constitutional
3 1 remedy is significant and necessary; and
3 2 WHEREAS, the people have historically been
3 3 reluctant to amend the Constitution except for the
3 4 most compelling reasons; and
3 5 WHEREAS, although the Iowa General Assembly shares
3 6 that view, the commitment to the public health and
3 7 environmental security of our citizens and of future
3 8 generations is so important and so deeply a part of
3 9 American tradition and values that it requires
3 10 constitutional status; and
3 11 WHEREAS, the people can no more rely on statutory
3 12 protections for the environment and public health than
3 13 the nation of 130 years ago could rely on statutes
3 14 alone for the liberation of enslaved Americans, or
3 15 than the nation of 80 years ago could rely on statutes
3 16 alone declared the right of women's suffrage to be a
3 17 constitutional right; NOW THEREFORE,
3 18 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
3 19 SENATE CONCURRING, That the General Assembly of the
3 20 State of Iowa respectfully requests the Congress of
3 21 the United States to submit to the several states
3 22 comprising the United States the following amendment
3 23 to the Constitution of the United States:
3 24 "The natural resources of the nation are the
3 25 heritage of present and future generations. The right
3 26 of each person to clean and healthful air and water,
3 27 and to the protection of the other natural resources
3 28 of the nation, shall not be infringed upon by any
3 29 person."
3 30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the General Assembly
4 1 of the State of Iowa also proposes that the
4 2 legislatures of each of the several states comprising
4 3 the United States apply to the Congress of the United
4 4 States requesting the enactment of the above amendment
4 5 to the Constitution; and
4 6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
4 7 resolution be sent to the secretaries of state and
4 8 presiding officers of each house of the legislatures
4 9 of each of the other states in the Union, the Speaker
4 10 of the United States House of Representatives, the
4 11 President of the United States Senate, and all of the
4 12 members of Iowa's congressional delegation.
4 13 LSB 1458HH 77
4 14 tm/jw/5
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