HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement
 1-2     Act of 2000 was approved in a bipartisan effort by 391 members of
 1-3     the United States House of Representatives in the 106th Congress,
 1-4     including 20 members from the Texas delegation to the congress; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Even though more than 80 United States senators
 1-6     signed letters of support for this legislation in 2000, the bill
 1-7     never came up for a vote in the full senate; and
 1-8           WHEREAS, An identical bill addressing railroad retirement
 1-9     reform is now before the 107th Congress to modernize the financing
1-10     of the railroad retirement system for its 748,000 beneficiaries
1-11     nationwide, including more than 38,000 in Texas; and
1-12           WHEREAS, The act provides tax relief to freight railroads,
1-13     Amtrak, and commuter lines; it also provides benefit improvements
1-14     for surviving spouses of rail workers, who currently suffer deep
1-15     cuts in income when the rail retiree dies; and
1-16           WHEREAS, Railroad management and labor and retiree
1-17     organizations have agreed to support this legislation; and
1-18           WHEREAS, No outside contributions from taxpayers are needed
1-19     to implement the changes called for in this legislation as all
1-20     costs relating to the reforms will come from within the railroad
1-21     industry, including a full share by active employees; now,
1-22     therefore, be it
1-23           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-24     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to enact
 2-1     the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001;
 2-2     and, be it further
 2-3           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
 2-4     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
 2-5     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
 2-6     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
 2-7     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
 2-8     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
 2-9     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
                                                                    Haggerty
         _______________________________     _______________________________
             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House
               I certify that H.C.R. No. 210 was adopted by the House on
         April 20, 2001, by a non-record vote.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Chief Clerk of the House
               I certify that H.C.R. No. 210 was adopted by the Senate on
         May 15, 2001, by a viva-voce vote.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Secretary of the Senate
         APPROVED:  __________________________
                              Date
                    __________________________
                            Governor