| 1 | 1 | | 84R12293 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Tinderholt H.C.R. No. 73 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Our food and water supplies, communications, |
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| 7 | 7 | | banking, hospitals, law enforcement, and countless critical |
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| 8 | 8 | | functions depend on the electric grid, but the federal government |
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| 9 | 9 | | has failed to ensure its security; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Numerous national publications have reported on the |
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| 11 | 11 | | great danger to the electric grid from an electromagnetic pulse, or |
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| 12 | 12 | | EMP; national experts regard a potential attack on our electric |
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| 13 | 13 | | grid system, whether natural or manmade, as a grave threat to our |
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| 14 | 14 | | American way of life; and |
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| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, The risk of an EMP attack has been acknowledged |
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| 16 | 16 | | since the 1960s, and the congressional EMP Commission warned in its |
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| 17 | 17 | | 2004 and 2008 reports that terrorists or state actors using |
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| 18 | 18 | | relatively unsophisticated missiles armed with nuclear weapons |
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| 19 | 19 | | could stage such an attack; in 2009, the congressional Commission |
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| 20 | 20 | | on the Strategic Posture of the United States, led by former |
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| 21 | 21 | | Secretaries of Defense William Perry and James Schlesinger, urged |
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| 22 | 22 | | immediate action to protect the electric grid; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Although the federal government has thus far |
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| 24 | 24 | | neglected to take action, Texas is fortunate to have its own power |
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| 25 | 25 | | grid; the state is thus capable of hardening its own electric system |
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| 26 | 26 | | to ensure reliable electricity in a hostile environment for |
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| 27 | 27 | | residents, businesses, and state and local government, as well as |
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| 28 | 28 | | for U.S. military bases; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Even if an EMP threat never materializes, protecting |
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| 30 | 30 | | the grid would provide substantial economic benefits; as the |
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| 31 | 31 | | federal government closes military bases around the country, Texas |
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| 32 | 32 | | bases would likely survive closure, due to their enhanced energy |
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| 33 | 33 | | security; moreover, companies considering relocation or expansion |
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| 34 | 34 | | would clearly find the assurance of secure power immensely valuable |
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| 35 | 35 | | and look to the Lone Star State; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, The protection of the electric grid is essential to |
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| 37 | 37 | | the security and continued prosperity of our state and nation, and |
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| 38 | 38 | | Texas is prepared to do its part to ensure that citizens can rely |
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| 39 | 39 | | completely on the power system that sustains our society; now, |
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| 40 | 40 | | therefore, be it |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 42 | 42 | | hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to provide |
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| 43 | 43 | | Department of Homeland Security funds for the protection of the |
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| 44 | 44 | | state's electric grid; and, be it further |
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| 45 | 45 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 46 | 46 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 47 | 47 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 48 | 48 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of |
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| 49 | 49 | | the Department of Homeland Security, and to all the members of the |
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| 50 | 50 | | Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution |
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| 51 | 51 | | be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress |
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| 52 | 52 | | of the United States of America. |
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