| 1 | 1 | | 89R1142 KSM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dorazio H.C.R. No. 15 |
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| 7 | 7 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The United States and Israel have a long history of |
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| 9 | 9 | | being strong allies, sharing many mutually beneficial values and |
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| 10 | 10 | | interests; and |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Europe needs additional sources of natural gas, and |
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| 12 | 12 | | the United States has repeatedly urged Europe to wean itself off |
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| 13 | 13 | | Russian natural gas and to pursue broader interests in the Middle |
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| 14 | 14 | | East; and |
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| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, The proposed Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline, |
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| 16 | 16 | | which would connect the natural gas fields of Israel to southern |
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| 17 | 17 | | Europe by way of Cyprus and Greece, has previously had bipartisan |
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| 18 | 18 | | support in the United States; as vice president under Barack Obama, |
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| 19 | 19 | | Joe Biden was a vocal supporter of the project, and in 2020, with |
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| 20 | 20 | | the backing of former president Donald Trump's administration, |
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| 21 | 21 | | Israel, Cyprus, and Greece signed an agreement aiming to complete |
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| 22 | 22 | | the $6 billion pipeline by 2025; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, In January 2022, President Joe Biden informed the |
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| 24 | 24 | | countries that the United States was withdrawing its support for |
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| 25 | 25 | | the project, citing environmental concerns as his administration |
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| 26 | 26 | | attempts to move away from fossil fuels; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Natural gas is an important low-emissions fuel for |
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| 28 | 28 | | improving human life, and Israel has abundant natural gas reserves |
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| 29 | 29 | | offshore, in excess of what is needed for its own domestic use; the |
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| 30 | 30 | | completion of the Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline from Israel to |
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| 31 | 31 | | southern Europe would be a benefit to the region and to all of the |
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| 32 | 32 | | countries involved in the project; now, therefore, be it |
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| 33 | 33 | | RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 34 | 34 | | hereby respectfully urge the federal government to support |
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| 35 | 35 | | construction of the Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline; and, be it |
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| 36 | 36 | | further |
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| 37 | 37 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 38 | 38 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 39 | 39 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 40 | 40 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 41 | 41 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 42 | 42 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 43 | 43 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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