Senate Bill sb2408

    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 2408

    By Senator Jones





    40-716A-02

  1                    Senate Resolution No. ____

  2         A resolution urging the Federal Government to

  3         ensure that the United States Southern Command

  4         is permanently situated in Miami.

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  6         WHEREAS, the United States Southern Command (Southcom)

  7  is responsible for all United States military interaction in

  8  Central and South America and the Caribbean, and

  9         WHEREAS, the Southcom headquarters relocated to Miami

10  from the Republic of Panama because of Miami's unique ability

11  to support and complement the mission requirements of the

12  command, and

13         WHEREAS, the economic, political, cultural, and social

14  impact of the Southern Hemisphere on the United States and

15  this state is critically important and will only continue to

16  grow, and

17         WHEREAS, this state is fully involved in trade and

18  cultural relations with the Southern Hemisphere, and has the

19  complementary resources available in the Miami area to work

20  with that region, and

21         WHEREAS, for the same reasons that the permanent

22  Secretariat of the Free Trade Areas of the Americas should be

23  located in Miami, as espoused by Congress in its joint

24  concurrent resolutions dated November 19, 1999, and April 11,

25  2001, Miami and this state are uniquely situated

26  geographically and possess the infrastructure, resources, and

27  culture necessary for the success of both organizations, and

28         WHEREAS, the Southcom headquarters building and land is

29  currently operated through a limited term lease, and any

30  action to extend the Southcom headquarters beyond the terms of

31  the current lease requires Congressional approval, and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 2408
    40-716A-02




  1         WHEREAS, this state has provided the Federal Government

  2  with a no-cost, 50-year lease of land abutting the Southcom

  3  headquarters, satisfying long term security requirements and

  4  enhancing its current limited term lease, and

  5         WHEREAS, any delay in resolving the long term presence

  6  of Southcom headquarters fails to signal the commitment of the

  7  United States and this state to our partner nations in the

  8  region, NOW, THEREFORE,

  9

10  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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12         That the Federal Government is strongly urged to ensure

13  that the requirements to permanently situate Southcom in Miami

14  through the purchase or long-term lease of the headquarters

15  and the land are fully funded in the fiscal year 2003 federal

16  defense budget, or as soon as possible thereafter.

17         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution

18  be dispatched to the President of the United States, to the

19  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the

20  United States House of Representatives, and to each member of

21  the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.