It is a privilege to appear before you today on behalf of our community on Guam to share with you a few words of support for Tony Bahauta.

So on behalf of the people of Guam, I urge you to favorably report the nomination of Tony Babauta to full Senate with the recommendation that he has been confirmed without hesitation.

I commend President Obama for elevating this position to an Assistant Secretary.

I want to thank you all and to remind you that the hearing record will be open for 10 days.

The Chamorro people of Guam, who I represent, like our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico, are awaiting fulfillment of their political aspirations and an opportunity to fully exercise their rights to self-determination.

I also commend our distinguished colleague, Mr. Pierluisi, for his diligent efforts in crafting H.R. 2499, and for working to advance it so quickly to the stage in the process.

I would also like to acknowledge, as I said earlier, Congressman John Sarbanes and Congressman Frank Kratovil and thank both of them for their leadership and their contributions to the work of the Natural Resources Committee.

I look forward to hearing from the Administration about what plans they have to tackle this complex challenge.

I would like to also welcome my colleagues who are here.

I was surprised to hear that many communities in Virginia lack the necessary technical, legal, and financial tools to begin to plan for the projected impact of climate change.

I also am an optimist myself so I like your optimism. I think that is the way to go.