Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce the Medicaid Restoration for Citizens of Freely Associated States Act of 2011. This bill would reinstate eligibility for critical Federal health benefits for citizens of certain Pacific Island nations who have been invited by the Federal Government to live in the United States, but for whom the costs of services have fallen to individual states, Hawaii in particular. I would like to thank Senators Inouye and Bingaman for joining me in introducing this bill. The Freely Associated States, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau, are island nations that have a unique political relationship with the United States. At the end of World War II, the United Nations established the ``Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,'' which was administered by the United States between 1947 and 1986. It included the islands that now make up the FAS nations, as well as other Pacific islands liberated from Japan after World War II. This U.S. Trusteeship presented the Federal Government with new strategic and military opportunities, allowing the United States to establish military bases and station forces in the Trust Territory and close off areas for security reasons. It also bestowed upon the United States the responsibility to promote economic development and self- reliance for the territory.…”