I totally support the bill, obviously. I am a co-sponsor, a co-introducer of it.

Our national parks are among our most universally supported and treasured institutions, and they cannot survive in an atmosphere of incredible popularity. We simply must find accommodations to protect the basic principles and qualities of…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona will be postponed. Amendment No. 35 Offered by Mrs. Miller of Illinois The Acting…

We need to find a way to fund it.

we have until September 30 to get these Compacts done.

It would be a mistake, however, to take these special relationships for granted.

Maintaining strong relationships with the Freely Associated States is essential to countering this influence and to maintaining peace and economic stability abroad and at home.

Of course, we want the conclusion of the negotiations between RMI and our country and hope and expect that.

the national security, not only of the United States, but of the globe, depends on our ability to address issues in the South Pacific.

I would make the submission that these are significant amounts, but in the context of an entire defense budget as an example, they are not large amounts.

This package will also ensure continuing eligibility for Pell Grants and other key education benefits for FSM students.

But rather, it is the case that the United States will lose credibility within the region and beyond.

These Compacts must be reauthorized. That is a working fundamental principle on all parts.

Thank you for your leadership in the world on so many issues.

Thank you to the witnesses. First of all, to everybody in the room and listening who has contributed to the negotiations, thank you very much for your efforts.

We appreciate the advocacy and leadership of so many Members of the Congress on this issue, including Representatives Ed Case (D-HI), Steve Womack (R-AR) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI).

The proposed legislation also incorporates the Bipartisan Care for COFA Veterans Act, which will provide improvements to medical care access to our veterans.

To expect that to come from Interior and Appropriations seems a pretty heavy lift, to be honest.

It is fundamentally unfair to renegotiate these Compacts unless the legitimate concerns of states... are addressed.

We are extremely pleased that the proposed legislation will ensure that FSM citizens living lawfully in the United States are again eligible for key public benefits as a result of the Bipartisan Compact Impact Fairness Act.

We have identified China as our top geopolitical challenge.

Aloha, and thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today on your fiscal year 2024 NDAA.

I hope we can all stipulate at this point that the PRC is actively, consciously, and very deliberately expanding its influence across not just the compact countries, but the entire Pacific, all of the jurisdictions of the Pacific, and that…

If you want to find out what China is actually doing in the countries of the Pacific, and around the globe, for that matter, please read President Panuelo's letter, I recommend it to any of you.

The NDS, of course, identifies the People's Republic of China as our most consequential strategic [competitor], our pacing challenge, and an opponent to a free and open Indo-Pacific.