Political Quotes

“as the House considers passage of the conference report on the Interior Appropriations bill for FY 2002, I wanted to speak about the issue of Compact Impact Aid funding for Guam. While I am pleased that the conference report includes $6.38 million for Guam, $4 million for Hawaii, and $2 million for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, I remain concerned about the failure of the federal government to identify a better funding solution for areas impacted by the migrations of citizens from the Freely Associated States. Guam received $7.58 million and $9.58 million for FY 2000 and FY 2001, respectively. Because of the failure of the federal government to identify other sources of funding, Guam, the CNMI, and Hawaii are forced to secure funding from the same source, out of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs's budget. This should not be the case as funding for overall territorial funding has decreased over the last decade. Other federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of labor should also be viewed as potential sources of long term funding. Guam is impacted more than any other territory or state by the unmonitored migration to Guam by citizens of the Freely Associated States in Micronesia that continues to have significant financial and social impacts on our island.”