Gregorio Sablan: “I also would think that the provisions of H.R. 3268 will help move forward the exercise of free and fair elections in…”

Ever since, the Insular Cases have been used to block territorial efforts for equal treatment in essential Federal programs from Medicaid and food stamps to SSI.

The explicit reasoning behind the most famous of the cases, Downes v. Bidwell in 1901 was that the new territories are inhabited by alien races that could not be governed by Anglo-Saxon principles.

There can be no doubt that renewing the financial provisions of the Compact is essential to our nation's security posture in the Indo-Pacific region.

But so now in 2021, cost remains the biggest deterrent to broadband access, along with dark spots in connectivity and the threat of typhoons disrupting the undersea cables.