by Mindy Aguon, KUAM News Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Subscribe to Mindy's newsfeed   E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

KUAM Video requires Flash 8. download it Here.

Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D - Illinois) continues to promote his platform to all Americans, and is now personally appealing to the people of Guam in his campaign to be our nation's next commander-in-chief. In an interview with KUAM News, the candidate, who is opposing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the Democrat candidate, shared his feelings on several issues facing the territory with the May 3 Guam Democratic Caucus just days away.

(See below to download audio of this interview.)

A central theme of Obama's campaign has been unity, reaching both sides of the aisle. KUAM News asked how he intends to use such a political approach to finally compel Washington to make good on a six-decade-old promise of war reparations for the people of Guam - something he's previously indicated he intends to fully support. "I intend to work very closely with Senator Patrick Leahy, who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee," said Senator Obama, "And as one of my strong supporters, he's worked to move this important bill through the committee to ensure passage. And it is something that I will speak out on and encourage members of the Senate Committee and the Senate to pass. I think it's long overdue and we should not delay any longer in making it a reality."

He was also probed about his opinion on why there have been so many delays with reparations, citing the fact that Senator Jim DeMint had raised an objection to such a passage. Obama responded, "You know, I don't serve on the Judiciary Committee, so I'm not familiar with Senator DeMint's particular objections. But I will tell you though that because of the attitudes of our Republican colleagues, in the Senate there's been a lot of obstructionism. I think it's very important to change our attitude and approach, not blocking things for the sake of blocking them, but actually trying to get things done."

We then shifted focus to the topic of insurance rates. Recent history rates that numbers locally are skyrocketing, coinciding with the cost of living overall, and especially on Guam many residents can't even afford health insurance. Obama shared how his universal healthcare plan would be extended to the local community, explaining, "We would make certain that the people of Guam are able to participate in the pool that I intend to set up, in which anybody who doesn't have health insurance will be able to buy into the program at reasonable rates. If they can't afford it, we will subsidize it to make sure that it is affordable for them and it is something that I think has to be a top priority, now in Guam one of the other issues we need to deal with is having adequate numbers of providers, who can actually see patients and give them the kind of preventative care that will save us money in the long-term."

Speaking along those lines, KUAM noted that just this year alone Guam's Department of Public Health is projected to be short some $12,000,000 for the Medically Indigent Program and Medicaid, with some clinics even having stopped accepting affected patients. If elected president, Obama says he will provide assurances that the cap will be lifted for Guam, something we've requested for years. But he noted that such a condition isn't unique to the island. "Puerto Rico has a similar problem it is a growing problem. We have to fix it in the context of a broader fix on Medicare. We're not spending our money wisely. We spend an awful lot of money but we don't spend it on preventive care, regular checkups that's what will ultimately allow us to save the money that will pay for lifting the cap in the territories," he commented.

With Guam consistently receiving inadequate Compact-impact funding (a topic with which Senator Obama is very familiar), he's previously stated that President George W. Bush missed an opportunity to offset hundreds of millions in un-reimbursed expenses against current Government of Guam obligations. When asked what he would do to ensure Guam's case is revisited during the 2009 renegotiations of the Compacts of Free Association for Palau, he said, "I intend to be working very closely with Congresswoman (Madeleine) Bordallo in order to address these issues. I think that will present us with another opportunity to deal with this issue in a creative way. It is something that obviously people of Guam are concerned about. I think it's something that we can fix in those 2009 renegotiations."

And lastly, Obama shed light on the critical topic of the expansion of U.S. forces on Guam military installations, migrating troops, their families and equipment from Okinawa, Japan. He's publicly professed his support of such a move, and says local hiring preferences will not only be supported, but competitive bidding will be enforced. "That's going to be a top priority in my approach to Pentagon spending, generally," Obama said. "I think it's especially important to provide the kinds of work with local communities so they feel like their invested in these decisions. As somebody who grew up in Hawaii, where obviously there's a strong military presence, I understand how local concerns sometimes may not be addressed.

"And that's something that I will make a priority when I'm president of the United States."

Download MP4 audio of KUAM's interview with Senator Barack Obama