Lawmakers are taking their budget talks directly to the Guam Memorial Hospital. A joint oversight hearing will be held next Thursday at the Tamuning facility, where senators Sabrina Salas Matanane and Chris Duenas will meet with hospital leaders and employees to discuss GMH’s most urgent needs. 

On the agenda: vendor payments, capital improvement projects, it upgrades, supplies, and safety protocols. Senator Matanane has introduced two bills totaling over $40 million — one tapping unused pharmaceutical funds, the other drawing from bond savings — to shore up GMH's finances and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, lawmakers just passed Governor Lou Leon Guerrero’s measure allocating $40 million from the General Fund for vendor payments, repairs, and medical supplies. The governor has yet to act on it.

Senator Duenas says holding the hearing on-site will give senators a firsthand look at the daily struggles GMH staff face — and help them better understand the hospital’s true funding needs.

The oversight hearing is set for September 25 at 9:30 a.m. in GMH’s education classroom on the fourth floor.