Governor's Weekly Address

by Governor Eddie Calvo

I'm in Washington, D.C. this week for three main reasons. First, automatic federal budget cuts will be in place by the end of the week without a replacement budget. I've always opposed this across-the-board type of cutting. Some in Washington wanted to be precise about what to cut. That would have been healthier. Others wanted to raise taxes again. That will only hurt middle class families who are already struggling.

So, with the deadlock between Democrats and Republicans, very important services are on the chopping block. Our country should be concerned about the cuts to the military that will happen. We are living in a changing world. Some countries are showing aggression toward ours. And the attention is pointing to our part of the globe. That's what makes this ever-more important for us. The pivot toward the Asia Pacific rim marks a new geo-political era... and Guam is right there in the thick of it.

Years ago military and diplomatic strategists saw this and developed a global realignment of the armed forces. Much of the focus was placed between Guam and Japan. The military buildup is part of this new strategy. This program - so vital to the sustainability of the American frontier in the Pacific - cannot be a victim to an indiscriminate budget cut. I'll be visiting with leaders in our nation about the buildup moving forward. We should all be prepared that these discussions will happen in the context of budget cuts. I will try to convince leaders to protect the military buildup as much as possible.

There are other federal services and programs funded on our island that face unprecedented cuts. Guam has no say in these decisions. This brings me to the second reason for my visit to the nation's Capitol. It's one thing to worry about the effect of federal budget cuts on an economy as small as Guam's. It's quite another to compound this with the weight of federal unfunded mandates, where Guam is left to foot the bill simply because of our territorial status. From EITC to ObamaCare to the impact of the Compacts, these mandates are short on their promise to all Americans, because they're not fully funded on our island. The people making these decisions for us need a deeper understanding of the consequences of their actions on us. These unfunded mandates are strangling our government's ability to provide services properly.

The third reason I'll be in Washington is to continue our push for greater self-sufficiency. We're making another push for the China visa waiver with a simple message: We can take care of ourselves if we are given the opportunity to take care of ourselves. The China visa waiver will be a game changer. This is a timely message that contrasts against the tenor of the rest of the nation. We're not asking for any handouts. Guam is asking for the federal government to allow us to be more economically-autonomous at a time when the federal government itself is struggling to make ends meet.

I'll be in a number of meetings this week with officials in Washington. I ask for your support and prayers for success in what we are trying to do. Success in any one of these three agenda items will open so many doors for us. If we can succeed with our full federal agenda, the possibilities will seem limitless.

Thank you for your time today, and God bless you all.