Governor appeals to House Natural Resource Committee for proper Compact reimbursement

The upcoming renegotiation of the Compacts of Free Association may prove to be the battleground for Guam and Hawaii in a longstanding fight for more fairness in Compact Impact reimbursement. The contentious issue took the spotlight again during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.  today. 

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero joined other territorial leaders in a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee. They were invited to testify on the Office of Insular affairs Fiscal Year 2021 budget, and air out some of their top concerns.

"For years territorial governors sitting in hearings like this have highlighted the costs associated with the Compacts of Free Association," Leon Guerrero testified. "While these bilateral documents serve to offset China's growing influence in the western pacific and preserve our national security interests, Guam and other affected jurisdictions are left to fund the consequences of unmitigated migration."

Hawaii representative Ed Case said his state's got similar concerns. Hawaii and Guam receive about $14 million a year each in compact reimbursement, despite estimated annual costs of $150 million.

"We are not willing to just roll over and accept and ratify, which is congress' obligation and duty and choice, another set of compacts as they come up for renegotiation unless there are substantial increases in compact funding," he said. "Would you agree with that governor?"

"We are very concerned about it," Leon Guerrero responded. "We see it in our public safety, we see it in our health, and we see it in our education, but I also want to say that we welcome our brothers and sisters to help improve their quality of life but I think the federal government has the responsibility to help us along with that because we're not part of the negotiations and decisions are made without our input."

Gov. Leon Guerrero also applauded a House Bill that would reimburse GovGuam for Earned Income Tax credit for low-income residents, which is an estimated $60 million dollars a year.

"The language will direct the U.S. treasury to reimburse Guam for 75 percent of its EITC costs," she said. "Mr. San Nicolas is a sponsor of this bill, though I believe that Guam and our sister territories should be treated equally with the states by reimbursing us 100-percent of our costs, HR3300 is a step towards fairness."

But, Congressman Case cautioned that federal funding may prove scarce if the Trump administration's newly unveiled spending plan is any indication.

"Look, this is pretty serious," he said. "Yesterday we saw the president's budget, I assume all of you have taken a look at it, and if you haven't it is devastating to the Office of Insular Affairs. It is a reduction again of somewhere around 20-25 percent. I'm amazed, I don't understand it. There seems to be some level of actual animus somewhere in this administration to federal funding to our territories."