The Official Website of Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo

Congresswoman Bordallo Addresses IGIA on Military Build-Up: Renews Call for MOU and Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—February 26, 2008– Washington, D.C. –

During the 2008 Plenary Session of the President’s Interagency Group on Insular Areas (IGIA) today, Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo renewed the call for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be pursued by the various federal agencies regarding the build-up. It is suggested that the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Navy take the lead in developing an MOU with support in particular from the Departments of Labor (USDOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), Transportation (DOT), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The MOU would outline federal assistance for Guam that can be reasonably relied on in the years ahead and as the military build-up moves forward.

Congresswoman Bordallo emphasized the need to strengthen the communication and to move in the direction of results during what she described as a “pivotal” year in planning.

Today’s IGIA meeting was chaired by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, and attended by Governor Felix P. Camacho, Governor Benigno Fitial of the CNMI, and Governor Togiola Tulafona of American Samoa. Congresswoman Donna Christensen of the Virgin Islands, and Resident Representative Pedro A. Tenorio of the CNMI were also present with Congresswoman Bordallo. Governor John P. deJongh Jr. of the Virgin Islands and Congressman Eni Faleomavaega also submitted formal input for the session. Mr. Nikolao Pula, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs, also helped facilitate the meeting and discussion on each action item.

“The President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2009 submitted to Congress earlier this month contains no mention of or funds for the build-up. Discussing roles and examining Guam’s capabilities have dominated the dialogue of the IGIA to date,” Congresswoman Bordallo said during the IGIA meeting. “What remains absent is a commitment or understanding between the federal government and the Government of Guam on how to provide the assistance that everyone agrees Guam will need.”

Bordallo added, “We need an MOU in order to plan how we should move forward. I also need this understanding to be reached between the Executive Branch and the Government of Guam so that Congress can support the efforts of the IGIA in the Congressional oversight and appropriations processes.”

Roughly 25 federal departments and agencies were represented at today’s meeting, which lasted over two hours. Apart from the focus on the interagency and intergovernmental work associated with the military build-up was Congresswoman Bordallo’s renewed requests for the IGIA to review and recommend actions on a cost-sharing arrangement for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in Guam and the Virgin Islands; an increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAPs) affecting Medicaid funding in the territories; and for federal policies supporting growth in the visitor and tourism industries in the territories. All three issues have been previously placed before the IGIA by Congresswoman Bordallo, her colleagues representing the territories in Congress, and the Governors.

Immediately following the plenary session of the IGIA, was a second IGIA meeting: an IGIA working group meeting dedicated to the Guam build-up. This was the third meeting of the IGIA working group in Washington, D.C. since it first met in August 2007. Reports were delivered at today’s meeting from the federal leads on the labor, health and human services, socio-economic, environment, and infrastructure subgroups. Secretary Kempthorne also opened and chaired this meeting with participation by Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment, Honorable B.J. Penn. Major General David F. Bice, USMC Ret., Executive Director, Joint Guam Program Office (JGPO) under the Department of the Navy, was present for both meetings and helped facilitate interagency discussion at the build-up session.

The IGIA coordinates federal policy for Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Membership is comprised of the heads of each department in the executive branch, and the heads of other federal agencies designated by the Secretary of the Interior. President George W. Bush established the IGIA by Executive Order in May 2003.

###

Contact: Joseph E. Duenas in Washington, D.C. at 202-225-1188 or Audreya Taitano at 671-477-4272/4

joseph.duenas@mail.house.gov or audreya.taitano@mail.house.gov

www.house.gov/bordallo

Close Window