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Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that President Obama signed H.R. 3940 into law. As a result, minimum wage increases in American Samoa will be delayed for 2010 and 2011. The issue of future increases will be revisited in 2012 based on the findings of a GAO study to be completed by 2011.
“In previous press releases and on behalf of the people of American Samoa, I have publicly thanked Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Ranking Member John Kline (R-MN) of the House Committee on Education, Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Ranking Member Doc Hastings (R-WA) of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), and Congresswoman Donna Christensen (D-VI) for their leadership and support on the successful passage of H.R. 3940,” Faleomavaega said. “Without the support of these key leaders, we would not have been able to pass this legislation which is necessary for stabilizing our economy.”
“Without the prayers of our people, I also do not believe this legislation would have passed the House or Senate. The Senate passed the bill by Unanimous Consent (UC). The House passed H.R. 3940 by a vote of 386 to 5. The overwhelming support we received from both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate is a testament to the prayers of our people, and I could not help but note that the final vote took place on the one-year anniversary of the tsunami that claimed the lives of those we loved.”
“The final vote was the final vote before Congress went out of session. There is no doubt in my mind that God has heard and answered our prayers.”
“At this time, I want to thank House and Senate staff who worked behind the scenes to make this happen including Terry Lierman, Barry Jackson, Steve Stombres, Jody Calemine, Barrett Karr, Todd Young, Anne Thorsen, Al Stayman, Isaac Edwards, Bob Greenawalt, Bret Bernhardt, Marie Blanco, Jim Zoia, Nick Matiella, Clay Lightfoot, Kimberly Wallner, Ed Corrigan, Jed Bullock, Matthew Hermann, John Whitt, Alexis Covey-Brandt, Austin Burnes, Bob Schwalbach, Brian Modeste, Nikki Bullock, Colleen Gilbert, Bonnie Bruce, as well as my personal office staff and many others.
“Finally, I thank President Obama for signing this bill today, and I appreciate the support that Nik Pula, Director of the Office of Insular Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, provided in making White House staff aware that the bill was coming over from the U.S. House of Representatives for signature. I also thank Alejandro Perez at the White House for working closely with my office to bring this to the attention of the President so that our deadline for signature would be met.”
“Also, I would be remiss if I did not thank StarKist. I especially want to thank Chairman Kim Jae-chul of the Dongwon Group for his patience and support throughout this long and difficult process. As owner of StarKist, he could’ve moved his operations elsewhere, but he has not, and I thank him for his commitment to the people of American Samoa.”
“I also thank and appreciate Mr. Don Binotto, President and CEO of StarKist. I know that Don’s heart is with our people and he is proven over and over again that he is doing everything he can to keep StarKist in American Samoa. Mr. Binotto and Chairman Kim have my personal assurances that I will continue to stand with StarKist and do all I can to level the playing field so that we can maximize and protect the jobs of our local cannery workers who cannot fairly compete against workers that are paid $0.75 cents and less per hour in Thailand.”
“Once more, I thank our people, the Governor and also the American Samoa Legislature, and everyone who has been a part of this important effort,” Faleomavaega concluded. |
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