By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GUAM officials attending the Interagency Group on Insular Areas meeting in Washington, D.C. ask the federal government to provide more assistance to Guam as the island prepares for further military expansion.
Gov. Felix P. Camacho, in his recommendation to the IGIA, asked the Bush administration to create an executive branch working group of federal agencies that will help guide the government of Guam and the local military commands in securing funding for the move of U.S. Marines to Guam from Okinawa.
“The working group will also help the government of Guam and Guam’s military partners in securing the necessary funding to make the upgrades necessary in anticipation of the increase in U.S. forces in Guam and improve the quality of life for both residents and military personnel,” Camacho said in a news release provided by the governor’s office.
Camacho also recommended that the Office of Insular Affairs and the Joint Guam Program Office, in collaboration with Cabinet and executive branch divisions and agencies, lead the proposed IGIA Working Group. 
The governor said the group should meet on a monthly basis and help address critical workforce needs, as well as provide guidance in the completion of capital improvement projects related to the military expansion on Guam.
Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, who is also in the nation’s capital attending the IGIA meeting, said her recently introduced bond bank bill will likewise help Guam secure more funding to upgrade the island’s infrastructure in anticipation of the additional financial load expected with the expansion of the military.
During the plenary session of the IGIA, Bordallo’s bond bank bill received positive feedback from the territorial governors and federal officials.
H.R. 1075, introduced on Feb. 15, 2007, would establish a United States Territories Infrastructure Bond Bank to finance infrastructure improvements in Guam and the other U.S. territories. 
“The government of Guam’s ability to borrow money on the bond market to finance improvements in public infrastructure is limited.  I recently introduced legislation with the support of Congresswoman Donna Christensen, the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs within the Committee on Natural Resources, to establish a United States Territories Infrastructure Bond Bank,” Bordallo said.
“This legislation, H.R. 1075, is in line with the bond bank concept that has been previously evaluated by the IGIA.  I encourage the IGIA to embrace this legislation and to work to secure support from the Office of Management and Budget for its enactment into law,” she added.
The IGIA coordinates federal policy toward Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Membership is comprised of the heads of each department in the executive branch and the heads of other agencies that the secretary of the Department of the Interior designates.
The IGIA is also responsible for identifying issues that affect the insular areas and recommend appropriate action to the president and other officials regarding those issues. 
Over 20 federal departments and agencies were represented at yesterday’s meeting, which was also attended by Gov. Togiola Tulafono and Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega of American Samoa, and Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Congresswoman Donna M. Christian-Christensen of the U.S. Virgin Islands. 
Lynn Scarlett, deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, and David Cohen, deputy assistant secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs, presided over the meeting.
Joint Guam Program Office Director Maj. Gen. David Bice made a comprehensive presentation during the meeting on the realignment of U.S. military forces to Guam. 
After Bice’s presentation, Camacho and Bordallo both emphasized the need for coordinated interagency collaboration within the federal government to support the development of Guam’s infrastructure and to support concurrent civilian planning.