AS a concerned citizen, a mother, and a native of Guam, I have taken interest in what is happening with our island economy. We have been through many economic crises over the years, but what is going on now seems worse than anything I have witnessed before.
Attending the oversight hearing on March 14, my worst fears were realized. Our government has failed to balance the budget and even worse has failed to prioritize.
Senator Eddie Calvo, who is chairing the government finance committee, spoke at length about the need to cut costs and to cut them as quickly as possible. This is true, but it will not be enough. Senator Respicio has put forth a bill mandating salary cuts for senators. This may help a little, but once again, it will not be enough. Similarly, Senator Forbes has proposed special measures to cut costs. Senator Jessie Lujan made pointed statements about government prioritization of expenditures, which I think is more in line with what needs to be done if we are to pull our island out of the red back into the black.
One comment in particular that Lujan made really struck me. He named an agency called the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and asked how is it that they have already received 100 percent of their $40,000 budgeted annual allotment by March, while other agencies have to date barely received even half of their budgeted allotments. He also asked what is it that this agency does and is it vital to Guam. These are the types of questions our government officials need to be asking. There is a lot of fat in our government, and if there is any time for it to be trimmed, it is now!
Agencies like the Bureau of Women’s Affairs are parasites in our government infrastructure that rob the island of vital energy and capital. What does this agency do with $40,000? And more importantly, is it really more important than repairing the air conditioning at Tamuning Elementary School? Our children are on revised schedules and must be at school by 6 a.m. because the air conditioning is broken and it is too hot to attend school in the afternoon.
Students at JFK and many other schools also face these same scheduling issues because we lack the money to maintain our schools in acceptable working condition. Could we have not better spent $40,000 and repaired the air conditioning at Tamuning Elementary School, which requires $30,000? Why are our children’s education always taking a back seat? Why are they not a priority? The Bureau of Women’s Affairs is pork plain and simple, and that pork is costing our children an education. But there are many such agencies and positions that are receiving funding to the detriment of more important and essential resources.
If we are ever going to see our island rise out of debt, we need our government to be more responsible and to start prioritizing. Education and health care should come first, not last. Agencies and positions that are not absolutely vital need to be shorn away. We cannot afford to subsidize nonessential entities.
Let’s face it, Guam is starving financially and must function just like the human body when it is deprived of food, what few vital nutrients that are available are routed to the brain, heart, and other organs needed to sustain life. What little money we have in our government coffers must be sent to where it is needed most.
Guam has a bleak future indeed if its children are poorly educated and our people are sick and dying due to lack of health care. However, I do not think for one moment that Guam will suffer irreparable damage if agencies like the Bureau of Women’s Affairs were to be re-prioritized.

ARCINIA PANGELINAN
Dededo, Guam