Guthertz was reacting to the recent article that appeared last week in the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Every year, the government of Guam’s budget includes the anticipated Section 30 funds as part of its revenue stream. Guam receives over $52 million in Section 30 funds each year from the Internal Revenue Service. The funds come from income taxes paid by federal employees and active military personnel who work on Guam for more than 180 days.
“None of this comes as much of a surprise. We’ve heard directly from Washington about the ongoing budget cutting and we are aware that every branch of the military involved in the buildup is thinking about how to save money. What we’re seeing is plans across the board to cut the length of deployments, whether we’re talking about marines, sailors or airmen.”
Guthertz said the clear intent is focus on moving more junior personnel for shorter periods of time, avoiding the need for increased family housing, command buildings and construction of much of the infrastructure needed to support the sharp increase in population driven by the military dependants.
Impacts
The changes in the Guam buildup could have both positive and negative impacts for Guam, Guthertz said.
The lawmaker said while the impact of the huge project could become more manageable, the problems of a larger population of combat personnel would also have to be dealt with.
Senator Guthertz noted that increased limited deployments would definitely have a negative fiscal impact on Guam, unless a policy change she has recommended to the U.S. Treasury Department is adopted.
Under the 1950 Organic Act’s Section 30, tax collections from all federal personnel paid for performing duties on Guam that would normally go to Washington are instead returned to Guam’s treasury.
Longstanding Treasury Department policy only applies Section 30 if personnel are assigned to Guam for more than 180 days. Guthertz’ proposal is that Section 30 be applied to all personnel, regardless of their length of stay in Guam.
In May, when Sen. Carl Levin proposed the idea of moving combat troops instead of headquarters staff to Guam to save the U.S. government money, Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said she was concerned the plan cut off the increase of Section 30 funding.
Speaker Judi Won Pat said GovGuam “must pay close attention to everything that comes out of Washington D.C. regarding the buildup,” especially the fate of millions of dollars of funds that Guam receives, and because of the uncertainty of the impacts which are largely unknown, Guam must prepare for any cuts that are proposed and decided upon.
