The report showed significant increases in all areas in which the federal government was directly involved in Guam’s economy. For example, federal expenditures for defense were up 92.6 percent, and non-defense spending was up 11 percent.
The largest change over the latest year from FY’s 2009 to 2010 was for procurement contracts, which increased $446.7 million, or 146.5 percent.
Salaries and wages also increased substantially by 20.5 percent, according to the report.
For FY 2010, federal expenditures showed a very significant increase of 12.4 percent, from $766 million in FY 2009 to $851 million in 2010.
Federal expenditures on Guam have generally risen from FY 1997 to FY 2010, although the pattern has been neither smooth nor steady. The growth trend in total federal expenditures has been somewhat volatile, with two peaks in expenditures related to typhoons, with troughs in the intervening years, according to the report. These peaks include those in 1998 and 2003 associated with typhoons Paka and Pongsona.
Total federal expenditures on Guam increased by 42 percent, from $1.41 billion in FY2005 to $2.01 billion in FY 2010. The report previously remained consistently in the $1.25 to $1.53 billion range between 2004 and 2009. Using the lower FY 2000 level as a base, total federal expenditures on Guam increased by 139 percent over the 2000 to 2010 decade.
The highest level of federal expenditures to date was reached in 2010, substantially surpassing the prior record high of $1.54 billion in FY2003.
Total federal expenditures for defense have increased 127.6 percent, from $480.1 million in FY1997 to $1.093 billion in 2010. Total direct expenditures for non-defense activities have increased even more substantially by 150.7 percent, from $366.9 million to $919.8 million, according to the report.
