In a press release, the committee announced that it has cut “approximately $150 million in projects requested for the realignment … from Okinawa to Guam,” because they “are not necessary for this fiscal year.” The committee also cut $33 million for the Office of Economic Adjustment for Guam facilities support, which “appears to be ahead of schedule.”
Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo reacted quickly, saying the Senate’s bill must still be considered by the full Senate and reconciled with the House’s version before it is sent to President Obama for his signature.
“The proposed cuts made in the Senate’s version of the NDAA are contradictory to the recent positions taken by the Senate, which have indicated that infrastructure improvements need to be made on Guam to accommodate the needs of the buildup,” said Bordallo.
In order for the buildup to proceed in a timely fashion, the projects that are funded through the Office of Economic Adjustment, which were requested in the President’s budget, need to be addressed up front. Portions of this funding will be used for projects contained in the programmatic agreement and have been agreed on by both the Department of Defense and local leaders, she said.
“These efforts go hand in hand and must be taken into consideration. Specifically, it would be difficult to reach milestones of infrastructure improvement if the vehicle which seeks to facilitate them is eliminated. Senate language requiring certain certifications may be an impediment to progress and may have a detrimental effect on the timeline of the buildup. Further, it is important to note that this is not yet law, and the House and Senate must reconcile their different versions of the bill,” she added.
Bordallo said the House remains fully supportive of all military construction and off-base infrastructure funding for Guam in the House’s version of the FY12 NDAA, and she is “committed to fighting for these and other provisions which are very important to Guam.”
