Aumua Amata
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congresswoman Aumua Amata will serve on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for the 119th Congress, including her role as vice chair of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, where she will continue to work with Subcommittee Chair Young Kim, R-Calif.
Additionally, she will serve on the Subcommittee on Africa, led by Chair Christopher Smith, R-NJ, a very senior member of Congress with over four decades of service. Amata also worked with Smith on the subcommittee he led in the 118th Congress. Smith is a longtime leader on religious freedom and human rights issues. This Subcommittee also has key policy and legislative ties to the Pacific region through oversight of international organizations that already work with Africa and the Pacific or are possibilities to expand into the Pacific.
The full committee is led by Brian Mast, R-Fl., a veteran who has received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Congressman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is vice chair of the full committee.
“My primary focus will always be American Samoa, but our islands are strategically located in an area that is the subject of an ongoing Pacific pivot by the United States, and growing activity by China’s Communist Party,” said Congresswoman Amata. “I bring the perspective of American Samoa, and more broadly, the Pacific Islands, to our committee work. The United States is making our national commitment to the region clear, but there are ongoing challenges and policy decisions for the future in how we best accomplish our objectives in partnership with the other Pacific nations.”
Amata will continue serving on the House Committee on Natural Resources, where she has new responsibilities as vice chair of the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. She also serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where she has a position of seniority as vice chair of the full committee. In other roles, she is a co-chair of the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus, and a vice chair of the large Congressional Western Caucus.
