HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Members of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources who visited Guam this week are on the same page when it comes to the strategic importance of the Pacific islands.
“This is a bipartisan group,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., committee chair. “I would like to thank Rep. Raúl Grijalva, ranking member on the floor committee. He and I met and talked about the importance. We also looked at classified information and it was an easy decision, I think, on both our parts, to form this bipartisan task force and then to make this trip down here to highlight the importance of Guam and the whole region.” Grijalva is a Democrat representing Arizona.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat from New Mexico, echoed the sentiments and noted the need to preserve opportunities for positive economic development in the region.
“We know that a very key way of maintaining peace and of maintaining commitments is to have a strong economy, and I believe that if you look at President Joe Biden’s Pacific partnership, that’s also part of the idea that we need to recognize,” Fernandez said.
“We are a Pacific nation and we must make sure that any country that thinks they are going to rule over this area of the world in a way that is autocratic, that is not democratic, that suppresses the voices and humanitarian needs of their own people – we are going to say absolutely not,” she added. “So we are going to make sure that we protect not only the bases, we are going to protect the places, the people, the culture and the beautiful environment that these islands have been blessed with.”
‘There can be synergy here’
Westerman agreed that the needs of the entire island must be in focus, including those of the people outside the military bases.
“We need to look at the needs here on the island, look at the expansion of the military presence here. We also need to look at how that impacts the local economy, and again I think that there can be synergy here, where we’re not doing this just for the military, but the local economy can benefit from improvements that can help the military and also help the local economy. The same thing when you talk about infrastructure; there’s mutual benefits there,” Westerman said.
“Part of why we have a bipartisan coalition is because we understand the responsibilities – commitment to Guam, to the people of Guam, to the people of all of our territories, to the freely associated states. We understand that the compacts with the FAS are expiring at the end of September,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, also a Democrat from New Mexico.
With respect to the reimbursements for the Compact of Free Association negotiations, she said there are a number of vehicles that could be negotiated and included in the agreement.
“When we return to Congress in a few weeks, in September, we have in front of us passing our appropriations bills,” Stansbury said. “We have to get the Farm Bill done, we have to get legislation for the compact and others done, and we will be working in a bipartisan basis to try to advert a shutdown for the federal government and ensure that we are funding all of these programs.”
Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, speaks as other members of a congressional delegation join him for a press conference Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at the Hagåtña office of Guam Del. James Moylan.
