President Barack Obama, in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., explained the significance of the port upgrade.
“Modernization of the port is a critical prerequisite for the military construction program supporting the realignment of U.S. Marine Corps forces from Japan to Guam, a part of the overall U.S. strategy for military forces in the Pacific region,” the president said.
In another letter to Congressman Ike Skelton, D-Mo. and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn disclosed that the president was formally amending his fiscal year 2011 budget request to allow the Department of Defense to transfer funds to the Department of Transportation to finance infrastructure upgrades at the Port of Guam.
Lynn told the committee chairman that the requested funds will make the Guam port eligible for a guaranteed matching loan from the Department of Agriculture.
“This specific amendment provides the authority for the department to transfer up to $50 million to the Department of Transportation’s Port of Guam Improvement Enterprise Fund. Capital improvements to the port are critical to national defense as demonstrated by the U.S. military’s reliance on this port to ship goods and supplies to military bases located on Guam,” Lynn said.
The transportation department earlier rejected the $50 million grant requested by PAG under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery. Port officials were relying on the TIGER grant to match the $50 million loan they were trying to obtain from USDA to finance the $200 million port master plan.
“After an initial misstep with the port’s TIGER grant request, the administration is demonstrating its commitment to helping Guam with the civilian infrastructure improvements that will be needed for the buildup to be successful,” said Bordallo, D-Guam.
“The president’s request boosts our confidence that Guam’s needs will be carefully evaluated and that federal assistance will be forthcoming for these needs as we proceed with the buildup in the years ahead,” she added.
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