The U.S. territory was struck by a series of tsunamis last week triggered by undersea earthquakes.
Sablan came to the floor during what was to have been an hour set aside to discuss health care reform. But Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Oh., who was managing the health care discussion, allowed Sablan time to speak about the tragedy in Samoa.
“I come to the floor today,” said Sablan, Ind.-MP, “hoping to raise the awareness of this House to the challenges our fellow Pacific islanders and fellow Americans now face in American Samoa.
“And I hope that this House and the federal government as a whole will respond as Americans traditionally do, when any community in our nation is struck by natural disaster, with every possible aid and assistance to help American Samoans rebuild.”
Sablan noted that the people of the Pacific, though remote from each other, still feel themselves to be part of one family.
“I do not speak metaphorically,” Sablan said. “Some in my own family have relatives in American Samoa and our islands are home to many American Samoans. They are school principals. They are program administrators. They are utility engineers. They are neighbors. They are friends. They are family.
“And they fill a vital and much appreciated role in the life of the Northern Marianas.”
