[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 994 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 994

Recognizing and reaffirming the strong relationship between the United 
                    States and the Pacific Islands.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2022

Mr. Case (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Radewagen, Mr. Young, Mr. 
Sablan, Ms. Titus, Mr. Kahele, and Mr. Sherman) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing and reaffirming the strong relationship between the United 
                    States and the Pacific Islands.

Whereas the Pacific Islands are home to roughly 10,000,000 residents, including 
        over 8,600,000 in Papua New Guinea, constituting diverse and dynamic 
        cultures and peoples;
Whereas the people of the Pacific Islands are spread across an expanse of the 
        Pacific Ocean equivalent to 15 percent of the Earth's surface, including 
        the three subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia;
Whereas the United States is a Pacific country with ties that span over 150 
        years and shared values and interests with the Pacific Islands, 
        including through the Compacts of Free Association with the Freely 
        Associated States, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 
        States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau;
Whereas the United States and Pacific Island nations are bound by shared 
        interests and values, including--

    (1) the need to combat climate change and rising sea levels;

    (2) the desire to see a prosperous Pacific region free from coercion;

    (3) a commitment to protecting regional peace and security that fully 
respects the sovereignty of all nations;

    (4) advancing economic prosperity free from coercion through trade and 
sustainable development; and

    (5) supporting democracy, good governance, the rule of law and human 
rights, and fundamental freedoms;

Whereas the United States exports over $400,000,000 in goods to Pacific Island 
        countries, and two-way trade between the United States and Pacific 
        Island countries amounts to nearly $832,000,000 in a year;
Whereas the United States launched the Small and Less Populous Island Economies 
        Initiative in March 2021 to strengthen United States collaboration with 
        island countries and territories, including in the Pacific Islands, on 
        COVID-19 economic challenges, long-term economic development, climate 
        change, and other shared interests;
Whereas successive United States administrations have recognized the importance 
        of the Pacific region, including the Pacific Islands, in high-level 
        strategic documents, including--

    (1) the 2015 National Security Strategy;

    (2) the 2017 National Security Strategy;

    (3) the 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which identified the Pacific 
Islands as ``critical to U.S. strategy because of our shared values, 
interests and commitments''; and

    (4) the 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy, which stated that the United States 
will ``seek to be an indispensable partner to Pacific Island nations'';

Whereas the United States has deepened its diplomatic engagement with the 
        Pacific Islands through several recent initiatives, including the 
        Pacific Pledge that provided an additional $100,000,000 in 2019 and 
        $200,000,000 in 2020, on top of the approximately $350,000,000 that the 
        United States provides annually to the region to support shared 
        priorities in economic and human development, climate change, and more; 
        and
Whereas the Pacific Islands matter for America, and America matters for the 
        Pacific Islands: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) affirms the importance of the United States 
        relationship with the Pacific Islands and recognizes the 
        importance of United States-Pacific Island partnerships to 
        promote peace, security, and prosperity for all countries 
        through a rules-based regional order that respects the 
        sovereignty and political independence of all nations;
            (2) urges the Biden administration to continue to work with 
        the Pacific Islands to--
                    (A) preserve the Pacific Ocean as an open and 
                vibrant corridor for international maritime trade;
                    (B) promote trade and sustainable development; and
                    (C) address socioeconomic challenges related to 
                public health, education, renewable energy, digital 
                connectivity, and more;
            (3) reaffirms its support for regional efforts to address 
        the challenges posed by climate change, including by 
        strengthening resilience to natural disasters and through 
        responsible stewardship of natural resources;
            (4) continues its support of the vision, values, and 
        objectives of existing regional multilateral institutions and 
        frameworks, such as the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific 
        Islands Conference of Leaders, and the Pacific Community, 
        including the--
                    (A) 2014 Framework for Pacific Regionalism;
                    (B) 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security; and
                    (C) Boe Declaration Action Plan; and
            (5) recognizes the importance of working closely with 
        United States allies and partners with existing relationships 
        and interests in the Pacific Islands, including Australia, 
        Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan, in advancing common goals.
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