[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 64 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4396-H4397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GUAM COMMONWEALTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Guam [Mr. Underwood] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, as a former academic administrator, I 
would like to add my words of strong support to the statement just made 
by the gentlewoman from Colorado. One of the most stirring things about 
America is the ability to get ahead, and you get ahead through higher 
education. The proposals from the other side of the aisle are 
unconscionable and put a heavy burden on our young people. I might add 
I received an e-mail from one of the students at college at the 
University of Guam that told me the proposal being advanced is like 
paying for a mortgage and not even seeing the house yet. It is paying 
for a mortgage in advance.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today on an entirely different topic.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to Guam's guest to 
improve its relationship with the Federal Government through the 
establishment of the Commonwealth of Guam. On February 
[[Page H4397]] 24 I introduced the Guam Commonwealth Act, H.R. 1056, 
which would create a commonwealth that would carry Guam into the next 
century and give Guam the tools to prosper economically in the global 
marketplace. Guam is confident of its future and Guam has achieved in 
recent years, through remarkable growth in its private sector, the 
self-sufficiency to make the new Commonwealth a viable political 
entity.
  The people of Guam voted in plebiscites to improve their relationship 
with the United States by establishing a commonwealth based on mutual 
consent and that protects the right to self-determination for the 
indigenous people of Guam. It will ultimately be Congress' 
responsibility to respond to Guam's political aspirations. However, 
before Congress holds hearings on the draft Commonwealth Act, the 
administration should conclude its discussions with the Guam Commission 
on Self-Determination that have been ongoing for over a year. The 
result of these discussions would be useful to Congress in its 
deliberations on the many issues that the Commonwealth Act addresses.
  And there is good reason to believe that these discussions will be 
helpful to the Commonwealth process. Last year, under the guidance of 
then-Governor, Joseph Ada, who chaired the Commission, the Guam 
Commission on Self--Determination had a significant breakthrough on 
mutual consent to the Commonwealth agreement--meaning, that any 
agreement between Guam and the United States cannot be changed without 
the mutual consent of both parties. With the recent elections on Guam, 
there is renewed optimism in the future. Gov. Carl Gutierrez and the 
newly reconstituted Commission, Consisting of Judge Alberto Lamorena, 
Former Lt. Gov. Rudy Sablan, Mayor Frank Lizama, Senator Hope 
Cristobal, Senator Mark Forbes, Senator Francis Santos, Attorney David 
Lujan, and Youth Congress Speaker Roy Respicio, bring to the table a 
team committed to Guam and to our island's future.
  These Commonwealth discussions have been recently put on hold because 
of the announced resignation of the President's Special Representative, 
Mr. I. Michael Heyman in February of this year. I had hoped that the 
administration would have moved expeditiously to find a replacement for 
Mr. Heyman.
  Recently, I have been given assurances that this appointment would
   be given priority in the White House with the strong support of 
Secretary Babbitt, and that the nominee may be going through the 
necessary background checks. While I certainly appreciate the efforts 
of the administration, I must also point out our frustration with the 
valuable time that has been lost in the past 65 days.

  Therefore, I call on the administration to redouble its efforts to 
finalize the appointment of a special representative. We have made 
important progress in these talks. But we must be careful not to 
squander the opportunity that lies before us in resolving Guam's 
political status, and we must not lose the momentum that we once had.
  The Guam Commission on Self-Determination and I are eager to see this 
process reach its conclusion. The people of Guam are ready to take 
their rightful place in the American community. We can only hope that 
the administration and the Congress share our commitment to improve the 
lives of the American citizens who live on our island.

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