[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 16, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GUAM COMMONWEALTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Guam [Mr. Underwood] is recognized during 
morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the 
lack of action on the part of the administration in fulfilling its 
responsibility to the people of Guam in appointing a special 
representative for the Guam Commonwealth.
  The special representative would complete the discussions that were 
initiated in 1993 with the Guam Commission on Self-Determination on the 
issues that the Guam Commonwealth Act raises in defining a new 
relationship between the Federal Government and the people of Guam. 
Congress has deferred its action on the Guam Commonwealth Act, H.R. 
1056, until the discussions with the administration's special 
representative are completed. However, it is impossible to complete the 
Commonwealth discussions when there is no one to discuss these issues 
with. A dialog, by definition, requires two parties.
  Mr. I. Michael Heyman, the special representative who began these 
discussions with Guam in December 1993, announced his intention to 
resign on February 7 of this year. We have been waiting patiently for 
the administration to name a successor to Mr. Heyman. It is now 95 days 
later, and we are still waiting. There have been hints, rumors, and 
meetings, but no appointment. There have been assurances that issue 
this is receiving the highest attention, but still no appointment. In 
short, there has been a lot of activity, but no action.
  Mr. Speaker, the Guam Commission on Self-Determination and I have 
been extremely patient with the administration, but our patience is 
wearing thin. We can understand their wanting to find the right person 
for this job, but we question this excruciating and time-consuming 
scrutiny worthy of a Supreme Court nomination. In an administration not 
known for its speed in filling vacancies, we fear that the search for 
Guam's special representative is setting a new speed record, one that 
we are not particularly fond of holding. We'd rather leave the 
distinction of longest vacancy in the administration not filled to 
other more worthy contenders.
  Mr. Speaker, the quest to establish a new self-governing Commonwealth 
for the people of Guam is of paramount importance to us, and is also 
important to the national interest. A prosperous, new Commonwealth of 
Guam, possessing the economic tools to secure a good future, will serve 
the interests of the United States in the western Pacific and the Far 
East into the 21st century. But none of this can happen if we don't 
conclude the ongoing discussions between Guam and the administration. 
These discussions must come to some conclusion so that Congress would 
have a better sense of how the important issues of self-governance can 
be resolved.
  I, therefore, call on the administration to name a special 
representative for Guam Commonwealth, and to resume the important 
discussions that have been delayed for the past 3 months. And I again 
remind the administration that time is running short to complete this 
process within a timeframe that allows the 104th Congress to also begin 
its important review of the Guam Commonwealth Act.


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