[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1435-E1436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LEGISLATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF BIKINI ATOLL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 29, 1999

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation today 
to assist in the resettlement and relocation of the people of Bikini 
Atoll by amending the terms of the trust fund established during the 
United States administration of the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands. This will permit the people of Bikini to use a portion of 
their fund for resettlement activities for the remaining 90 seniors who 
were affected by United States nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands 
without any additional federal expenditure and consistent with the 
intent of Congress. These individuals are still waiting to resettle 
after over five decades since the U.S. program began in their islands 
which resulted in their removal from their home atoll.
  At the Committee on Resources' May 11th hearing on the status of 
nuclear claims, relocation and resettlement efforts in the Marshall 
Islands, and as part of the May 10th Congressional pre-hearing 
briefing, the people of Bikini asked Congress to support a one-time 3 
percent distribution from the Resettlement Trust Fund, which is used 
both for the cleanup of Bikini and for the ongoing needs of the Bikini 
people. Congress established this trust fund in 1982 pursuant to P.L. 
97-257 and appropriated additional funds in 1988 pursuant to P.L. 100-
446.
  The Bikini people have explained that Dr. John Mauro and his team are 
preparing a report on the potential radiation doses and health risks to 
the people of Bikini and costs associated with various remediation 
options, which should be completed within three months. The exact cost 
has not yet been established, but it is estimated that the entire 
cleanup and resettlement process, from planning through execution, will 
take approximately ten years. As a result, it is certain that the 
Bikini elders, many of whom have not been back on their home islands 
for more than 53 years, will probably die on Kili without returning 
home.
  The Bikinians, for their part, have ensured the fiscal integrity of 
the Resettlement Trust Fund. They have selected reputable U.S. banks as 
trustees, hired well-respected and talented investment advisors and 
money managers, and provided for routine monthly financial statements 
and annual audits. Thanks to the money managers and the Bikini 
Council's voluntary restraint on the use of these funds, the corpus 
remains intact, the trust fund has earned almost 14 percent annually, 
every dollar has been accounted for, annual audits are prepared, and 
monthly financial statements are sent to the Interior Department's 
Office of Insular Affairs.
  In light of the strength of the trust, its fiscal integrity, the 
lengthy time a cleanup and restoration will take, and the special 
circumstances of the elders, the Bikinians wish to make a one-time 3 
percent distribution from the Resettlement Trust Fund, with the 
understanding that the primary beneficiaries of the distribution will 
be the 90 surviving Bikini elders. Because of the excellent management 
of the trust fund, such a distribution will not require an 
appropriation of funds by Congress, nor will it diminish the original 
corpus of the trust. The Bikini people would also agree that the amount 
of such distribution be deducted from any further additional ex gratia 
appropriations made by the Congress into the Resettlement Trust Fund.
  The corpus will remain intact with a 3 percent distribution. The 
original corpus of the trust was $110 million, based on the $20 million 
appropriated in 1982 and the additional $90 million in 1988. The market 
value of the trust today is approximately $126 million, so a 3 percent 
distribution, or approximately $3,780,000, will reduce the market value 
to $122.2 million, which remains well above the original corpus.
  This authorization to the people of Bikini is appropriate as it is 
what the community of Bikini desires and it is consistent with 
congressional intent for the resettlement of the people whose lives and 
homes were disrupted by U.S. testing. Without any additional cost to 
the U.S. taxpayer, Congress can help the remaining senior Bikini 
elders' resettlement and relocation.
  Following is a copy of the Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local Government 
Council's May 12, 1999 Resolution on this matter, reflecting the full 
support of the Bikini community.

   Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local Government Council: Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local 
                    Government Resolution No. 2-1999


                              A Resolution

       This Resolution requests a one-time three percent (3%) 
     distribution from the existing corpus of the Resettlement 
     Trust Fund for the People of Bikini to benefit primarily the 
     Bikini elders and to request appropriate U.S. Senate and 
     House committees to hold hearings to determine the 
     appropriateness of such request, the status of cleanup 
     efforts at Bikini, current estimates of cleanup and 
     restoration costs, questions concerning the guarantee of 
     Bikini Atoll's safety and other appropriate issues.
       Whereas, the Resettlement Trust Fund for the People of 
     Bikini (``Resettlement Trust Fund'') was established by the 
     U.S. Congress in 1982 pursuant to the terms of Public Law No. 
     97-257, for ``the relocation and resettlement of the Bikini 
     people in the Marshall Islands, principally on Kili and Ejit 
     Islands;'' and
       Whereas, Public Law No. 97-257 also instructed that 
     $3,000,000 of the Resettlement Trust Fund was to be made 
     available ex gratia to the people of Bikini over a three-year 
     period; and
       Whereas, the U.S. Congress appropriated additional funds 
     for the Resettlement Trust Fund in 1988 and modified its 
     terms to provide that funds could also be ``expended for 
     rehabilitation and resettlement of Bikini Atoll;'' and
       Whereas, the people of Bikini have ensured the fiscal 
     integrity of the Resettlement Trust Fund by (1) selecting 
     reputable banks as trustees (American Security Bank and now 
     FMB Trust), (2) hiring well-respected investment advisors 
     (such as Alex, Brown and PaineWebber) and money managers 
     (such as MFS, Gabelli, Fiduciary Trust, etc.), and (3) 
     directing that every dollar of Resettlement Trust Fund 
     expenditures be audited and that monthly financial statements 
     and annual audits be routinely provided to the Department of 
     the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, which oversees the 
     Resettlement Trust Fund; and
       Whereas, the Resettlement Trust Fund has averaged a 14% 
     annual return since inception; and
       Whereas, the Resettlement Trust Fund has paid out millions 
     of dollars since inception for scholarships, health care, 
     food programs, housing and electrical power construction, 
     maintenance and repairs on Kili and Ejit, and infrastructure, 
     cleanup and resettlement activities on Bikini Atoll; and
       Whereas, through prudent management and voluntary 
     restrictions on the use of Resettlement Trust Fund monies, 
     the market value of the Resettlement Trust Fund today is 
     approximately $126,000,000; and
       Whereas, recently disclosed information previously withheld 
     by the U.S. government reveals that the physical and 
     radiological damage to Bikini Atoll caused by the U.S. 
     nuclear testing program was more extensive than was or could 
     have been known by the people of Bikini until the disclosure 
     of such information; and

[[Page E1436]]

       Whereas, the people of Bikini have recently learned from 
     well-respected scientists who have conducted extensive 
     radiological cleanup cost estimates for the U.S. 
     Environmental Protection Agency that the restoration costs 
     for cleanup and resettlement of Bikini Atoll will exceed 
     several hundred million dollars; and
       Whereas, this means that many Bikini elders, who have not 
     been back on their home islands for 53 years, will probably 
     die without returning home; and
       Whereas, of the 167 of our elders who were moved off our 
     islands in 1946, fewer than 90 are still alive; and
       Whereas, most of these elders live on Kili, an island one-
     ninth the size of Bikini Atoll which must support six times 
     the number of people who lived on Bikini; and
       Whereas, we wish to compensate these elders with a one-time 
     3% distribution from the corpus of the Resettlement Trust 
     Fund; and
       Whereas, unlike people living on other atolls in the 
     Marshall Islands, our people on Kili cannot fish because Kili 
     has no lagoon and no reef, thus requiring our community to 
     supplement our U.S.D.A. food by purchasing other canned goods 
     at great expense; and
       Whereas, a one-time 3% distribution from the Resettlement 
     Trust Fund will not require an appropriation of any funds by 
     the U.S. Congress; and
       Whereas, given the good management of the Resettlement 
     Trust Fund a 3% distribution would not diminish the original 
     corpus of the trust fund; and
       Whereas, Congress has previously authorized ex gratia per 
     capita payments from the Resettlement Trust Fund; and
       Whereas, the House Resources Committee (formerly the House 
     Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs) has held many 
     oversight hearings on Bikini-related issues during the past 
     25 years, covering such issues as health care, education, 
     agricultural and food programs, establishment and oversight 
     of ex gratia trust funds for the Bikini people, Bikini Atoll 
     cleanup, Compact of Free Association Section 177 Agreement 
     cover-up of the 1954 Bravo shot, and vaporization of islands 
     at Bikini;
       Now, therefore, be it resolved, that: (1) The Council 
     requests a one-time only 3% distribution from the existing 
     corpus of the Resettlement Trust Fund, with the understanding 
     that the primary beneficiaries of this distribution will be 
     the Bikini elders.
       (2) The Council agrees that the amount of such distribution 
     shall be deducted from any future additional ex gratia 
     payments made by the U.S. Congress into the Resettlement 
     Trust Fund.
       (3) Legal counsel Jonathan M. Weisgall is instructed to 
     forward a copy of this Resolution to Allen P. Stayman, 
     Director, Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the 
     Interior; Senator Frank Murkowski, Chairman, Senate Energy 
     and Natural Resources Committee; and Representative Don 
     Young, Chairman, House Resources Committee, and to urge these 
     Senate and House Committees to hold hearings, as necessary, 
     to determine the appropriateness of the above request and to 
     obtain information concerning the status of cleanup efforts 
     at Bikini Atoll, current estimates of cleanup and restoration 
     costs, questions concerning the guarantee of Bikini Atoll's 
     safety, and other appropriate issues.
       Final and passed by the KILI/BIKINI/EJIT LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
     COUNCIL on the 12th day of March, 1999, at a meeting on Kili 
     Island.
           APPROVED:
     Tomaki Juda,
       Mayor
     Witness: Nathn Note, Clerk

     

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