[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     GUAM OMNIBUS OPPORTUNITIES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, each time I come to the floor of this 
House and my words are broadcast over C-SPAN, I often get calls to my 
office from Americans all over the country. Some want to express their 
support for what I have stated, others are against me, and sometimes a 
few are distant relatives or friends that are excited to see me on TV.
  But for most who call the office and for many people I meet their 
understanding of delegates in Congress is fairly limited. They know we 
are unlike other Members of Congress and we are afforded most of the 
opportunities that representatives have but are not able to make our 
mark with a vote on the House floor. So essentially we are Members, but 
not entirely, and the island or jurisdiction each respective delegate 
represents is not often afforded the attention that their jurisdictions 
deserve, and by our unique status we must introduce very unique 
legislation tailor-made for our respective jurisdictions.
  I have come to recognize that making Guam's case in Washington 
continues to be for me the greatest challenge of my life, as it 
certainly was for my predecessors and will likely remain for future 
delegates, barring a major change in political status, and that finding 
ways to create opportunities or level the playing field to advance the 
political, social, and economic well-being of our islands while being 
mindful of their roles in history to advance the cause of democracy 
around the world will take great effort and great diligence.
  In a few days, I will introduce such legislation tailor-made for my 
home island, Omnibus Guam legislation, bi-partisan in nature, that 
addresses certain several pertinent issues and calls for creating 
opportunities and improving relationships with the Federal Government.
  Three issues, and I have six issues in the omnibus legislation, have 
already been passed in the Senate in the last Congress as S. 210 and 
received widespread support here in the House. One of those provisions 
gives Guam the right of first refusal for Federal excess property 
located in Guam. In the years following World War II, some one-third of 
Guam was claimed in the interests of national security, was condemned 
by military authorities and adjudicated in military courts so the 
people of Guam, who were not even U.S. citizens at the time, really 
suffered a very grave injustice in the claiming of the land. And so it 
is entirely fair at this point in time that Guam be considered before 
any Federal agency if land is declared excess. Normally Federal land 
declared excess goes to other Federal agencies first.
  Secondly, we also want to give more opportunities for governors of 
island jurisdictions affected by migration to their islands allowed 
under the Compacts of Free Association from some of our island 
neighbors in the Pacific, namely the federated states of Micronesia as 
well as Palau and the Marshall Islands. We want to give the governors 
the right to participate in the reporting of the way these migrations 
are affecting our islands.
  Third, we want to ensure that American citizens in need of social 
services such as housing are not displaced by these very migrants. Our 
omnibus legislation will ensure that American citizens are not left in 
the back of the line for housing, for public housing.
  I will include three new provisions in this particular piece of 
legislation. First of all, I will lift a ban on betel nut, the 
importation of betel nut from Guam which is a small cultural practice, 
but for some reason the FDA refuses to see fit to understand that this 
is a very minor cultural practice and will go to a great deal of 
goodwill for the Guam community inside the customs zone of the United 
States as well as outside.
  The omnibus legislation also introduces an item that includes Guam in 
the tax treaties of the United States. Right now the tax treaty for 
foreign investors in the United States is variable depending on which 
country the U.S. signs a treaty with, but the tax rate for foreign 
investors in Guam is fixed at 30 percent. So this puts us at a great 
disadvantage.
  And lastly, lastly we want to make sure that Guam gets the same level 
of funding as other insular areas in such programs as the Department of 
Justice block programs. This is legislation that corrects an inequity 
that has existed for some time.
  Many of these items, I am sure, are obscure to many of the Members of 
the House, but I certainly look forward to the support of Members of 
both sides of the aisle. Most of these items have been very clearly 
vetted with both sides, both parties, and I look forward to its 
expeditious passage and that the House Committee on Resources will deal 
with it expeditiously, and I ask that my colleagues cosponsor this 
important legislation for the people of Guam.

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