[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 194 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8702-S8703]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INSULAR AREAS ACT OF 2011
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of S. 2009, introduced earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2009) to improve the administration of programs
in the insular areas, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by my
colleague from Alaska, and the ranking member of the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources, Lisa Murkowski, in urging passage of the
Insular Areas Act of 2011. This legislation would enact three time-
sensitive provisions needed to improve the operation of certain Federal
programs in the U.S. territory of American Samoa and in the freely
associated states of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
First, section 2 of the bill would amend the Compact of Free
Association Amendments Act of 2003 to direct the Secretary of Energy,
as a part of
[[Page S8703]]
the Department's Marshall Islands radiation monitoring program, to also
periodically monitor the containment structure on Runit Island where
nuclear cleanup wastes are buried. This new monitoring would include a
visual inspection of the containment structure and a radiochemical
analysis of groundwater surrounding and in the structure. This section
of the bill further requires the Secretary to submit a report to
Congress with the results of the monitoring. Finally, the section
requires that the Secretary of the Interior shall make available to
DOE, from existing technical assistance funds, the funding needed to
conduct the chemical analysis of groundwater.
This section was requested by the Government of the Marshall Islands
because of continuing concerns about radiation contamination among the
people living and fishing near Runit Island. Officials from the
Department of Energy regularly visit the islands near Runit as a part
of DOE's ongoing Marshall Islands monitoring activities, and it is
reasonable to direct that those officials periodically monitor the
Runit Island containment structure to assure the community that the
surrounding waters are not being contaminated and do not pose a health
risk to persons living and fishing nearby.
Second, section 3 of the bill would amend current law which
authorizes U.S. judges to serve temporarily, on a reimbursable basis,
on the courts of the freely associated states. These island nations
were formerly administered by the United States under a U.N.
trusteeship, and the practice of providing temporary judges on a
reimbursable and time-available basis to assist local courts has
existed for several decades. This section was requested by the
Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which has few
judges of its own and seeks to have additional U.S. judges available to
assist, particularly when multijudge panels are needed to hear appeals.
This authority is used by the Ninth Circuit Court only a few days per
year when such temporary assignments do not interfere with the caseload
of the assigned judges. The section would expand the pool of eligible
judges from circuit and district judges, to include magistrate and
territorial judges. On March 31, 2011, I received a letter from the
Judicial Conference of the United States stating its support for this
provision.
Finally, section 4 of this bill would amend the Fair Minimum Wage Act
of 2007 to delay the 50-cent increase in the minimum wage of American
Samoa that is scheduled for September 30, 2011, until September 30,
2015. It would also delay future periodic minimum wage increases and
the periodic GAO report on the impact of prior wage increases from a 2-
year to a 3-year, cycle.
American Samoa is a small, remote, unincorporated and unorganized
U.S. territory--the only U.S. territory in the Southern Hemisphere. Its
economy more closely resembles that of the nearby island-nation of
Samoa than it does the U.S. economy. It has a large subsistence sector,
as indicated by a 30 percent unemployment rate, and an average per
capita income of about $7,000 year--less than a quarter of the poorest
State. The wage economy is concentrated in the government sector and
fish processing. In recent years, however, trade globalization and
rising costs have contributed to a severe economic downturn. GAO
recently reported--GAO-11-427--that one of two tuna canneries closed in
2009 and the other cannery significantly reduced operations. Employment
in this key sector fell by 55 percent from 2009 to 2010. The U.S.
minimum wage was extended to American Samoa in 2007, with annual
increases of 50 cents starting in 2008. But, because of the severe
downturn, Congress delayed the 2010 wage increase until 2012. The
Government of American Samoa is requesting this further delay because
of the unique and continuing challenges it faces along with other South
Pacific island economies.
Mr. President, there are no authorizations in the bill, and any
additional costs associated with its enactment would be funded from
existing sources. These are time-sensitive provisions of interest to
these remote U.S.-affiliated island communities, and I urge the support
of my colleagues in passing this bill.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be
read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the
table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements
relating to the matter be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 2009) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 2009
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Insular Areas Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. CONTINUED MONITORING ON RUNIT ISLAND.
Section 103(f)(1) of the Compact of Free Association
Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 1921b(f)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Continued monitoring on runit island.--
``(i) Cactus crater containment and groundwater
monitoring.--Effective beginning January 1, 2012, the
Secretary of Energy shall, as a part of the Marshall Islands
program conducted under subparagraph (A), periodically (but
not less frequently than every 4 years) conduct--
``(I) a visual study of the concrete exterior of the Cactus
Crater containment structure on Runit Island; and
``(II) a radiochemical analysis of the groundwater
surrounding and in the Cactus Crater containment structure on
Runit Island.
``(ii) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives, a report that contains--
``(I) a description of--
``(aa) the results of each visual survey conducted under
clause (i)(I); and
``(bb) the results of the radiochemical analysis conducted
under clause (i)(II); and
``(II) a determination on whether the surveys and analyses
indicate any significant change in the health risks to the
people of Enewetak from the contaminants within the Cactus
Crater containment structure.
``(iii) Funding for groundwater monitoring.--The Secretary
of the Interior shall make available to the Department of
Energy, Marshall Islands Program, from funds available for
the Technical Assistance Program of the Office of Insular
Affairs, the amounts necessary to conduct the radiochemical
analysis of groundwater under clause(i)(II).''.
SEC. 3. CLARIFYING THE TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGES TO
COURTS OF THE FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.
Section 297(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended
by striking ``circuit or district judge'' and inserting
``circuit, district, magistrate, or territorial judge of a
court''.
SEC. 4. DELAY OF SCHEDULED MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE IN AMERICAN
SAMOA.
(a) Delayed Increase Pending Government Accountability
Office Report.--Section 8103(b)(2)(C) of the Fair Minimum
Wage Act of 2007 (29 U.S.C. 206 note; Public Law 110-28) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``each year thereafter until'' and
inserting ``on September 30 of every third year thereafter
until''; and
(2) by striking ``except that'' and all that follows
through ``September 30'' and inserting ``except that there
shall be no such increase in 2012, 2013, and 2014 pending the
triennial report required under section 8104(a)''.
(b) Triennial Government Accountability Office Report.--
Section 8104(a) of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (29
U.S.C. 206 note; Public Law 110-28) is amended by striking
``April 1, 2013, and every 2 years'' and inserting ``April 1,
2014, and every 3 years''.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following my
remarks, Senator Hutchison be recognized for floor remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________