[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.

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