[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H289-H290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      BILL TO COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS COMPACT IMPACT IN AFFECTED 
                             JURISDICTIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced legislation that will 
help address the impact of the Compact of Free Association--these are 
the Pacific Islands--on affected jurisdictions like Guam and the State 
of Hawaii.
  I continue to support the intent of the Compact, and I do understand 
the benefits that these agreements have for our Nation and our 
security. However, the costs borne by our local governments amount to 
millions of dollars for providing social services to Compact migrants 
are unsustainable, and Congress must act to provide relief for affected 
jurisdictions who have spent millions of local funds to support the 
Compact and the migrants.
  COFA migrants make positive contributions to our community, but 
insufficient support from the Federal Government causes a significant 
socioeconomic strain on our island communities. This strain only 
increases, especially with uncertain economic conditions in the Freely 
Associated States, as well as the impact climate change is having on 
Pacific Island nations.
  The bill I am introducing, as well as proposals that I have made in 
the past, will provide relief and empower local jurisdictions with 
solutions to reduce the burden of the Compact.
  The best solution to Compact impact would be an increase in annual 
mandatory funding from the current $30 million to the $185 million 
recommended by the GAO. However, the current budget environment makes 
appropriating this very difficult.
  Nonetheless, I am proud to also cosponsor another bill, a bill 
introduced by Congressman Takai of the State of Hawaii, that would 
increase this annual appropriation, and I hope that we can at least 
have a debate on this measure.
  However, as we work to find long-term solutions to Compact impact, I 
believe that there are important and innovative fixes that would 
provide much-needed relief to our local governments without much cost 
to taxpayers.
  Now, this approach is a more budget-friendly way to address this 
challenge. The bill's provisions address four areas to reduce the 
burden.

                              {time}  1045

  First, my bill would permit the affected jurisdictions to use the 
amount that they have spent to provide social services to COFA migrants 
toward the non-Federal portion of providing Medicaid to their local 
residents. The bill proposes a new formula that would increase the 
Federal medical assistance percentage for each of the affected 
jurisdictions, and this would go a long way toward alleviating the 
burden on affected jurisdictions by increasing the percentage 
assistance provided by the Federal Government for Medicaid.
  Secondly, the bill would categorize elementary and secondary 
education-aged COFA students as federally connected students and make 
them eligible for Impact Aid. I understand the fiscal challenges that 
the Impact Aid community faces, and I am committed

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to working with them to address the effect this bill may have on them. 
The bill attempts to offset this effect by increasing funding 
authorization and ensures that we are not taking from one group just to 
pay another.
  Thirdly, this legislation would clarify Congress' intent when we 
extended eligibility for housing assistance programs to the COFA 
migrants. This bill ensures that U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful 
permanent residents are not displaced and are given priority when 
applying for housing benefits.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, this bill would commission independent research 
on the viability of the current compacts and make recommendations on 
policy alternatives moving forward. I do hope that this research will 
provide strategic guidance as we move toward renewal of the compacts in 
2023 and ensure that we are administering these agreements in the best 
way.
  I am so very pleased to count the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Takai) 
as an original cosponsor of my bill.
  As this Congress discusses solutions for the crisis in Puerto Rico, 
it is important that we also discuss challenges that the other 
territories face, especially the challenge of supporting the Compact of 
Free Association. While the challenges facing affected jurisdictions 
are nowhere near as serious as Puerto Rico, Mr. Speaker, doing nothing 
would only welcome economic and security challenges down the road.
  I do look forward to this bill becoming law and it being a tremendous 
help to jurisdictions affected by the Compact impact.

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