[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4317. Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Ms. Murkowski, and Ms. Cantwell) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 
2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military 
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and 
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe 
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle H of title XII, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 1277. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMITMENT TO THE REPUBLIC OF 
                   PALAU.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The Republic of Palau is comprised of 300 islands and 
     covers roughly 177 square miles strategically located in the 
     western Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and the United 
     States territory of Guam.
       (2) The United States and Palau have forged close security, 
     economic and cultural ties since the United States defeated 
     the armed forces of Imperial Japan in Palau in 1944.
       (3) The United States administered Palau as a District of 
     the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 
     from 1947 to 1994.
       (4) In 1994, the United States and Palau entered into a 50-
     year Compact of Free Association which provided for the 
     independence of Palau and set forth the terms for close and 
     mutually beneficial relations in security, economic, and 
     governmental affairs.
       (5) The security terms of the Compact grant the United 
     States full authority and responsibility for the security and 
     defense of Palau, including the exclusive right to deny any 
     nation's military forces access to the territory of Palau 
     except the United States, an important element of our Pacific 
     strategy for defense of the United States homeland, and the 
     right to establish and use defense sites in Palau.
       (6) The Compact entitles any citizen of Palau to volunteer 
     for service in the United States Armed Forces, and they do so 
     at a rate that exceeds that of any of the 50 States.
       (7) In 2009, and in accordance with section 432 of the 
     Compact, the United States and Palau reviewed their overall 
     relationship. In 2010, the two nations signed an agreement 
     updating and extending several provisions of the Compact, 
     including an extension of United States financial and program 
     assistance to Palau, and establishing increased post-9/11 
     immigration protections. However, the United States has not 
     yet approved this Agreement or provided the assistance as 
     called for in the Agreement.
       (8) Beginning in 2010 and most recently on February 22, 
     2016, the Department of the Interior, the Department of 
     State, and the Department of Defense have sent letters to 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 
     Tempore of the Senate transmitting the legislation to approve 
     the 2010 United States Palau Agreement including an analysis 
     of the budgetary impact of the legislation.
       (9) The February 22, 2016, letter concluded, ``Approving 
     the results of the Agreement is important to the national 
     security of the United States, stability in the Western 
     Pacific region, our bilateral relationship with Palau and to 
     the United States' broader strategic interest in the Asia-
     Pacific region.''
       (10) On May 20, 2016, the Department of Defense submitted a 
     letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the 
     congressional defense committees in support of including 
     legislation enacting the agreement in the fiscal year 2017 
     National Defense Authorization Act and concluded that its 
     inclusion advances United States national security objectives 
     in the region.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) to fulfill the promise and commitment of the United 
     States to its ally, the Republic of Palau, and reaffirm this 
     special relationship and strengthen the ability of the United 
     States to defend the homeland, Congress and the President 
     should promptly enact the Compact Review Agreement signed by 
     the United States and Palau in 2010; and
       (2) Congress and the President should immediately seek a 
     mutually acceptable solution to approving the Compact Review 
     Agreement and ensuring adequate budgetary resources are 
     allocated to meet United States obligations under the Compact 
     through enacting legislation, including through this Act.
                                 ______