[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 126 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3653. Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. Schatz) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3399 proposed by Mr. 
Shelby to the bill H.R. 6147, making appropriations for the Department 
of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes; which was ordered to 
lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title I of division A, add the 
     following:


sense of congress relating to the need to understand and respond to the 
   health care needs of the citizens of compact of free association 
                      nations in the united states

       Sec. 1___.  (a) Congress finds that--
       (1) the United States has entered into mutually-beneficial 
     Compacts of Free Association with the governments of the 
     Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall 
     Islands, and the Republic of Palau (referred to in this 
     section as the ``Compact of Free Association Nations'');
       (2) as a result of the mutually-beneficial Compacts of Free 
     Association, the citizens of the Compact of Free Association 
     Nations are entitled to travel to, work in, and otherwise 
     live in the United States;
       (3) the number of citizens of Compact of Free Association 
     Nations living in the United States and territories of the 
     United States has grown, particularly in Hawaii and Guam;
       (4) because of the unique relationship between the United 
     States and the Compact of Free Association Nations, 
     information on the number of citizens of Compact of Free 
     Association Nations that access the health care programs and 
     services of States, territories of the United States, and 
     local jurisdictions is difficult to quantify; and
       (5) to better meet the needs of citizens of Compact of Free 
     Association Nations and the communities that host the 
     citizens of Compact of Free Association Nations, it is in the 
     interest of the Federal Government to develop a more complete 
     understanding of--
       (A) the estimated costs to States, territories of the 
     United States, and local jurisdictions of providing health 
     care services for citizens of Compact of Free Association 
     Nations in the United States;
       (B) projections with respect to ways in which the number of 
     citizens of Compact of Free Association Nations and the 
     health care needs of citizens of Compact of Free Association 
     Nations in the United States may change over the 10-year 
     period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; and
       (C) recommendations for legislative or administrative 
     actions to address the health care needs of citizens of 
     Compact of Free Association Nations in the United States.
       (b) It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the 
     Interior should--
       (1) not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, consult with the heads of other Federal agencies 
     with the necessary expertise and resources for assistance in 
     developing--
       (A) a plan for assessing the current and future health care 
     needs of citizens of Compact of Free Association Nations 
     residing in the United States; and
       (B) recommendations for legislative or administrative 
     actions to address the needs assessed under subparagraph (A); 
     and
       (2) not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
     consultations have been completed under paragraph (1), submit 
     to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate a report on the plan developed under 
     paragraph (1)(A), including the estimated time and cost for 
     the assessment provided for under the plan.
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