[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9081-H9082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1945
       REAL ID ACT MODIFICATION FOR FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES ACT

  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3398) to amend the Real ID Act of 2005 to permit Freely 
Associated States to meet identification requirements under such Act, 
and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3398

       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 ``REAL ID Act Modification for 
     Freely Associated States Act''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.

       (a) Definition of State.--Section 201(5) of the Real ID Act 
     of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13) is amended 
     by striking ``the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,''.
       (b) Evidence of Lawful Status.--Section 202(c)(2)(B) of the 
     REAL ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13) 
     is amended--
       (1) in clause (viii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) in clause (ix), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(x) is a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 
     the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau 
     who has been admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant 
     pursuant to a Compact of Free Association between the United 
     States and the Republic or Federated States.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago, the United States solidified a unique 
international relationship by signing the Compact of Free Association 
with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Collectively, these three 
sovereign nations are referred to as the Freely Associated States.
  Under the Compact of Free Association, citizens from the Freely 
Associated States can live, work, and study in the United States as 
legal nonimmigrants without a need for a visa.
  In 2005, Congress enacted the Real ID Act, which enacted the 9/11 
Commission's recommendation to set Federal standards for driver's 
license and other sources of identification. However, the Real ID Act 
of 2005 made no mention of the Freely Associated States or the compact. 
Instead, the law referred to ``the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands,'' a now-defunct entity that ceased to exist in 1994. The 
former trusteeship predated the current self-governing status of Freely 
Associated States as established under the Compact of Free Association.
  As a result of this error, citizens of the Marshall Islands, 
Micronesia, and Palau are often forced to settle for temporary driver's 
licenses that expire after a year, costing these citizens access to 
work, housing, transportation, and other opportunities. Because some 
employers have been reluctant to hire or retain temporary-licensed 
carriers, many of these citizens lose access to work, housing, 
transportation, and other opportunities.
  The omission also greatly disadvantages these citizens to other 
nonimmigrants who are able to obtain standard licenses lasting up to 8 
years, if they meet the Real ID Act eligibility requirements.
  H.R. 3398 corrects this drafting error in the Real ID Act. Fixing 
this error in

[[Page H9082]]

the law clarifies the legal eligibility of the citizens of these three 
nations for full-term driver's licenses, honors the terms of our 
Compact of Free Association, and reaffirms our partnership with the 
three nations.
  I would like to thank Representative  Don Young, the gentleman from 
Alaska and my friend, for his work on this important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill before us would make a technical correction to 
the Real ID Act of 2005. The act incorrectly identified persons from 
the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau as citizens of the Trust 
Territory of the Pacific Islands, an entity that has not existed since 
1994. This error has caused citizens of these trust territories 
difficulties because they are often issued only temporary driver's 
licenses. This, in turn, makes some employers reluctant to hire these 
citizens and makes it difficult for them to access government services.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, urge my colleagues to do so as 
well, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Alaska (Mr. Young), the sponsor of this bill.
  (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Russell and the 
minority member for their work on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3398 is a bill that should be passed. I strongly 
support it. I was listening to the testimony from the chairman, and he 
has put it so well, I probably won't speak anymore. I do believe that 
what he said is all true. It is necessary. It is needed.
  This is something that was an oversight, because I was here when we 
wrote the original bill in 2005. It was an oversight, and the gentleman 
did a great job explaining it.
  This is needed for those citizens who we consider from Palau, 
Micronesia, and the other islands there, and we will do the work. I 
thank the gentleman again for his work.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa).
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3398, the REAL 
ID Act Modification for Freely Associated States Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and good friend from 
Alaska, Congressman  Don Young, for introducing this bill, which I 
proudly cosponsored.
  Through the Compact of Free Association, the United States and the 
Freely Associated States--the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 
Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau--agreed to 
the terms of our special and unique government-to-government 
relationships. It is through these compacts that the citizens of the 
Freely Associated States can enter the U.S. to live, work, study, and 
visit indefinitely as legal nonimmigrants without visa, with guaranteed 
access to social and health services.
  In return, the U.S. has defense and certain other operating rights in 
the Freely Associated States, denial of access to the territory by 
other nations, and other agreements of strategic importance to the 
United States.
  The Freely Associated States' citizens migrate to Hawaii and other 
places in the U.S. for many reasons, including but not limited to job 
and economic opportunities.

  Hawaii is one of the four recognized affected jurisdictions by the 
U.S. Government. Hawaii experiences the highest impact of FAS migrants. 
The other affected jurisdictions are Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
  Based on the U.S. Census data for 2010 to 2014, the five States with 
the highest number of FAS citizens are Hawaii, with 17,205; Arkansas, 
with 3,625; Washington, with 3,430; Oregon, with 2,580; and Texas, with 
2,090.
  Unfortunately, when Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005, it used 
an obsolete reference to the Freely Associated States countries, 
specifically identifying them as the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands.
  As a result, when the Freely Associated States' migrants seek to 
obtain a U.S. ID or license, they can only obtain a temporary license 
for 1 year, since they are legally noncitizens without an end date of 
their stay.
  This is extremely problematic when the migrants seek employment, and 
it further complicates our ability to accurately assess the size of the 
FAS citizen population.
  It is clear Congress intended to include the Freely Associated 
States' citizen migrants under the Real ID Act, and I appreciate 
Congressman Young's effort to correct the Record and end the ambiguity 
which keeps FAS citizens from fully and freely participating in our 
country and becoming self-sufficient members of our society.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to remind people why we even have 
these compacts. It is because the United States did do atomic bomb 
testing, nuclear testing, in this area. As a result, it has affected 
their health, their ability to retain and stay in their home countries, 
and the compacts give them free access.
  Hawaii is one of the most affected, and we carry a lot of the costs 
associated with the compacts, especially in the area of medical, 
education, and housing.
  So the ability to have these Real IDs, then, will facilitate the 
various migrants' ability to actually seek jobs and have an equal 
footing in terms of economic opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 3398.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Curtis). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3398.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________