[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 50 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1307-H1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         COFA RESIDENTS IN MAUI

  (Ms. TOKUDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, fire and disaster does not discriminate 
based on legal status or citizenship. For far too long, the help and 
support following a disaster that is available to many has been 
withheld from a few.
  I rise today to highlight the plight of our Compact of Free 
Association ``family,'' ``ohana.'' They come from the Republic of the 
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the

[[Page H1308]]

Republic of Palau. While they experienced the same fear and loss of 
last August's fires, they were unable to claim any Federal disaster 
relief.
  On March 8, Congress passed the Compact Fairness Act to restore 
eligibility for Federal benefits to citizens from the Freely Associated 
States residing in our country. COFA residents had been unfairly 
stripped of those benefits in the 1996 welfare reform law.
  In correcting this decades-old error, we can begin making good on our 
commitment to our COFA residents, and at the urging of our 
congressional delegation, FEMA will allow COFA residents on Maui to 
apply retroactively for disaster assistance.
  COFA residents are a part of our Maui family, and I am grateful to 
FEMA for taking this important step for them and ensuring they will get 
the help that they need and deserve.

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