[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5088-H5090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP ACT

  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7159) to bolster United States engagement with the Pacific 
Islands region, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7159

       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 ``Pacific Partnership Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress as follows:
       (1) The United States has longstanding and enduring 
     cultural, historic, economic, strategic, and people-to-people 
     connections with the Pacific Islands, based on shared values, 
     cultural histories, common interests, and a commitment to 
     fostering mutual understanding and cooperation.
       (2) Successive United States administrations have 
     recognized the critical importance of the Pacific Islands, to 
     the world in high-level strategic documents, including the--
       (A) 2015 National Security Strategy, which first declared 
     the rebalance to Asia and the Pacific, affirmed the United 
     States as a Pacific nation, and paved the way for subsequent 
     United States engagement with the Pacific Islands;
       (B) 2017 National Security Strategy, which includes a 
     commitment to ``shore up fragile partner states in the 
     Pacific Islands region to reduce their vulnerability to 
     economic fluctuations and natural disasters'';
       (C) 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which identified the 
     Pacific Islands as ``critical to United States strategy 
     because of our shared values, interests, and commitments'';
       (D) 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which recognized the 
     need to engage further with the Pacific Islands on shared 
     security goals; and
       (E) 2022 Strategy for Pacific Partnership, which outlined 
     goals and methods for deepening the United States 
     partnerships with Pacific Island nations.
       (3) The United States Government should further develop, 
     expand, and support a comprehensive and multifaceted United 
     States policy for the Pacific Islands that--
       (A) promotes peace, security, and prosperity for all 
     countries that respects the sovereignty and political 
     independence of all nations;
       (B) preserves the Pacific Ocean as a corridor for 
     international maritime economic opportunities and growth and 
     promotes sustainable development;
       (C) supports regional efforts to address shared challenges, 
     including by strengthening resilience to natural disasters 
     and stewardship of natural resources; and
       (D) strengthens democratic governance and the rule of law, 
     and promotes human rights and the preservation of the 
     region's cultural heritages.
       (4) The United States should support the vision, values, 
     and objectives of existing regional multilateral institutions 
     and frameworks, such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the 
     Pacific Community.
       (5) The United States should work closely with United 
     States allies and partners with existing relationships and 
     interests in the Pacific Islands, such as Australia, Japan, 
     South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan, and regional 
     institutions like the Pacific Islands Forum.

     SEC. 3. STRATEGY FOR PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP.

       (a) In General.--Not later than January 1, 2026, and again 
     not later than January 1, 2030, the President, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of State, shall develop and 
     submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy 
     entitled the ``Strategy for Pacific Partnership'' (in this 
     section referred to as the ``Strategy'').
       (b) Matters To Be Included.--The Strategy shall include 
     each of the following:
       (1) A description of overarching goals for United States 
     engagement in the Pacific Islands region, including United 
     States diplomatic posts, defense posture, and economic 
     engagement.
       (2) An assessment of threats and pressures to the Pacific 
     Islands region including those caused by factors such as--
       (A) natural disasters;
       (B) illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing;
       (C) non-United States military presence and activity;
       (D) developmental challenges;
       (E) economic coercion and corruption; and
       (F) other factors assessed to be causing a direct risk to 
     the United States national interests in the Pacific Islands.
       (3) A plan to address the threats assessed pursuant to 
     paragraph (2).
       (4) An analysis of the needs and goals expressed by 
     governments of the Pacific Islands region, including at or 
     through multilateral institutions, evaluated in light of the 
     United States national interests.
       (5) A plan for the resources necessary for the United 
     States to meet its goals in the Pacific Islands region.
       (6) Mechanisms, including existing forums, for coordinating 
     and cooperating on shared goals among the following, as 
     appropriate:
       (A) the governments of Pacific Island countries;
       (B) regional partners in the Pacific Islands region, 
     including multilateral forums and organizations, such as the 
     Pacific Islands Forum;
       (C) civil society in the Pacific Islands; and
       (D) United States subnational governments in the Pacific.
       (c) Consultation.--In developing the Strategy, the 
     President should consult, as appropriate, with--
       (1) relevant United States governmental agencies;
       (2) regional organizations, such as the Pacific Islands 
     Forum, the Pacific Islands Development Program, the Pacific 
     Community, the Forum Fisheries Agency, and the Secretariat of 
     the Pacific Regional Environment Programme;
       (3) the governments of the countries in the Pacific 
     Islands;
       (4) civil society stakeholders;
       (5) United States allies and partners; and
       (6) United States Pacific territories and States.

     SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITIES TO THE PACIFIC 
                   ISLANDS FORUM.

       The provisions of the International Organizations 
     Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.) may be extended to the 
     Pacific Islands Forum in the same manner, to the same extent, 
     and subject to the same conditions as such provisions may be 
     extended to a public international organization in which the 
     United States participates pursuant to any treaty or under 
     the authority of any Act of Congress authorizing such 
     participation or making an appropriation for such 
     participation.

     SEC. 5. REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     submission of a strategy detailed in section 3(a), the 
     President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees an implementation report--
       (1) with a proposed timeline for implementation of the 
     strategy described in section 3(a) of this Act;
       (2) detailing the assessed number of full-time equivalent 
     positions and contractors needed to achieve the goals laid 
     out in the strategy described in section 3(a) of this Act;
       (3) describing any institutional or structural re-
     organizations suggested to help carry out the strategy 
     described in section 3(a) of this Act; and
       (4) if necessary, identifying additional funding needed to 
     support resource levels to carry out the strategy described 
     in 3(a).
       (b) Consolidation.--A report required by this subsection 
     may be consolidated with any other report required to be 
     submitted by the same Federal official on the same or similar 
     date as the requirement under this subsection.

     SEC. 6. ALLIES AND PARTNERS IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION.

       (a) In General.--The President, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of State, and the relevant heads of other Federal 
     departments and agencies, should consult and coordinate with 
     allies and partners in the Pacific Islands region, including 
     Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, and regional 
     institutions, such as the Pacific Islands

[[Page H5089]]

     Forum, the Pacific Islands Development Program, the Pacific 
     Community and Secretariat for the Pacific Regional 
     Environment Programme, with respect to programs to provide 
     assistance to the Pacific Islands, including for purposes 
     of--
       (1) deconflicting programming;
       (2) ensuring that any programming does not adversely affect 
     the absorptive capacity of the Pacific Islands;
       (3) ensuring complementary programs benefit the Pacific 
     Islands to the maximum extent practicable; and
       (4) ensuring that programming aligns with regional 
     development goals to promote a shared vision for the future 
     of the Pacific Islands.
       (b) Formal Consultative Process.--The President should 
     establish a formal consultative process with such regional 
     allies and partners to coordinate with respect to such 
     programs and future-years programming.

     SEC. 7. REPORTING.

       (a) Updates of Certain Reports.--The Secretary of State, in 
     coordination with the heads of other Federal departments and 
     agencies as appropriate, shall annually update the reports 
     listed in subsection (b) to include within the scope of such 
     reports a regional discussion of transnational crime 
     affecting the Pacific Islands.
       (b) Reports Listed.--The reports listed in this subsection 
     are the following:
       (1) The International Narcotics Control Strategy report 
     required by section 489 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
     (22 U.S.C. 2291h).
       (2) The Improving International Fisheries Management report 
     required by section 607 of title VI of the Fisheries Act of 
     1995 (16 U.S.C. 1826h).
       (3) The Trafficking in Persons report submitted under 
     section 110 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
     (22 U.S.C. 7107).

     SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
       (2) Pacific islands; pacific islands region.--The term 
     ``Pacific Islands'' and ``Pacific Islands region'' mean the 
     nations, territories, and other jurisdictions in the Pacific 
     Ocean within the broad groupings of Melanesia, Micronesia, 
     and Polynesia.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina 
(Ms. Manning) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from American Samoa.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from American Samoa?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7159, the Pacific Partnership 
Act. I was proud to be the lead Republican on this bipartisan bill 
introduced by the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case).
  As a grateful and proud Pacific Islander, I remind my colleagues that 
the United States is a Pacific nation, from the West Coast of the 
continental U.S., to Hawaii, to American Samoa, to the Northern Mariana 
Islands, to Guam. The Pacific is critically important to American 
interests, American values, and to the Americans I have the privilege 
to represent.
  However, in recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has mounted an 
aggressive campaign to increase its influence among Pacific Island 
countries. The 2022 security pact between Beijing and the Solomon 
Islands was seen by many as an alarming wake-up call. The CCP is 
pressuring island nations to overturn their recognition of Taiwan, 
illegally fishing in their exclusive economic zones, and bribing local 
law enforcement to influence local elections.
  While Congress has done its job to extend the Compacts of Free 
Association for another 20 years, those only focus on three Pacific 
Island countries. There are 11 other countries who need our attention.
  The United States has enduring cultural, historic, economic, and 
people-to-people connections with the Pacific Islands. We just opened 
up an embassy in Vanuatu, but we must do more.
  Pacific Islands are strategically crucial to the United States. For 
that reason, the Pacific Partnership Act requires the State Department 
to submit to Congress a Strategy for Pacific Partnership that describes 
our goals for engaging with the Pacific Islands in the diplomatic, 
defense, and economic domains. It gives Congress the oversight 
visibility to ensure that the executive branch formulates and 
implements a strategy that addresses the many shared threats facing 
Pacific Island countries.
  It also requires that we coordinate and collaborate with our allies 
and partners, like Australia, Taiwan, Japan, and New Zealand, to ensure 
that our programs directed toward the Pacific Islands are 
nonduplicative and complementary. The Pacific Partnership Act will help 
to better focus the United States' engagement with Pacific Island 
nations.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7159, the 
Pacific Partnership Act, as amended, and I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud that, in this Congress, we have been able to 
work in a bipartisan manner to strengthen our relationships with the 
Pacific Islands, from the bipartisan amendments, to the Compacts of 
Free Association, to the legislation before us today.
  These legislative efforts support the leadership of the Biden-Harris 
administration, which hosted two summits with the Pacific Islands at 
the White House, opened new embassies in the Solomon Islands, Tonga, 
and Vanuatu, and released the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Partnership 
Strategy.
  This legislation would codify that strategy, ensuring that future 
administrations maintain that focus and provide other authorities to 
strengthen our outreach to the Pacific Islands and our coordination 
with allies and partners.
  Together, we are affirming a fundamental point: The United States is 
a Pacific nation. We are determined to deepen and maintain our lasting 
partnerships with each of the Pacific Islands, and we will do so by 
listening to and incorporating the principles of what the Pacific 
Islands have articulated themselves. That collaborative approach is 
reflected in this bill.
  I thank the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), my good friend, for his 
leadership and dedication to this critical region. His work on this 
measure is a testament to our shared commitment to the Pacific and to 
ensuring that the United States remains a reliable and engaged partner.
  Bipartisanship is so important because there is still so much work to 
be done. Our diplomats, developmental professionals, and Peace Corps 
volunteers are working tirelessly on the ground.
  Can we sustain the resources they need to execute our policy?
  Can we follow through on each of the deliverables the United States 
has promised, including at the Pacific Islands Forum that just 
concluded at the end of August?
  I know each of us here understands the stakes, and I am committed to 
working with all of my colleagues to ensure that we follow through.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage support for this bill, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Hawaii (Mr. Case).
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the very kind remarks of my 
colleague from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in very strong support of this bill, the 
Pacific Partnership Act, which aims to broaden and deepen our critical 
partnerships with our fellow nations of the Pacific.
  I first thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs. 
     Radewagen), and our 24 bipartisan cosponsors, as well as 
     our House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which reported out 
     this bill unanimously.
  Our country's Indo-Pacific Strategy states in no uncertain terms that 
no region is of more consequence to the world and to everyday Americans 
than the Indo-Pacific. The United States and our allies and partners 
around the world, who are aligned with an international rules-based 
order, share the common vision of a free and open Indo-

[[Page H5090]]

Pacific, whose governance, priorities, goals, and prosperity are 
determined by the countries of the Indo-Pacific without manipulation 
and dominance by malign actors.
  This is especially true of the Pacific Islands themselves in the 
heart of the Pacific, which today face the challenges of increased 
natural disasters and human and drug trafficking, economic 
sustainability, threats to democracy, and more.
  It is crucial that the United States continue to extend our hand of 
full partnership in assisting the countries of the Pacific to meet 
these challenges, as we have for generations.
  Our bill, H.R. 7159, advances these goals. It first recognizes that 
the United States is and has been for two-plus centuries now a Pacific 
nation and has longstanding and enduring cultural, historic, economic, 
strategic, and people-to-people connections with the Pacific Islands 
based on shared values, cultural histories, common interests, and a 
commitment to fostering mutual understanding and cooperation. It 
acknowledges that the United States should support the vision, values, 
and objectives of the Pacific Islands.
  This bill requires the President to develop a Strategy for Pacific 
Partnership that will set the goals for United States' engagement with 
the Pacific Islands, assess the threats and pressures to the region, 
and a plan to address such threats, and analyze the needs and goals of 
the Pacific Islands in the context of the national interests of the 
United States.
  Critically, our bill requires a strategy to be developed in full 
consultation with the governments of the Pacific Island countries and 
their multilateral organizations, ensuring that the United States 
supports the priorities of, by, and for the Pacific itself, and not of 
other countries who may be pursuing inconsistent priorities.
  Our bill also extends diplomatic courtesies and traditional protocols 
to the Pacific Islands Forum, the primary multilateral organization of 
the region. The Pacific Islands Forum engages in critical consensus-
building work and just held its 53rd Leaders Meeting in Tonga 2 weeks 
ago in which Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell led the United 
States delegation.
  The extension of such diplomatic courtesies will foster creation of a 
Pacific Islands Forum mission to the United States, which will 
strengthen the collective voice of the Pacific internationally in 
opposition to other attempts to divide and isolate the Pacific Islands, 
and further expand our relationship and collaboration on strategic 
matters of mutual interests.
  Finally, as has been noted, our bill requires increased collaboration 
with our partners and allies in the region, including Australia, Japan, 
New Zealand, and more, ensuring the most efficient and effective use of 
limited resources and programs. This is critical, as we are much 
stronger when we do this important work in coordination with our allies 
and partners.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the 
passage of the Pacific Partnership Act.
  Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
the purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, the Pacific Islands are not just our neighbors. They are 
our partners. The security and prosperity of this region are directly 
linked to our own. Together, we can ensure that the United States 
continues to be a leader in promoting peace, security, and prosperity 
in the Pacific Islands for generations to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me and support this 
important bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  2000

  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank, again, my friend from Hawaii, Mr. 
Case, for leading this bill that we introduced together.
  The Pacific Partnership Act will help ensure that our area of the 
world receives the attention it requires in U.S. diplomatic, defense, 
and economic policymaking.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bill, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kean of New Jersey). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs. 
Radewagen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 
7159, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________