[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4896-4897]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          GIVE AMERICAN SAMOA ITS COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and I will continue to do 
so in the coming weeks to express my utter dismay and disappointment 
with the United States Postal Service.
  On April 17, 1900, the traditional chiefs of the South Pacific 
Islands of Tutuila and Aunu'u agreed to become a part of the United 
States and the United States flag was raised on what is now known as 
the U.S. Territory of American Samoa. Since that time, the residents of 
American Samoa have been proud of their affiliation with this great 
Nation and have demonstrated their loyalty and patriotism in countless 
way.
  Mr. Speaker, April 17 is known as Flag Day in American Samoa and it 
is the biggest holiday in the territory. Flag Day celebrations are not 
limited to American Samoa. Flag Day is celebrated throughout the United 
States wherever there is a sizeable Samoan community. American Samoans 
in Hawaii, California, Nevada, Utah, Alaska, Washington, and other 
parts of the United States pause each year on this important date to 
celebrate this monumental occasion in its history.
  Unbeknownst to many Americans, Mr. Speaker, April 17 of next year 
will mark the 100th year in which this South Pacific territory, U.S. 
territory, has had a political relationship with the United States. And 
the local government leaders have been preparing for this centennial 
celebration for the last 3 years.
  Three years ago, American Samoa's governor and myself began the 
process of requesting that a U.S. postage stamp be issued to 
commemorate the centennial of American Samoa joining the part of the 
American political family. The Postal Service responded to our 1996 
request for a stamp by saying we were too early to apply for 
consideration. We again asked last year, and we were told we applied 
too late. We have also been told that the Postal Service just does not 
recognize territorial events.
  Having researched the issue, which expected America Samoa to be 
treated like any other American jurisdiction in this regard. States 
which have had centennials of their statehood commemorated recently on 
postage stamps include the States of Wisconsin, Tennessee, Iowa, Utah, 
Florida, and Texas.
  The Postal Service also issues stamps to commemorate such territorial 
acquisitions as the Louisiana Purchase, and the acquisitions of the 
territories of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
  America Samoa, Mr. Speaker, is the only U.S. territory left which 
voluntarily joined the United States. We have waited 100 years for a 
commemorative stamp, and the Postal Service is still making excuses. 
Mr. Speaker, how much longer do we have to wait?
  Mr. Speaker, this is absurd. I ask my fellow Americans to write and 
to e-mail the U.S. Postal Service to give American Samoa its centennial 
postage stamp.
  Mr. Speaker, the Postal Service's conduct in handling this matter is 
clearly inconsistent with past Postal Service practices. The Postal 
Service has issued commemorative stamps for flowers like roses, comic 
strips, horses, and even a foreign country like Australia. Yet here, 
when the request is one for recognition of a celebration of a political 
union with the United States territory, the first of such stamp for an 
American territory, the Postal Service saw fit to reject the request on 
grounds that it would not add to its so-called balanced stamp program.
  Many Americans do not realize this, Mr. Speaker, but American Samoa 
was a major staging area for some 40,000 soldiers and Marines in World 
War II. Thousands of Samoa's sons and daughters served proudly in the 
military service.
  Mr. Speaker, this is absolutely ridiculous, and I appeal to my fellow 
Americans to write to the Postal Service, tell them why we should have 
a postage stamp. We need a postage stamp, and I think we could ask for 
no less.
  The per capita rate of enlistment in the U.S. military services is as 
high as any state or territory; for decades American Samoa served as a 
Naval coaling station for our ships in the Pacific; during World War 
II, American Samoa was the staging point for 30,000 U.S. marines 
involved in the Pacific theater; the territory was the first land some 
astronauts came to during the Apollo missions, including the now famous 
Apollo 13 mission; and American Samoa produces more NFL player per 
capita than any jurisdiction in the U.S. with approximately 15 Samoans 
currently playing professional ball.
  In the 1990's, stamps were issued in recognition of the Federated 
States of Micronesia (1990), the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands (1993), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (1990), and the 
Republic of Palau (1995), all of which were territories in recent 
memory.
  Mr. Speaker, with this history of recognizing centennials of 
statehood, acquisitions of territories and other important events in 
the political history of every other territory, I ask the U.S. Postal 
Service why not American Samoa?
  Mr. Speaker, I am here today to tell you that there is no balance. 
There is no logic. There is no equality in treatment. The Postal 
Service is acting in a manner that is totally inconsistent with its 
past practices and decisions. How else can you explain the inconsistent 
actions the Postal Service has taken regarding treatment of U.S. 
territories.
  Perhaps American Samoa stands a better chance of convincing the 
Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp if it reframed the 
current request as one asking for a stamp to commemorate the 100th 
anniversary of the special relationship between the Samoan Fruit Bat 
and the United States. The Postal Service has seen fit to issue stamps 
for a variety of issues and causes, including birds, and perhaps this 
change in approach will bolster our chances for success.
  To achieve balance in representation, Mr. Speaker, is a very 
difficult task. Reasonable persons with reasonable expectations will 
disagree about what reasonably balanced means. However, this is not the 
situation here. The Postal Service is being totally unreasonable on 
these facts.
  I understand that decisions about which stamp requests to approve and 
which stamp

[[Page 4897]]

requests to reject are difficult decisions to make and that in the end 
there will always be a person or group who will not be happy with such 
decisions. I respect the fact that the Postal Service cannot please 
everyone. I have no qualms with these aspects of the stamp-approval 
process. I do, however, have serious concerns and reservations when 
decision-making processes yield results that do not logically follow 
based on established precedent.
  Mr. Speaker, it is inequitable and unreasonable to deny American 
Samoa what the Postal Service has routinely granted other U.S. 
territories and states.
  I will not stand by idly, Mr. Speaker, when my constituents, the 
people of American Samoa--people who are deeply patriotic and 
appreciative of the relationship American Samoa shares with our 
Republic--are unequitably treated by a semi-independent agency of our 
Federal Government. Neither will my colleagues in the House and Senate. 
Numerous Members of Congress have written to the Postal Service urging 
the Postal Service to treat American Samoa's request in the same manner 
it has treated similar requests by the other territories. Despite these 
efforts to persuade, using precedent and reason, the Postal Service to 
this day refuses to issue a commemorative stamp honoring the 100th 
anniversary of the union between the U.S. and American Samoa.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to do what is right, what is just, 
what is fair, and what is reasonable on these facts. Nothing more. I 
ask that you join the people of American Samoa in urging the Postal 
Service to reconsider its position and to grant American Samoa's 
request for a postal stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of its 
political union with the United States.

                          ____________________