[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 31989-31990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     INCREASING THE WAIVER REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN LOCAL MATCHING 
   REQUIREMENTS TO AMERICAN SAMOA, GUAM, THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, OR THE 
              COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2003

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for 
this legislation. As has been stated, this legislation would provide 
needed relief to Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by increasing the matching 
waiver requirement for federal grants. The House's passage of this bill 
today would be timely given the fact that our territorial governments 
continue to face declining revenues.
  The difficult economic conditions in the territories make it 
particularly challenging for us to access federal grants, given the 
matching requirements and the current inflexibility in waiving these 
requirements.
  I am pleased this legislation not only increases the waiver 
requirement from the current threshold of two hundred thousand dollars

[[Page 31990]]

to five hundred thousand dollars, but it also clarifies that this 
waiver requirement applies across the board--to all federal agencies 
and departments--and not just for grants administered by the Department 
of the Interior.
  While this legislation seeks to correct this inconsistency in the 
application of law, I remain concerned about another inconsistency. I 
am aware of conflicting and varying application of the waiver 
requirement among federal agencies and departments with respect to the 
grant recipient. The non-profit organizations in the territories 
fulfill a significant role in our communities. Nonprofits help meet the 
needs of the homeless, the disadvantaged, and those whose lives are 
buffeted by tough economic times. Their work is often supported by 
federal grants. Without such federal assistance, the non-profit 
organizations in the territories would struggle to meet their missions 
and most would not be able to maintain the current level of assistance 
to our communities.
  On Guam alone, we have a sizable non-profit community. Organizations 
like Guma Mami, Erica's House, Catholic Social Services, and Sanctuary 
all work for example to help the needy, shelter and clothe the 
homeless, and provide services to at-risk youth. Others like the 
Manenngon Foundation and Pa'a Taotao Tano work to preserve our Chamorro 
culture. Given their limited resources and the matching fund 
requirements, their access to federal funding is critical to their 
success.
  Therefore, I remain hopeful that federal agencies will apply the 
waiver not just to grants awarded to the territorial governments, but 
also to non-profit organizations and other eligible nongovernmental 
entities in the territories.
  Furthermore, while I recognize that current law, for good reason, 
allows any federal agency or department to consolidate grants to the 
territories, I would hope that this authority would not be used to 
reduce the number of grants that would otherwise be subject to the 
matching waiver requirement. Federal agencies should not consolidate 
grants to escape the full application of the matching waiver 
requirement, or to reduce the waiver's impact on what would otherwise 
be separate grant awards. This is the intent of the authors of this 
bill. This has specific application to Guam, where disaster public 
assistance grants to separate Government of Guam agencies should each 
receive the waiver of the local matching funds that are required for 
their individual disaster assistance, rather than one waiver for the 
whole Government of Guam for all public assistance grants.
  This legislation will also require the Secretary of the Interior to 
study and report on its implementation. I trust that, if enacted, the 
Secretary will pay particular attention to these concerns and that the 
report will address the application of the waiver with respect to non-
profit organizations and the consolidation authority.
  This legislation is important for the economic development of the 
territories because it will make access to federal grants easier for 
cash-strapped governments.
  I want to recognize the hard work and valuable contributions that my 
predecessor, Robert Underwood, made on this issue. Mr. Underwood worked 
alongside our colleague from American Samoa, Mr. Faleomavaega, in 
crafting this legislation in the 107th Congress. Although the bill was 
reported out of the Committee on Resources last year, it unfortunately 
did not make it to the floor.
  I am grateful we have reached that point in the process today and I 
look forward to timely consideration in the other body. I want to 
commend my colleague from American Samoa, Eni Faleomavaega, for his 
persistence in promoting the interests of the territories and in 
particular for his introduction of this legislation. I also want to 
recognize the contributions of Congresswoman Donna Christensen from the 
U.S. Virgin Islands on this bill. This has been a unified effort by the 
Delegates from the insular areas. Finally, I want to thank Chairman 
Richard Pombo and Ranking Member Nick Rahall for their help in moving 
this legislation. The territories have benefited from their leadership 
in the Resources Committee.

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