[House Report 105-253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-253
_______________________________________________________________________


 
ALLOWANCE FOR ELECTION OF THE DELEGATE FROM GUAM BY OTHER THAN SEPARATE 
                     BALLOT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 September 18, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 1460]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1460) to allow for election of the Delegate from Guam by 
other than separate ballot, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. BALLOT REQUIREMENT FOR DELEGATE.

    Section 2(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide that the 
unincorporated territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands shall each be 
represented in Congress by a Delegate to the House of Representatives'' 
approved April 10, 1972 (48 U.S.C. 1712(a)), is amended--
          (1) by inserting ``from the Virgin Islands'' before ``shall 
        be elected at large''; and
          (2) by inserting ``The Delegate from Guam shall be elected at 
        large and by a majority of the votes cast for the office of 
        Delegate.'' before ``If no candidate''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1460 is to allow for the election of 
the Delegate from Guam by other than separate ballot.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The United States territory of Guam consists of the 
southernmost island of Guam and adjacent islets of the 800-mile 
Mariana Archipelago in the Western Pacific. Guam came under 
U.S. sovereignty as part of the Treaty of Paris which concluded 
the Spanish-American War of 1898. Article IX of the Treaty 
provides that: ``The civil rights and political status of the 
native inhabitants of the territories ceded to the United 
States shall be determined by the Congress.''
    In 1950, Congress extended United States citizenship to the 
residents of Guam who had demonstrated unwavering loyalty to 
the U.S. throughout the years of enemy occupation of the 
territory during World War II. Local government was organized 
under the 1950 Organic Act of Guam in lieu of a constitution. 
Over the subsequent years, self-government on Guam continued to 
evolve and build upon the 1950 Organic Act. Congress authorized 
the direct election of the Governor of Guam in 1968 and 
representation in Congress of the Americans in Guam through the 
election of a Delegate from Guam to the U.S. House of 
Representatives in 1972.
    Finally, in 1976 Congress authorized one of the final steps 
in the self-government process by giving Guam authority to 
formulate and implement a constitution of its own adoption 
(Public Law 94-584). Congress ignored prior precedents by not 
requiring Congressional ratification of a Guam constitution 
prior to implementation by Guam, based on the success of 
previous federal-territorial constitutional processes. The 
adoption of a local constitution is a significant part of the 
evolution of self-government, but it does not preclude the 
right of further self-determination in the advance toward a 
final political status.
    However, as no constitution has been approved by the people 
of Guam, the prevailing instrument for self-governance in Guam 
continues to be the Organic Act. Therefore, to alter the 
current election procedures where the Delegate from Guam is 
elected by separate ballot, the federal law must be changed, as 
proposed in H.R. 1460, since the original Organic Act requires 
the Delegate from Guam to be elected by separate ballot.
    Guam has an active electorate with a higher voter turn-out 
than the national average. Currently, qualified voters on Guam 
manually fill in ballots for elections. These ballots are 
tabulated by computerized reading machines. Under federal law 
(Public Law 92-271), election ballots for the delegate from 
Guam to the House of Representatives must be separate from 
those for other elected officials. Logistically, this means 
that the ballot for the Guam delegate be printed on a separate 
sheet of paper, a requirement which adds an unnecessary cost to 
the election process to the Government of Guam.
    The Guam Election Commission has requested that the 
Congress amend the law to remedy this costly situation which is 
a burden to the Government of Guam.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1460 was introduced on April 24, 1997, by Delegate 
Robert A. Underwood. The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources. The proposed change to allow for the election of the 
Delegate from Guam by separate ballot is identical to Section 5 
of H.R. 1332, which passed the House, but not the Senate, at 
the end of the 104th Congress on September 28, 1996. This 
proposed change regarding the election of the Delegate by 
separate ballot was addressed in a July 1996, hearing of the 
Subcommittee on Native American and Insular Affairs of the 
Committee on Resources. The Administration has expressed 
support for this modification of the law.
    On July 16, 1997, the Committee met to mark up H.R. 1460. 
Mr. Underwood offered an amendment to strike section two of the 
bill entitled, ``Temporary Absence of Officials,'' which would 
have amended the Organic Act of Guam to permit the governor and 
lieutenant governor of Guam to continue their authority when 
off-island, instead of transferring their authority to the next 
individual in the line-of-authority under current law. The 
amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was 
then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 1460.

                        Cost of the Legislation

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 1460. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     Compliance With House Rule XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
1460 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 1460.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 
1460 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 29, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1460, a bill to 
allow for election of the Delegate from Guam by other than 
separate ballot, and for other purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are John R. 
Righter (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state 
and local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1460--A bill to allow for election of the Delegate from Guam by 
        other than separate ballot, and for other purposes

    H.R. 1460 would allow the Guam Election Commission to 
include the office of the Delegate to the U.S. House of 
Representatives on the same ballot as other elected offices. 
CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no impact on 
the federal budget. Because the bill would not affect direct 
spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    H.R. 1460 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments. Enacting this bill would result in reduced 
election costs for the government of Guam. Based on information 
provided by officials from Guam, CBO estimates that these 
savings would amount to about $10,000 for each election.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are John R. 
Righter (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state 
and local impact). This estimate was approved by Robert A. 
Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 1460 contains no unfunded mandates.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                 SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF APRIL 10, 1972

 AN ACT To provide that the unincorporated territories of Guam and the 
 Virgin Islands shall each be represented in Congress by a delegate to 
                      the House of Representatives

    Sec. 2. (a) The Delegate shall be elected by the people 
qualified to vote for the members of the legislature of the 
territory he is to represent at the general election of 1972, 
and thereafter at such general election every second year 
thereafter. The Delegate shall be elected at large from the 
Virgin Islands, by separate ballot and by a majority of the 
votes cast for the office of Delegate. If no candidate receives 
such majority, on the fourteenth day following such election a 
runoff election shall be held between the candidates receiving 
the highest and the second highest number of votes cast for the 
office of Delegate. In case of a permanent vacancy in the 
office of Delegate, by reason of death, resignation, or 
permanent disability, the office of Delegate shall remain 
vacant until a successor shall have been elected and qualified.
          * * * * * * *

             ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF DELEGATE ROBERT UNDERWOOD

    The purpose of the bill is clear. It is to facilitate the 
election of the Delegate from Guam and to avoid unnecessary 
costs. The bill amends the Act of April 10, 1972, which 
provides Guam and the Virgin Islands with Delegates to the U.S. 
House of Representatives.
    Although any matter pertaining to the election of the 
Delegate can be framed as part of Guam's political development, 
this particular piece of legislation neither enhances nor 
detracts from that progress.
    Consequently, the comments of this report regarding the 
Organic Act and the authorization of a Constitution seem out of 
place. The third paragraph under ``Background and Need for 
Legislation'' discusses Public Law 94-584, the Constitution 
process. The argument is made that having a local Constitution 
does not preclude the right of self-determination. There is no 
argument with this.
    However, there has been a great deal of discussion in Guam 
about whether to proceed with a Constitution without a change 
in Guam's current political status. This was resolved via 
election in 1979, when the Constitution was defeated. The 
people of Guam want a political status change first. Having a 
Constitution before having a political status is putting the 
cart before the carabao.

                                               Robert A. Underwood.

                                
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