> **[OFFICE OF INSULAR AFFAIRS]{.underline}**
>
> **PRESS RELEASE**

For Additional Information Contact: Keith Parsky at 202-208-4070

> **[GOVERNORS, DELEGATES ADDRESS INTERAGENCY GROUP FOR
> TERRITORIES]{.underline}**

**(Washington, D.C., September 10, 2003)** Each of the Governors and
Members of Congress from Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa addressed a meeting
today of the federal interagency group that President George W. Bush
created in May to coordinate federal policy towards the U.S.
territories. Guam's Governor Felix Camacho praised President Bush for
the establishment of the Interagency Group on Insular Areas.

\"When President Bush signed the Executive Order establishing this very
powerful and resourceful group, the President recognized his fellow
Americans of the Insular Areas; he showed the world that from inner city
to outer island there are no forgotten Americans under the Bush
Administration. Today we bring his vision of an America that remembers
one step further.\"

The Interagency Group on Insular Areas held its first plenary session
today in Washington, D.C., and the elected leaders from the islands used
the opportunity to raise issues relating to a number of federal
policies. The meeting was held at the offices of the U.S. Department of
the Interior, and Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton was in
attendance for part of the proceedings.

High-ranking policy officials from all major Federal departments
attended the meeting, including the Department of the Interior, the
Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency,
the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Department of
Transportation, the Department of Agriculture and the Treasury
Department. The meeting was opened by Assistant Secretary of the
Interior P. Lynn Scarlett and by Ruben Barrales, Deputy Assistant to the
President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental
Affairs.

The Governors addressed a wide variety of topics, but each requested
relief from the Federal funding caps and local cost-sharing requirements
that are applied in the territories to the Medicaid medical program for
low-income residents.

Governor Togiola Tulafono of American Samoa told the IGIA of the
hardships imposed upon his territory by air cabotage rules, which
restrict the ability of foreign airlines to serve the U.S. and its
territories. Governor Togiola said that because his isolated territory
is so dependant on air travel to connect it to the rest of the world,
limited exemptions to the cabotage rules should be granted in order to
provide more air transport options for American Samoa. Governor Togiola
also urged the IGIA to support an extension of the tax benefits provided
by Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code, which he said were
essential to keep American Samoa's only major private sector industry,
tuna canning, in the territory.

Governor Felix Camacho of Guam concentrated mostly on issues relating to
Guam's dealings with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, now part
of the Department of Homeland Security, in the recovery effort for
Supertyphoons Pongsona and Chata'an. Among other things, Governor
Camacho requested a waiver of certain insurance requirements in order to
enable over \$16 million in Federal assistance to be released to the
Government of Guam.

Governor Charles Turnbull of the U.S. Virgin Islands offered a proposal
to replace Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code with a provision
that would be designed to promote investment in the territories. He also
noted that, since the U.S. Virgin Islands tax code mirrors the Federal
Internal Revenue Code, the territory often has difficulty shouldering
the costs of Federal tax benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit
for the working poor. Governor Turnbull offered a proposal whereby the
Federal Government would share the cost of the Earned Income Tax Credit
with the territory.

Governor Juan Babauta of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands told the IGIA that the CNMI should have a non-voting delegate to
the U.S. House of Representatives. All of the other territories and the
District of Columbia have such representation. Governor Babauta also
appealed for Federal assistance to ensure that Saipan can have a 24-hour
supply of potable water, and requested assistance in getting
Transportation Security Agency screeners to the airports in Tinian and
Saipan.

Following the Governors' addresses, the IGIA heard presentations from
Congresswoman Donna Christensen of the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo of Guam and Resident Representative
Pedro A. Tenorio of the CNMI.

"It's a testament to the importance of this meeting that all four
Governors, all three members of

Congress, the Resident Representative and several territorial
legislators attended," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior
David B. Cohen, who chaired the meeting. Also in attendance were U.S.
Virgin Islands Lieutenant Governor Vargrave Richards, U.S. Virgin
Islands Senate Vice President Lorraine Berry, Manuel Tenorio, Vice
Speaker of the CNMI of the House of Representatives, CNMI Congressman
William Torres, Guam Senator Randall Cunliffe and

The IGIA consists of the heads of each department in the executive
branch and the heads of those other agencies that the Secretary of the
Interior designates, although IGIA duties may be

delegated to other high-ranking officials. The group is responsible for
identifying issues that affect the insular areas and will make
recommendations to the President and other appropriate officials
regarding those issues.

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