Union Calendar No. 227

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1332

[Report No. 104–471]

A BILL

To establish certain policies and responsibilities

other purposes.Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund, and forwith respect to the administration of the

MARCH 5, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 227

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1332

[Report No. 104–471]

To establish certain policies and responsibilities with respect to the administration of the Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 28, 1995

Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself and Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

MARCH 5, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 28, 1995]

A BILL

To establish certain policies and responsibilities with respect

to the administration of the Rongelap Resettlement

Trust Fund, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Om3 nibus Insular Areas Act of 1995’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

TITLE I—RONGELAP

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Policy regarding assistance for resettlement of people of Rongelap.

Sec. 103. Responsibilities relating to Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund.

Sec. 104. Trustee and other fund personnel.

Sec. 105. Resettlement expenditures and activities.

Sec. 106. Transfer of unexpended and unobligated funds.

TITLE II—AMERICAN SAMOA

Sec. 201. Short title.

Sec. 202. Findings.

Sec. 203. Authorization of funding.

Sec. 204. Establishment of trust.

Sec. 205. Uses of trust funds.

Sec. 206. Disbursement of trust funds.

Sec. 207. Audits.

Sec. 208. Audits by the United States.

Sec. 209. Settlement of disputes.

Sec. 210. Criminal Violations.

Sec. 211. Definitions.

TITLE III—COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA

ISLANDS

Sec. 301. Termination of annual direct grant assistance.

TITLE IV—TERRITORIAL ADMINISTRATIVE CESSATION ACT

Sec. 401. Short title.

Sec. 402. Congressional findings.

Sec. 403. Elimination of Office of Territorial and International Affairs.

Sec. 404. Certain activities not funded.

6 TITLE I—RONGELAP

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Rongelap Recovery and

9 Community Self-Reliance Act’’.
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1 SEC. 102. POLICY REGARDING ASSISTANCE FOR RESETTLE2 MENT OF PEOPLE OF RONGELAP.

3 The purposes of this title are to improve the legal and

4 policy framework for fulfillment of the objectives of section

5 103(i) of Public Law 99–239 (99 Stat. 1783) and to pre6 scribe the manner in which the Rongelap Resettlement

7 Trust Fund established pursuant to Public Law 102–154

8 (105 Stat. 1009) shall be administered in order to achieve

9 the goal of early and safe resettlement of the people of

10 Rongelap. The measures set forth in this title are appro11 priate and necessary in light of the results of scientific stud12 ies on the habitability of Rongelap conducted pursuant to

13 section 103(i) of Public Law 99–239 and are intended to

14 enable the people of Rongelap to exercise greater self-deter15 mination and local self-government, and to take control of

16 their own destiny and become more self-reliant, through a

17 resettlement program consistent with the wishes of the

18 Rongelapese people themselves. United States assistance to

19 the people of Rongelap for purposes of resettlement shall be

20 as directed by Congress and will be completed upon deter21 mination by Congress that the United States has provided

22 the total of its contribution to the rehabilitation of Rongelap

23 Island and resettlement of the Rongelap people pursuant

24 to section 103(i) of Public Law 99–239 and applicable pro25 visions of Public Law 102–154. All such assistance shall

26 be subject to the financial accountability provisions of this
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1 title and shall be provided within the framework of the gov2 ernment-to-government relationship between the Republic of

3 the Marshall Islands and the United States as defined by

4 the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985.

5 SEC. 103. RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING TO RONGELAP RE6 SETTLEMENT TRUST FUND.

7 (a) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—

8 (1) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO TRUSTEE OF

9 RONGELAP RESETTLEMENT TRUST FUND.—Consistent

10 with the Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund agree11 ment between the Department of the Interior, the Re12 public of the Marshall Islands, and the Rongelap

13 Atoll Local Government, dated May 13, 1992, funds

14 appropriated in any fiscal year for the purpose of in15 creasing the corpus of the Rongelap Resettlement

16 Trust Fund shall be transferred by the Secretary of

17 the Interior to the trustee thereof, and the Department

18 of the Interior shall be administratively responsible

19 for effecting all such transfers of funds appropriated

20 for this purpose as required by law.

21 (2) LIMITATION OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTE22 RIOR ACTIVITIES TO THOSE PROVIDED BY TRUST

23 FUND AGREEMENT.—The activities of the Department

24 of the Interior with respect to management of the

25 Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund shall be limited to
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1 those provided for in the trust fund agreement re2 ferred to in paragraph (1), as it may from time to

3 time be amended.

4 (b) TRUSTEE.—

5 (1) DUTIES, OBLIGATIONS AND LEGAL RESPON6 SIBILITIES.—The duties, obligations and legal respon7 sibilities of the trustee with respect to the Rongelap

8 Resettlement Trust Fund shall be as set forth in the

9 trust fund agreement referred to in subsection (a)(1),

10 to which the United States, the Republic of the Mar11 shall Islands and the Rongelap Atoll Local Govern12 ment are parties with legal rights and powers to en13 force the terms of the trust as set forth therein, and

14 in applicable law.

15 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—All funds con16 tributed to the Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund re17 ferred to in subsection (a) of this section shall be dis18 tributed by the trustee and used as determined by the

19 Rongelap Atoll Local Government consistent with ap20 plicable provisions of this title, Public Law 102–154,

21 and the resettlement plan submitted to the United

22 States Congress on March 15, 1995, in accordance

23 with Report 103–551 of the House of Representatives,

24 and referred to in Rongelap Atoll Local Government

25 Council Resolution No. 95–20.
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1 (c) AUDITS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition, management or

3 use of trust assets shall be subject to the authority of

4 the Comptroller General of the United States to con5 duct financial audits of all trust transactions and ac6 tivities, in the same manner as provided in section

7 110(c) of Public Law 99–239. The Inspector General

8 of the Department of the Interior also shall be author9 ized to audit the use of Rongelap Resettlement Trust

10 Fund assets.

11 (2) NOTICE REGARDING USE OF FUNDS OUTSIDE

12 SCOPE OF TRUST.—If at any time it is determined by

13 the cognizant audit authority that funds distributed

14 by the trustee to the Rongelap Atoll Local Government

15 have been used for purposes outside the statutory

16 scope of the trust, such audit authority shall, at a

17 time and in a manner which is lawful and does not

18 interfere with any ongoing investigative process, law

19 enforcement activity or other activities or operations

20 required under applicable regulations and procedures,

21 notify the chairman of the Committee on Energy and

22 Natural Resources of the United States Senate, the

23 chairman of the Committee on Resources of the Unit24 ed States House of Representatives, the Republic of

25 the Marshall Islands, the Rongelap Atoll Local Gov-
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1 ernment, and the trustee, of such determination so

2 that the trustee and the parties to the trust agreement

3 may exercise their legal rights and powers, including

4 recovery of such funds.

5 (d) RETENTION OF UNITED STATES AUTHORITY OVER

6 TRUST FUND.—The United States Congress shall retain its

7 authority over the trust fund as set forth in the trust agree8 ment referred to in subsection (a)(1) and applicable stat9 utes, including Public Law 102–154.

10 SEC. 104. TRUSTEE AND OTHER FUND PERSONNEL.

11 (a) TRUSTEE QUALIFICATIONS.—The trustee of the

12 Rongelap Resettlement Trust Fund shall be a qualified

13 United States financial institution with considerable expe14 rience in the administration of similar trusts and which

15 serves as the trustee manager or custodian of over

16 $1,000,000,000 in assets. If the trustee on the date of enact17 ment of this Act does not meet the qualification criteria,

18 a new trustee which does satisfy these requirements shall

19 in due course be appointed subject to the procedures set forth

20 in the trust fund agreement referred to in section 103(a).

21 (b) INVESTMENT FUND MANAGERS AND ADVISERS AND

22 CONSULTANTS.—Investment fund managers and advisers or

23 consultants designated by the Rongelap Atoll Local Govern24 ment in accordance with the trust agreement to provide

25 services in connection with management of the Rongelap
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1 Resettlement Trust Fund must be registered with the Secu2 rities and Exchange Commission and be in compliance with

3 applicable provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940

4 (15 U.S.C. 80b–1 et seq.)

5 SEC. 105. RESETTLEMENT EXPENDITURES AND ACTIVITIES.

6 (a) ACTIVITIES.—The Rongelap Atoll Local Govern7 ment shall have the discretion, to the extent determined by

8 the Rongelap Atoll Local Government Council acting within

9 its lawful authority, to include in the resettlement program

10 activities described in the Memorandum of Understanding

11 of February 21, 1992, between the Department of the Inte12 rior, Department of Energy, the Republic of the Marshall

13 Islands, and the Rongelap Atoll Local Government.

14 (b) USE OF ANNUAL INCOME.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each fiscal

16 year following the establishment of the Rongelap Re17 settlement Trust Fund pursuant to Public Law 102–

18 154, the authority of the Rongelap Atoll Local Gov19 ernment and the trustee, within the statutory scope

20 and purpose of the trust, shall include distribution of

21 up to 50 percent of the annual income (interest and

22 earnings) of the trust fund, but in no year more than

23 $500,000, increased in accordance with paragraph

24 (2), to provide local government support and pro25 grams for the benefit of the people of Rongelap, in-
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1 cluding funding for food, shelter, medicine, infant

2 care, sanitation, personal hygiene and other basic

3 human needs arising from dislocation and adjustment

4 during resettlement, as well as local government ad5 ministrative and operations costs and expenses aris6 ing directly from or which are directly connected to

7 the resettlement process.

8 (2) ADJUSTMENT.—The amount referred to in

9 paragraph (1) shall be increased annually by the

10 same proportion as the percentage increase in the

11 United States Consumer Price Index For All Urban

12 Consumers (published by the Bureau of Labor Statis13 tics, Department of Labor) for the most recent year

14 preceding the date on which the increase, if any, is

15 calculated.

16 (c) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE FOR RESETTLEMENT

17 IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS OTHER THAN ON

18 RONGELAP.—

19 (1) GOAL OF RESETTLEMENT ON RONGELAP.—

20 The Congress supports the goal of enabling the entire

21 Rongelap community to achieve resettlement in ac22 cordance with Resolution Number 95–20 adopted by

23 the Rongelap Atoll Local Government Council on

24 March 9, 1995, consistent with the findings of sci25 entific studies conducted pursuant to section 103(i) of
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1 Public Law 99–239 which indicate that agreed upon

2 radiation exposure limits can be met at Rongelap Is3 land if certain risk mitigation measures are taken.

4 (2) RESETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE.—(A) To ensure

5 that members of the Rongelap community who do not

6 choose to return to Rongelap in light of these sci7 entific findings are able to end their dislocation and

8 settle somewhere in the Marshall Islands, assistance

9 for construction of family housing and other resettle10 ment assistance may be provided to members of the

11 Rongelap community who elect to settle at a location

12 in the Marshall Islands other than Rongelap Atoll on

13 the same basis as assistance provided for those who

14 elect to return to Rongelap, subject to the authority

15 and discretion of the Rongelap Atoll Local Govern16 ment to determine the schedule, terms, specifications

17 and scope of such assistance in the context of the over18 all community resettlement program at Rongelap

19 Atoll, which shall remain the primary objective for

20 management and use of trust fund assets.

21 (B) Assistance provided pursuant to subpara22 graph (A) to those who elect to resettle at a place

23 other than Rongelap shall not include measures to be

24 employed or benefits to be provided for those resettling
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1 at Rongelap Atoll for the purpose of mitigating risks

2 posed by radiological conditions at Rongelap.

3 (C) Any Rongelapese person receiving assistance

4 for resettlement at a location other than Rongelap

5 Atoll pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be ineligible

6 for such assistance for the purposes of resettling again

7 later at Rongelap Atoll. The preceding sentence shall

8 cease to apply once all members of the Rongelap com9 munity, as defined and recognized by the Nuclear

10 Claims Tribunal established pursuant to section 177

11 of the Compact of Free Association (as contained in

12 Public Law 99–239), have received resettlement as13 sistance at Rongelap or assistance on the same basis,

14 except as provided in subparagraph (B), at another

15 location of their choosing.

16 (3) SCOPE OF TRUST.—The assistance activities

17 authorized in this section shall be deemed to be within

18 the scope of the trust notwithstanding any provision

19 of Public Law 102–154 to the contrary.

20 (d) FOOD IMPORTATION.—The trustee of the Rongelap

21 Resettlement Trust Fund shall make no distribution from

22 the corpus of the Trust which as a matter of prudent finan23 cial management in the judgment of the trustee would be

24 inconsistent with the objective of ensuring that funds will

25 be available for as long as the trust fund agreement referred
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1 to in section 103(a)(1) is in effect for the purpose of provid2 ing imported food and locally produced food which meets

3 relevant health and safety standards in amounts sufficient

4 to meet the nutritional needs of the Rongelap community

5 residing at Rongelap Atoll.

6 SEC. 106. TRANSFER OF UNEXPENDED AND UNOBLIGATED

7 FUNDS.

8 All funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization

9 contained in section 103(i) of Public Law 99–239 for sci10 entific radiological studies to determine the habitability of

11 Rongelap Island in the Republic of the Marshall Islands,

12 or which have been obligated for use by the ‘‘Rongelap Re13 settlement Project’’ to support such studies, which as of the

14 date of enactment of this Act have not been expended shall

15 be transferred to the Rongelap Atoll Local Government and

16 expended only pursuant to a budget approved by the

17 Rongelap Local Government Council and for activities con18 sistent with the purposes for which such funds were appro19 priated, including scientific research and island rehabilita20 tion measures connected to resettlement of Rongelap.

21 TITLE II—AMERICAN SAMOA

22 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘American Samoa Eco24 nomic Development Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) funding for the United States territory of

4 American Samoa has been based on the joint resolu5 tion entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution to provide for accept6 ing, ratifying, and confirming cessions of certain is7 lands of the Samoan group to the United States, and

8 for other purposes’’, as amended (48 U.S.C. 1661),

9 with commitments being made on a yearly basis;

10 (2) American Samoa is locally self-governing

11 with a constitution of its own adoption and the direct

12 election of the Governor since 1977;

13 (3) the territory of American Samoa has had dif14 ficulty in planning and implementing comprehensive

15 and sustainable infrastructure based solely on annual

16 ad hoc grants; and

17 (4) the territory of American Samoa and the

18 United States would benefit from a multiyear funding

19 commitment which promotes economic development

20 and self-sufficiency and requires compliance with fi21 nancial management accounting standards, the estab22 lishment of semiautonomous public utility authorities

23 utilizing cost-recovery principles, and the phaseout of

24 Federal subsidies for Government operations.
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1 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated to the Secretary of the Interior for the Government

4 of American Samoa $34,500,000, backed by the full faith

5 and credit of the United States, for each of fiscal years 1996

6 through 2005. Such amounts shall not be released to the

7 Government of American Samoa if the conditions in this

8 title are not met, and are subject to the limits specified in

9 the table in subsection (b), to be used for—

10 (1) construction of capital assets of American

11 Samoa;

12 (2) the operations of the Government of Amer13 ican Samoa; and

14 (3) reduction of unbudgeted debt.

15 (b) TABLE OF MULTIYEAR FUNDING.—The table re16 ferred to in this subsection is as follows:

[In millions of dollars]

Fiscal year Year # Operations Construction Deficit reduction

(100% match) Total

1996 ..................... 1 23.0 8.5 3.0 34.5

1997 ..................... 2 23.0 8.5 3.0 34.5

1998 ..................... 3 23.0 8.5 3.0 34.5

1999 ..................... 4 21.0 10.5 3.0 34.5

2000 ..................... 5 18.0 13.5 3.0 34.5

2001 ..................... 6 15.0 19.5 34.5

2002 ..................... 7 12.0 22.5 34.5

2003 ..................... 8 9.0 25.5 34.5

2004 ..................... 9 6.0 28.5 34.5

2005 ..................... 10 3.0 31.5 34.5
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1 SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Government of American

3 Samoa shall establish a trust into which the amounts ap4 propriated pursuant to section 203 are placed.

5 (b) TRUSTEE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A trustee to administer the

7 trust established by this section shall be nominated by

8 the Governor of American Samoa with concurrence of

9 the Secretary of the Interior, and confirmed by both

10 Houses of the Legislature of American Samoa pursu11 ant to local law, and shall be a United States finan12 cial institution with considerable experience in the

13 administration of similar trusts and which serves as

14 the trustee manager or custodian of over

15 $1,000,000,000 in trust assets (hereafter in this title

16 referred to as the ‘‘trustee’’). The trustee shall not be

17 the independent auditor required by section 207. The

18 trustee shall be paid by the Government of American

19 Samoa.

20 (2) REPLACEMENT.—The trustee may be termi21 nated only by mutual agreement between the trustee

22 and the Government of American Samoa, or at the

23 end of its contract for services as trustee, or for good

24 cause. Termination of a trustee for good cause must

25 be recommended by the Governor of American Samoa
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1 and approved by both Houses of the Legislature of

2 American Samoa.

3 (3) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The trust4 ee shall be subject to such other conditions as the Gov5 ernment of American Samoa may provide under local

6 law so long as such conditions do not conflict with

7 Federal laws or regulations or with applicable trust

8 fund agreement provisions governing administration

9 of the trust.

10 (4) RESPONSIBILITY OF TRUSTEE.—A qualified

11 trustee appointed under this title shall perform its

12 duties subject to the governing law of the jurisdiction

13 in which the principal office of the trustee is located.

14 Administration of the trust to achieve the objectives of

15 this title shall be in accordance with a trust fund

16 agreement between the Government of American

17 Samoa and the trustee governing the trust. Such

18 agreement shall provide that the trustee shall use rea19 sonable and prudent care and reasonable and prudent

20 due diligence in the exercise of the powers and the

21 performance of the duties prescribed in this title and

22 the trust agreement. The trust agreement may pre23 scribe further the specific duties of the trustee, as well

24 as those of other parties identified in this title, in-
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1 cluding audit authorities and the Government of

2 American Samoa.

3 (5) LIABILITY.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The trustee shall be lia5 ble for any release of funds which is not author6 ized by this title. Upon a determination of liabil7 ity under this subsection, the trustee shall reim8 burse the United States Treasury in the amount

9 of the unauthorized release of funds within 90

10 days of such determination.

11 (B) EXCEPTION.—The trustee shall not be

12 liable for—

13 (i) any mistake or other action taken

14 in good faith, or for any loss unless result15 ing from the trustee’s own default, neg16 ligence, or bad faith; or

17 (ii) any act or omission mandated by

18 law or by the process or final order of any

19 court of appropriate jurisdiction.

20 (C) REIMBURSEMENT.—In the event the

21 trustee is determined by a court to have acted in

22 bad faith in breach of its duties under this title,

23 the trustee shall reimburse the United States

24 Treasury in the amount of any loss resulting

25 therefrom.
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1 (c) TRUST FUNDS.—

2 (1) DEPOSIT; INVESTMENT.—The trust funds

3 shall be deposited in an account or accounts of a fi4 nancial institution insured by the Federal Deposit

5 Insurance Corporation pursuant to regulations and

6 direction of the Department of the Treasury, and, to

7 the extent such funds are available for investment,

8 may be invested by the Government of American

9 Samoa, or the trustee if so designated, in only feder10 ally insured accounts or issues of bonds, notes or other

11 redeemable instruments of the Government of the

12 United States.

13 (2) USE OF INTEREST AND DIVIDENDS.—Interest

14 or dividends earned from investment of trust funds

15 under paragraph (1) may be used for projects con16 tained on the approved master plan of capital needs

17 developed under section 205, or for the costs of man18 aging the trust.

19 (3) AVAILABILITY AND USE OF FEDERAL

20 FUNDS.—Federal funds made available for the pur21 poses described in section 203(a)(1) may be used only

22 on projects from the approved master plan of capital

23 needs.

24 (d) REPORTS.—Within 90 days after the end of each

25 fiscal year, the trustee shall submit an annual report to
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1 the chairmen and ranking minority members of the Com2 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Commit3 tee on Appropriations of the United States Senate, the Com4 mittee on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations

5 of the United States House of Representatives, the Govern6 ment of American Samoa, the Comptroller General of the

7 United States, and the Inspector General of the Department

8 of the Interior. The report shall include at a minimum the

9 financial statements of the account or accounts in which

10 it holds trust funds pursuant to this title.

11 SEC. 205. USES OF TRUST FUNDS.

12 (a) CAPITAL NEEDS.—

13 (1) MASTER PLAN OF CAPITAL NEEDS.—No

14 funds appropriated pursuant to this title shall be re15 leased by the trustee for construction of capital assets

16 without the submission by the Government of Amer17 ican Samoa to the trustee of a master plan of capital

18 needs that ranks projects in order of priority for at

19 least five years. The master plan shall be approved by

20 the Governor and passed by both Houses of the Legis21 lature of American Samoa pursuant to such laws as

22 the Government of American Samoa may enact. The

23 master plan of capital needs may be amended at any

24 time, but all amendments must be approved by the

25 Governor and passed by both Houses of the Legisla-
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1 ture of American Samoa. The plan shall include the

2 capital needs of all the islands of American Samoa.

3 (2) FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CAPITAL AS4 SETS.—Funds for the construction of capital assets

5 shall be paid to the Government of American Samoa,

6 the relevant semiautonomous agency, or a contractor

7 only after approval by the trustee. The trustee shall

8 approve the release of funds only for construction

9 projects for a public purpose in the areas of commu10 nications, electrical power, water, waste water, dis11 posal of solid waste, roads, schools, school transpor12 tation system, air, water and surface transportation,

13 ports, harbors, storage and transportation facilities of

14 fuels or other forms of energy, health, and construc15 tion of government-owned buildings. Funding made

16 available for construction of capital assets may only

17 be used for projects listed on the master plan of cap18 ital needs as set forth in this section. To the extent

19 an appropriation is available, the projects contained

20 on the master list with the highest priority are to be

21 funded. Funding made available for construction of

22 capital assets may only be used for projects which

23 comply with the procurement requirements set forth

24 in subtitle A of part 12, Code of Federal Regulations.
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1 (3) YOUTH FACILITIES.—At least $3,000,000 per

2 year of any funding made available pursuant to sec3 tion 203(a)(1) may only be used for the construction

4 or repair of capital assets primarily available for the

5 school-age residents of American Samoa, such as (but

6 not limited to) school buildings, libraries on school

7 premises and the books contained therein, and athletic

8 facilities on school premises. Beginning with fiscal

9 year 1997, these projects shall be incorporated into

10 the master plan of capital needs required under para11 graph (1). Facilities for the American Samoa Com12 munity College are included within the purview of

13 this section. For fiscal year 1996, construction of the

14 following is authorized: $1,000,000 for a library for

15 the American Samoa Community College; $1,000,000

16 to expand the gymnasium at the American Samoa

17 Community College; $750,000 for a gymnasium for

18 Samoana High School; $100,000 for the renovation of

19 the library, computer room, and toilet facilities at

20 Fagaitua High School; $50,000 for the renovation of

21 the library, computer room and toilet facilities for

22 Manu’a High School; $50,000 for the renovation of

23 the library and toilet facilities at Aua Elementary

24 School; and $50,000 for the renovation of the library
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1 and toilet facilities for Fitiuta, Faleasao, Ofu2 Olosega, and Aunu’u Elementary Schools.

3 (4) REQUIREMENT OF SEMIAUTONOMOUS AGEN4 CIES.—Beginning with fiscal year 1997, no funds for

5 the construction of capital assets shall be released by

6 the trustee in the areas of communications, electrical

7 power, public health, transportation, water, and

8 wastewater until there is established by local law

9 semiautonomous agencies of the Government of Amer10 ican Samoa for the category in which the funding is

11 required.

12 (5) MAINTENANCE PLAN.—For fiscal years 1997

13 and all following years, ten percent of the estimated

14 cost of each project shall not be released by the trustee

15 for the construction of capital assets until the Govern16 ment of American Samoa, or the appropriate semi17 autonomous agency if required, submits to the trustee

18 a maintenance plan covering the anticipated life of

19 the project and the maintenance of the project is ini20 tially funded. The maintenance plan shall include the

21 estimated cost of maintaining and repairing the

22 project and identify a source to fund the estimated

23 maintenance and repairs for the anticipated life of

24 the project. The initial funding for this maintenance

25 plan shall be in the amount of five percent of the cost
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1 of the project. Federal funds made available for the

2 purposes described in section 203(a)(1) may be used

3 for the initial funding. Other Federal funds made

4 available pursuant to this title may not be used for

5 this purpose. Funds set aside pursuant to this para6 graph may be used for the maintenance and repair

7 of any capital asset within the purview of the govern8 ment or the appropriate semiautonomous agency.

9 (b) DEBT REDUCTION.—Any funding made available

10 pursuant to section 203(a)(3) used to reduce the unbudgeted

11 debt of the Government of American Samoa must be

12 matched, on a dollar for dollar basis, by funds provided

13 by the Government of American Samoa or the relevant

14 semiautonomous agency from revenue raised from non-Fed15 eral sources.

16 (c) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.—Neither the funds

17 appropriated pursuant to this title, nor any interest or

18 dividends earned on those funds may be transferred to other

19 accounts, or loaned to other accounts or agencies; nor may

20 these funds, interest or dividends be used as collateral for

21 loans made by the local government.

22 SEC. 206. DISBURSEMENT OF TRUST FUNDS.

23 (a) OPERATIONS.—Trust funds to be used for the oper24 ations of the Government of American Samoa shall be dis25 bursed in equal amounts on a monthly basis, on the first
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1 business day of each month of the fiscal year. An extra

2 drawdown may be made once each fiscal year in an amount

3 not to exceed ten percent of the amounts appropriated for

4 the fiscal year for the purposes of section 203(a)(2), and

5 only for purposes caused by extreme or territorial emer6 gencies deemed unforeseeable by the trustee.

7 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Trust funds to be used for the

8 construction of capital assets shall be released by the

9 trustee—

10 (1) to the Government of American Samoa or the

11 relevant semiautonomous agency, only upon comple12 tion of identifiable portions of the construction work

13 if the work is performed by employees of the Govern14 ment of American Samoa or the relevant semi15 autonomous agency, or

16 (2) a bona fide contractor of the Government of

17 American Samoa or relevant semiautonomous agency

18 pursuant to the terms of a construction contract, on

19 an invoice presented to the Government of American

20 Samoa or the relevant semiautonomous agency and

21 approved by appropriate officials of the Government

22 of American Samoa or the relevant semiautonomous

23 agency.

24 (c) DEBT REDUCTION.—Trust funds to be used for

25 unbudgeted debt reduction made available under section
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1 203(a)(3) shall be released by the trustee on submission by

2 the Government of American Samoa or the relevant semi3 autonomous agency of proof of payment from non-Federal

4 sources for debt reduction.

5 SEC. 207. AUDITS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—

7 (1) REQUIRED.—Beginning with fiscal year

8 1996, the Government of American Samoa must ob9 tain, at its own expense, a comprehensive financial

10 audit meeting the requirements of chapter 75 of title

11 31, United States Code, and subtitle A, part 12 of

12 title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, which requires

13 that an independent audit be made in accordance

14 with generally accepted government auditing stand15 ards covering financial and compliance audits. The

16 audit shall determine whether the financial state17 ments of the American Samoa Government present

18 fairly its financial position and the results of its fi19 nancial operations in conformance with generally ac20 cepted accounting principles. The audit shall include

21 the funds held in trust pursuant to this title.

22 (2) INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S OPINION.—Begin23 ning with fiscal year 2000, the audit required under

24 this section must include all the requirements of para25 graph (1) and an independent auditor’s opinion that
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1 the financial statements of the Government of Amer2 ican Samoa present fairly, in all material respects,

3 its financial position and the results of its financial

4 operations, in conformance with generally accepted

5 accounting principles.

6 (b) SUBMISSION OF AUDIT REPORT TO UNITED

7 STATES.—Reports of audits required in this section along

8 with the local government’s corrective action plan to resolve

9 any deficiencies reported shall be transmitted by the Gov10 ernor of American Samoa to the chairmen and ranking

11 members of the Committee on Energy and Natural Re12 sources and the Committee on Appropriations of the United

13 States Senate, the Committee on Resources and the Com14 mittee on Appropriations of the United States House of

15 Representatives, the Comptroller General of the United

16 States, and the Inspector General of the Department of the

17 Interior within 180 days of the end of each fiscal year for

18 which the United States provides funding under this title.

19 (c) FAILURE TO OBTAIN AUDIT.—In the event the

20 Government of American Samoa does not obtain a qualify21 ing audit within the time required by this section, the In22 spector General of the Department of the Interior shall no23 tify the appropriate Federal agencies and the trustee not

24 to disburse additional funds available under section

25 203(a)(2) for the operations of the Government of American
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1 Samoa, or any unobligated funds available under section

2 203(a)(1) for the construction of capital assets, until such

3 time as a qualifying audit is received and the previously

4 reported deficiencies corrected and the report of that audit

5 is forwarded as required by this section. Notwithstanding

6 the preceding sentence, one emergency disbursement may be

7 made per year under the provisions of section 206 of this

8 title, even if a qualifying audit report is not obtained or

9 the deficiencies identified by an audit have not been cor10 rected.

11 SEC. 208. AUDITS BY THE UNITED STATES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the

13 United States and the Inspector General of the Department

14 of the Interior shall have the authority to conduct audits

15 of all funds of all branches and semiautonomous authorities

16 of the Government of American Samoa. Nothing in this title

17 shall be construed to restrict the authority of these or other

18 Federal agencies to audit government funds as authorized

19 by Federal law.

20 (b) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—Where appropriate, audit

21 reports of the Comptroller General and the Inspector Gen22 eral shall include reasonable time limits on recommenda23 tions for corrective action. Such recommendations and the

24 respective time limits may be amended from time to time

25 as the audit authority deems appropriate. Deficiencies on
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1 which recommendations for corrective action are made shall

2 be designated major or minor.

3 (c) AUDIT COMMENT.—The Government of American

4 Samoa, and any relevant semiautonomous agency, shall be

5 afforded the opportunity to comment on, and propose reme6 dial action to, draft audit reports before they become final,

7 and the comments and proposed corrective action shall be

8 published as part of the final audit report.

9 (d) OTHER LAWS.—The requirements of this section

10 are in addition to any other Federal law governing finan11 cial audits of American Samoa.

12 (e) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Audit reports pre13 pared by the Comptroller General or the Inspector General

14 shall be submitted to the chairmen and ranking members

15 of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and

16 the Committee on Appropriations of the United States Sen17 ate, the Committee on Resources and the Committee on Ap18 propriations of the United States House of Representatives,

19 the Government of American Samoa, and the trustee.

20 (f) FAILURE TO CORRECT DEFICIENCIES OF UNITED

21 STATES AUDITORS.—If the cognizant audit authority deter22 mines that the Government of American Samoa has not cor23 rected a major deficiency noted in audit reports submitted

24 pursuant to subsection (b) within the time prescribed for

25 that major deficiency, the cognizant audit authority shall
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1 notify the appropriate Federal agencies and the trustee not

2 to disburse additional funds available under section

3 203(a)(2) for the operations of the Government of American

4 Samoa, or any unobligated funds available under section

5 203(a)(1) for the construction of capital assets, until such

6 time as the cognizant audit authority notifies the trustee

7 and the appropriate Federal agencies that the major defi8 ciency has been corrected, or disallowed costs have been re9 covered, whichever may be appropriate.

10 (g) NOTICE REGARDING USE OF FUNDS OUTSIDE

11 SCOPE OF TRUST.—If at any time it is determined by the

12 cognizant audit authority that funds distributed by the

13 trustee to the Government of American Samoa have been

14 used for purposes outside the statutory scope of the trust,

15 such audit authority shall, at a time and in a manner

16 which is lawful and does not interfere with any ongoing

17 investigative process, law enforcement activity or other ac18 tivities or operations required under applicable regulations

19 and procedures, notify the chairman and ranking member

20 of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

21 United States Senate, the chairman and ranking member

22 of the Committee on Resources of the United States House

23 of Representatives, the Government of American Samoa,

24 and the trustee, of such determination so that the trustee
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1 and the Government of American Samoa may exercise their

2 legal rights and powers, including recovery of such funds.

3 SEC. 209. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.

4 The High Court of American Samoa is authorized to

5 resolve disputes which arise under this title pursuant to its

6 rules of procedure.

7 SEC. 210. CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.

8 Prosecution of violations of Federal or local criminal

9 law which occur concerning funds appropriated pursuant

10 to this title may be brought in local and Federal courts,

11 as appropriate.

12 SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.

13 As used in this title, the following definitions apply:

14 (1) The term ‘‘area of disbursement’’ means one

15 of the three authorized purposes for which funds may

16 be disbursed found at paragraphs (1) through (3) of

17 section 203(a).

18 (2) The term ‘‘cognizant audit authority’’ means

19 the Comptroller General of the United States, or the

20 Inspector General of the Department of the Interior.

21 (3) The term ‘‘extreme or territorial emer22 gencies’’ means serious situations or occurrences

23 which happen unexpectedly and have a significant

24 impact on the finances of the territory, including acts

25 of God which cause severe disruption of public serv-
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1 ices such as transportation, medical services, and

2 utility services.

3 (4) The term ‘‘master plan of capital needs’’

4 means a list of capital assets needed by the Govern5 ment of American Samoa, including any semi6 autonomous agencies which may be created before or

7 after the date of the enactment of this title, to provide

8 for efficient and effective operation of the government.

9 The master plan may be completed before or after the

10 date of the enactment of this title, so long as it meets

11 the requirements set forth in section 205.

12 (5) The term ‘‘semiautonomous agency’’ means

13 an agency within the executive branch of the Govern14 ment of American Samoa which has the following

15 characteristics:

16 (A) The agency is created by local statute,

17 either before or after the date of the enactment of

18 this title.

19 (B) The agency is managed by a board of

20 directors, the individual directors of which are

21 nominated by the Governor of American Samoa

22 and confirmed by the Legislature of American

23 Samoa.

24 (C) The terms of the directors are staggered.
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1 (D) The board of directors has control over

2 the budget for that agency, although the entity

3 may be funded in part by grants or loans from

4 the Federal Government or the Government of

5 American Samoa.

6 (E) The board of directors has the authority

7 to set rates or fees collected by the agency for the

8 service it provides, subject to local law.

9 (6) The term ‘‘unbudgeted debt’’ means debt in10 curred for a lawful purpose by the Government of

11 American Samoa, or any of its agencies, departments,

12 or offices, in fiscal years prior to fiscal year 1996, in13 cluding debt which has been caused because more

14 funds were spent than were lawfully appropriated for

15 a particular budget item or because revenue for a

16 budget item did not meet budgeted estimates.

17 TITLE III—COMMONWEALTH OF

18 THE NORTHERN MARIANA IS19 LANDS

20 SEC. 301. TERMINATION OF ANNUAL DIRECT GRANT AS21 SISTANCE.

22 (a) TERMINATION.—Pursuant to section 704(d) of the

23 Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern

24 Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States

25 of America (48 U.S.C. 1681 note), the annual payments
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1 under section 702 of the Covenant shall terminate as of Sep2 tember 30, 1995.

3 (b) REPEAL.—Sections 3 and 4 of the Act of March

4 24, 1976 (Public Law 94–241; 48 U.S.C. 1681 note), as

5 amended, are repealed, effective October 1, 1995.

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 5 of such

7 Act (48 U.S.C. 1681 note) is amended—

8 (1) by striking out ‘‘agreement identified in sec9 tion 3 of this Act’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

10 ‘‘Agreement of the Special Representatives on Future

11 United States Financial Assistance for the Govern12 ment of the Northern Mariana Islands, executed July

13 10, 1985, between the special representative of the

14 President of the United States and the special rep15 resentatives of the Governor of the Northern Mariana

16 Islands’’; and

17 (2) by striking out ‘‘Committee on Interior and

18 Insular Affairs’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Com19 mittee on Resources’’.

20 TITLE IV—TERRITORIAL ADMIN21 ISTRATIVE CESSATION ACT

22 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Territorial Administra24 tive Cessation Act’’.
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1 SEC. 402. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) each of the four political subdivisions of the

4 United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,

5 known as the Japanese Mandated Islands, have suc6 cessfully entered into distinct self-governing entities,

7 thereby culminating in the final termination of the

8 Trusteeship and the end of the trusteeship responsibil9 ities of the United States as administering authority

10 of the Trust Territory on October 1, 1994;

11 (2) the United States territories have developed

12 progressively increased local self-government over the

13 past five decades;

14 (3) the territories predominantly deal directly

15 with Federal agencies and departments, as a State

16 would;

17 (4) the administering responsibilities of the De18 partment of the Interior with respect to the insular

19 areas has declined substantially during the past five

20 decades; and

21 (5) Federal-territorial relations can be enhanced

22 and Federal fiscal conditions improved by the elimi23 nation of unnecessary Federal bureaucracy.
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1 SEC. 403. ELIMINATION OF OFFICE OF TERRITORIAL AND

2 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Territorial and Inter4 national Affairs of the Department of the Interior, estab5 lished pursuant to the Order of the Secretary of the Interior

6 3046, of February 14, 1980, as amended, is hereby abol7 ished.

8 (b) TERMINATION OF POSITION OF ASSISTANT SEC9 RETARY.—Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is

10 amended by striking ‘‘Assistant Secretaries of the Interior

11 (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretaries of the Interior

12 (5)’’.

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) and the amend14 ment made by subsection (b) shall take effect on the first

15 day of the first fiscal year that begins after the date of the

16 enactment of this Act.

17 SEC. 404. CERTAIN ACTIVITIES NOT FUNDED.

18 Amounts may not be made available for the following

19 program activities for assistance to territories for fiscal

20 years beginning after September 30, 1995, as identified

21 under the appropriations account numbered 14–0412–0–1–

22 808:

23 (1) technical assistance, item 00.12;

24 (2) maintenance assistance, item 00.14;

25 (3) disaster fund, item 00.17; and

26 (4) insular management controls, item 00.19.
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