I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2716

To amend the Compact of Free Association of 1985 to provide for adequate 

Compact-impact aid. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 14, 2003

Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. CASE, and Mr. 

FALEOMAVAEGA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on International Relations, Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL

To amend the Compact of Free Association of 1985 to 

provide for adequate Compact-impact aid.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Compact-Impact Reimbursement Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) In approving the Compact of Free Associa8 tion it was not the intent of Congress to cause ad-
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1 verse consequences for Guam, American Samoa, the 

2 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 

3 the State of Hawaii. 

4 (2) Congress declared that if any adverse con5 sequences to Guam, American Samoa, the Common6 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the 

7 State of Hawaii resulted from implementation of the 

8 Compact of Free Association, Congress would act 

9 sympathetically and expeditiously to redress those 

10 adverse consequences. 

11 (3) The General Accounting Office has reported 

12 that migration from the Freely Associated States 

13 has had a significant impact on Guam, the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 

15 State of Hawaii. 

16 (4) By placing demands on local governments 

17 for health, educational, and other social services, mi18 gration under the Compact has adversely affected 

19 the budgetary resources of Guam, the Common20 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 

21 State of Hawaii. 

22 (5) Insufficient sums have been appropriated to 

23 cover the costs incurred by Guam, the Common24 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 

25 State of Hawaii, resulting from increased demands 
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1 placed on health, educational, and other social serv2 ices by individuals from the Federated States of Mi3 cronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and 

4 the Republic of Palau. 

5 (c) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ad6 dress the unfunded Federal mandate and adverse financial 

7 consequences resulting from the Compact by meeting the 

8 obligations set forth in the Compact. 

9 SEC. 2. ENSURING MANDATORY APPROPRIATIONS AND 

10 HEALTH SERVICES REIMBURSEMENT AS 

11 PART OF COMPACT-IMPACT AID. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(e)(6) of the Compact 

13 of Free Association Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1904(e)(6)) 

14 is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(6) IMPACT COSTS.—

16 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION AND CONTINUING

17 APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby 

19 authorized and appropriated to the Sec20 retary of the Interior, for each fiscal year 

21 from 2004 through 2023, $35,000,000 for 

22 grants to Guam, the State of Hawaii, the 

23 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

24 Islands, and American Samoa to aid in de25 fraying costs incurred by their govern-
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1 ments as a result of increased demands 

2 placed on health, educational, social, or 

3 public safety services or infrastructure re4 lated to such services due to the residence 

5 of qualified nonimmigrants. 

6 ‘‘(ii) AWARDING.—The grants under 

7 clause (i) shall be—

8 ‘‘(I) awarded and administered 

9 by the Department of the Interior, Of10 fice of Insular Affairs, or any suc11 cessor thereto, in accordance with reg12 ulations, policies and procedures ap13 plicable to grants so awarded and ad14 ministered; and 

15 ‘‘(II) used only for health, edu16 cational, social, or public safety serv17 ices, or infrastructure related to such 

18 services, specifically affected by quali19 fied nonimmigrants. 

20 ‘‘(iii) ENUMERATION.—For purposes 

21 of carrying out this subparagraph, the Sec22 retary of the Interior shall provide for peri23 odic enumerations of qualified non24 immigrants in Guam, the State of Hawaii, 

25 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
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1 iana Islands, and American Samoa. The 

2 enumerations—

3 ‘‘(I) shall be conducted at such 

4 intervals as the Secretary of the Inte5 rior shall determine, but no less fre6 quently than every five years, begin7 ning in fiscal year 2004; and 

8 ‘‘(II) shall be supervised by the 

9 United States Bureau of the Census 

10 or other organization as the Secretary 

11 of the Interior may select. 

12 ‘‘(iv) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary of 

13 the Interior shall allocate to each of the 

14 governments of Guam, the State of Ha15 waii, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

16 Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, 

17 grants under clause (i) for a fiscal year on 

18 the basis of the ratio of the number of 

19 qualified nonimmigrants (as most recently 

20 enumerated under clause (iii)) in the re21 spective jurisdiction to the total of such 

22 numbers for all the jurisdictions.

23 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN HEALTH

24 CARE IMPACT COSTS.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision of law, for purposes of providing 
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1 medical assistance for qualified nonimmigrants 

2 under title XIX of the Social Security Act in 

3 the case of a State or territory referred to in 

4 subparagraph (A)(i)—

5 ‘‘(i) such individuals shall be treated 

6 in the same manner as an individual de7 scribed in section 402(a)(2)(G) of Public 

8 Law 104–193, as amended; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Federal medical assistance 

10 percentage shall be the same percentage as 

11 is applied to medical assistance for services 

12 which are received through an Indian 

13 Health Service facility; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) payments under such title for 

15 medical assistance for such individuals 

16 shall not be taken into account in applying 

17 any limitations under section 1108 of the 

18 Social Security Act. 

19 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED NONIMMIGRANT DE20 FINED.—In this paragraph, term ‘qualified non21 immigrant’ means a person admitted to the 

22 United States pursuant to—

23 ‘‘(i) section 141 of the Compact of 

24 Free Association set forth in title II; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) section 141 of the Compact of 

2 Free Association between the United 

3 States and the Government of Palau.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 104(e)(6)(B) of the 

5 Compact of Free Association Act of 1985, as amended by 

6 subsection (a), shall apply to medical assistance for items 

7 and services furnished on or after October 1, 2003. 

8 SEC. 3. ENSURING FOOD STAMPS ELIGIBILITY AS PART OF 

9 COMPACT-IMPACT AID. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(e)(6) of the Compact 

11 of Free Association Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1904(e)(6)), 

12 as amended by section 2, is further amended—

13 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub14 paragraph (D); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol16 lowing new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN SOCIAL IM18 PACT COSTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, with respect to the food stamp pro20 gram as defined in section 3(h) of the Food 

21 Stamp Act of 1977—

22 ‘‘(i) sections 401(a) and 402(a)(1) of 

23 the Personal Responsibility and Work Op24 portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 shall 

25 not apply to a qualified nonimmigrant to 
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1 the same extent that such sections 401(a) 

2 and 402(a)(1) do not apply to the individ3 uals described in section 402(a)(2)(G) of 

4 the Personal Responsibility and Work Op5 portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 by 

6 reason of such section 402(a)(2)(G); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) section 16(e)(1) of the Food 

8 Stamp Act of 1977 shall not apply to a 

9 qualified nonimmigrant.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 104(e)(6)(C) of the 

11 Compact of Free Association Act of 1985, as inserted by 

12 subsection (a), shall apply on and after October 1, 2003. 

13 SEC. 4. ENSURING THE CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF 

14 COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AS PART OF COM15 PACT-IMPACT AID. 

16 Section 105(o) of the Compact of Free Association 

17 Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1905(o)) is amended to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(o) COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL PRO20 GRAMS.—There are authorized to be appropriated for 

21 grants to the Governments of the Federated States of Mi22 cronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Repub23 lic of Palau, Guam, the State of Hawaii, the Common24 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American 

25 Samoa such sums as may be necessary for purposes of 
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1 establishing or continuing programs for the control and 

2 prevention of communicable diseases, including (but not 

3 limited to) cholera and Hansen’s Disease. The Secretary 

4 of the Interior shall assist the Governments of the Fed5 erated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall 

6 Islands, the Republic of Palau, Guam, the State of Ha7 waii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

8 and American Samoa in designing and implementing such 

9 programs.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF DE11 FENSE MEDICAL FACILITIES AND NATIONAL 

12 HEALTH SERVICE CORPS SERVICES AS PART 

13 OF COMPACT-IMPACT AID. 

14 Section 105(k) of the Compact of Free Association 

15 Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1905(k)) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(k) AVAILABILITY OF DEFENSE MEDICAL FACILI18 TIES AND NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS SERV19 ICES.—

20 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FACILITIES.—

21 The Secretary of Defense shall make available the 

22 medical facilities of the Department of Defense for 

23 use by individuals from the Federated States of Mi24 cronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and 

25 the Republic of Palau who are properly referred to 
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1 such facilities by government authorities responsible 

2 for provision of medical services in the Federated 

3 States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall 

4 Islands, the Republic of Palau, Guam, the State of 

5 Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar6 iana Islands, and American Samoa. 

7 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS SERV8 ICES.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv9 ices shall continue to make the services of the Na10 tional Health Service Corps available to the resi11 dents of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Re12 public of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of 

13 Palau, to the same extent and for long as such serv14 ices are authorized to be provided to persons resid15 ing in any other areas within or outside the United 

16 States.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. ENSURING RETIREMENT OF MEDICAL REFERRAL 

18 DEBTS AS PART OF COMPACT-IMPACT AID. 

19 Section 105(d) of the Compact of Free Association 

20 Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1905(d)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the funds 

24 provided in Title Two, Article II, section 221(b) of 

25 the Compact, the United States shall make available 
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1 to the Governments of the Federated States of Mi2 cronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and 

3 the Republic of Palau such sums as may be nec4 essary for the payment of the obligations incurred 

5 for the use of medical facilities in the United States, 

6 including any territories and commonwealths, by in7 dividuals from the Federated States of Micronesia, 

8 the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Re9 public of Palau, before October 1, 2003.’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

11 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 

12 (3) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by 

13 striking ‘‘or (2) of this subsection, as the case may 

14 be’’.

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