IB 

Union Calendar No. 860 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2085 

[Report No. 115–1039, Part I] 

To approve an agreement between the United States and the Republic of 

Palau, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2017 

Mr. SABLAN (for himself and Ms. BORDALLO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 

NOVEMBER 20, 2018 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 20, 2018 

Referral to the Committee on Foreign Affairs extended for a period ending 

not later than December 28, 2018 

DECEMBER 28, 2018 

Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

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


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A BILL 

To approve an agreement between the United States and 

the Republic of Palau, and for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE 

4 UNITED STATES AND THE REPUBLIC OF 

5 PALAU. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

8 means the Agreement and appendices signed by the 

9 United States and the Republic of Palau on Sep10 tember 3, 2010. 

11 (2) COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION.—The 

12 term ‘‘Compact of Free Association’’ means the 

13 Compact of Free Association between the Govern14 ment of the United States of America and the Gov15 ernment of Palau (48 U.S.C. 1931 note; Public Law 

16 99–658). 

17 (b) RESULTS OF COMPACT REVIEW.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title I of Public Law 99– 

19 658 (48 U.S.C. 1931 et seq.) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 105. RESULTS OF COMPACT REVIEW. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Agreement and appendices 

23 signed by the United States and the Republic of Palau 

24 on September 3, 2010 (referred to in this section as the 

25 ‘Agreement’), in connection with section 432 of the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Dec 28, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.RH H2085

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1 pact of Free Association between the Government of the 

2 United States of America and the Government of Palau 

3 (48 U.S.C. 1931 note; Public Law 99–658) (referred to 

4 in this section as the ‘Compact of Free Association’), are 

5 approved— 

6 ‘‘(1) except for the extension of Article X of the 

7 Agreement Regarding Federal Programs and Serv8 ices, and Concluded Pursuant to Article II of Title 

9 II and section 232 of the Compact of Free Associa10 tion; and 

11 ‘‘(2) subject to the provisions of this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS.—If the Republic of 

13 Palau withdraws more than $9,000,000 from the trust 

14 fund established under section 211(f) of the Compact of 

15 Free Association in fiscal year 2018, amounts payable 

16 under sections 1, 2(a), 3, and 4(a), of the Agreement shall 

17 be withheld from the Republic of Palau until the date on 

18 which the Republic of Palau reimburses the trust fund for 

19 the total amounts withdrawn that exceeded $9,000,000 in 

20 that fiscal year, except that funds to be provided under 

21 section 3 of the Agreement may be released to replenish 

22 the 211(f) Fund if an arrangement had been made be23 tween the United States and the Republic of Palau to ad24 vance funds during such fiscal year from the 211(f) Fund 


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1 for the purposes allowable under section 3 of the Agree2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(c) FUNDING FOR CERTAIN PROVISIONS UNDER

4 SECTION 105 OF COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION.—Not 

5 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

6 section, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise 

7 appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 

8 to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as are necessary 

9 for the Secretary of the Interior to implement sections 1, 

10 2(a), 3, 4(a), 5, and 6 of the Agreement, which sums shall 

11 remain available until expended without any further ap12 propriation. 

13 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated— 

15 ‘‘(1) to the Secretary of the Interior to sub16 sidize postal services provided by the United States 

17 Postal Service to the Republic of Palau, the Repub18 lic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States 

19 of Micronesia, $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 

20 2018 through 2024, to remain available until ex21 pended but may be available pursuant to this para22 graph to the United States Postal Service only so 

23 long as domestic postage may be used for mail to 

24 Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the 

25 Republic of the Marshall Islands; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to the head of each Federal entity de2 scribed in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 

3 221(a) of the Compact of Free Association (includ4 ing the successor of each Federal entity) to carry 

5 out the responsibilities of the Federal entity under 

6 section 221(a) of the Compact of Free Association 

7 such sums as are necessary, to remain available 

8 until expended.’’. 

9 (2) OFFSET.—Section 3 of the Act of June 30, 

10 1954 (68 Stat. 330, 82 Stat. 1213, chapter 423), is 

11 repealed. 

12 (c) PAYMENT SCHEDULE; WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS; 

13 FUNDING.— 

14 (1) COMPACT SECTION 211(f) FUND.—Section 

15 1 of the Agreement shall be construed as though the 

16 section reads as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1. COMPACT SECTION 211(f) FUND. 

18 ‘‘The Government of the United States shall con19 tribute $30,250,000 to the Fund referred to in section 

20 211(f) of the Compact in accordance with the following 

21 schedule: 

22 ‘‘(1) $22,000,000 in fiscal year 2018. 

23 ‘‘(2) $2,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2019 

24 through 2022. 

25 ‘‘(3) $250,000 in fiscal year 2023.’’. 


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1 (2) INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE FUND.— 

2 Subsection (a) of section 2 of the Agreement shall 

3 be construed as though the subsection reads as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(a) The Government of the United States shall pro6 vide a grant of $16,000,000 in fiscal year 2018, rep7 resenting the amounts to have been provided by the 

8 United States in fiscal years 2011 through 2017 under 

9 section 2(a) of the Agreement, and a grant of $2,000,000 

10 annually from the beginning of fiscal year 2019 through 

11 fiscal year 2024 to create a trust fund, to be known as 

12 the ‘Infrastructure Maintenance Fund’, to be used for the 

13 routine and periodic maintenance of major capital im14 provement projects financed by funds provided by the 

15 United States. The Government of the Republic of Palau 

16 shall match the contributions made by the United States 

17 by making contributions of $150,000 to the Infrastructure 

18 Maintenance Fund on a quarterly basis from the begin19 ning of fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2024. Imple20 mentation of this subsection shall be carried out in accord21 ance with the provisions of Appendix A of this Agree22 ment.’’. 

23 (3) FISCAL CONSOLIDATION FUND.—Section 3 

24 of the Agreement shall be construed as though the 

25 section reads as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. FISCAL CONSOLIDATION FUND. 

2 ‘‘The Government of the United States shall provide 

3 the Government of Palau $10,000,000 in fiscal year 2018 

4 for deposit in an interest bearing account to be used to 

5 reduce government arrears of Palau. Implementation of 

6 this section shall be carried out in accordance with the 

7 provisions of Appendix B of this Agreement.’’. 

8 (4) DIRECT ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—Sub9 section (a) of section 4 of the Agreement shall be 

10 construed as though the subsection reads as follows: 

11 ‘‘(a) In addition to the economic assistance of 

12 $13,147,000 provided to the Government of Palau by the 

13 Government of the United States in each of fiscal years 

14 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, 

15 and unless otherwise specified in this Agreement or in an 

16 Appendix of this Agreement, the Government of the 

17 United States shall provide the Government of Palau 

18 $27,250,000 in economic assistance as follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) $7,250,000 in fiscal year 2018. 

20 ‘‘(2) $6,000,000 in fiscal year 2019. 

21 ‘‘(3) $5,000,000 in fiscal year 2020. 

22 ‘‘(4) $4,000,000 in fiscal year 2021. 

23 ‘‘(5) $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2022. 

24 ‘‘(6) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2023. 

25 The funds provided in any fiscal year under this sub26 section for economic assistance shall be provided in 4 


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1 quarterly payments (30 percent in the first quarter, 30 

2 percent in the second quarter, 20 percent in the third 

3 quarter, and 20 percent in the fourth quarter) unless oth4 erwise specified in this Agreement or in an Appendix of 

5 this Agreement.’’. 

6 (5) INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Section 5 of 

7 the Agreement shall be construed as though the sec8 tion reads as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5. INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. 

10 ‘‘The Government of the United States shall provide 

11 in fiscal year 2018, $40,000,000 to the Government of 

12 Palau towards one or more mutually agreed infrastructure 

13 projects in accordance with the provisions of Appendix C 

14 to this Agreement.’’. 

15 (d) CONTINUING PROGRAMS AND LAWS.—Section 

16 105(f)(1)(B)(ix) of the Compact of Free Association 

17 Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 192ld(f)(1)(B)(ix)) 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2024’’. 

19 (e) AUDIT; FULL FAITH AND CREDIT; INFLATION

20 ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior shall fund 

21 the amounts necessary to conduct the audits required by 

22 section 6 and Appendix D of the Agreement. Section 236 

23 of the Compact applies to the commitments of the United 

24 States under sections 1, 2(a), 3, 4(a), and 5 of the Agree25 ment, and to the amounts necessary to conduct such auVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Dec 28, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.RH H2085

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1 dits, to the same extent as section 236 applies to the Com2 pact. Section 215 of the Compact shall be applied to such 

3 commitments and amounts by substituting ‘‘2010’’ for 

4 ‘‘1981’’. 

5 (f) PASSPORT REQUIREMENT.—Section 141 of Arti6 cle IV of Title One of the Compact of Free Association 

7 shall be construed and applied as if it read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 141. PASSPORT REQUIREMENT. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An individual in one of the fol10 lowing categories may be admitted to lawfully engage in 

11 occupations and establish residence as a nonimmigrant in 

12 the United States and its territories and possessions with13 out regard to paragraphs (5) or (7)(B)(i)(II) of section 

14 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1182(a)(5) or (a)(7)(B)(i)(II)), if the passport presented 

16 to satisfy section 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(I) of such Act is a valid, 

17 unexpired, machine-readable passport that satisfies the 

18 internationally accepted standard for machine readability: 

19 ‘‘(1) An individual who, on September 30, 

20 1994, was a citizen of the Trust Territory of the Pa21 cific Islands, as defined in title 53 of the Trust Ter22 ritory Code in force on January 1, 1979, and has 

23 become and remains a citizen of Palau. 


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1 ‘‘(2) An individual who acquires the citizenship 

2 of Palau, at birth, on or after the effective date of 

3 the Constitution of Palau. 

4 ‘‘(3) A naturalized citizen of Palau, who has 

5 been an actual resident of Palau for not less than 

6 five years after attaining such naturalization and 

7 who holds a certificate of actual residence. 

8 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT.—An individual in one of the cat9 egories in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) 

10 shall be considered to have the permission of the Secretary 

11 of Homeland Security of the United States to accept em12 ployment in the United States. 

13 ‘‘(c) HABITUAL RESIDENCE.—The right of an indi14 vidual in one of the categories in paragraphs (1) through 

15 (3) of subsection (a) to establish habitual residence in a 

16 territory or possession of the United States may be sub17 jected to non-discriminatory limitations provided for— 

18 ‘‘(1) in statutes or regulations of the United 

19 States; and 

20 ‘‘(2) in those statutes or regulations of the ter21 ritory or possession concerned which are authorized 

22 by the laws of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(d) CLARIFICATION.—Subsection (a)— 

24 ‘‘(1) does not confer on a citizen of Palau the 

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1 ralization under the Immigration and Nationality 

2 Act, or to petition for benefits for alien relatives 

3 under that Act; and 

4 ‘‘(2) shall not prevent a citizen of Palau from 

5 otherwise acquiring such rights or lawful permanent 

6 resident alien status in the United States.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 860 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2085 

[Report No. 115–1039, Part I] 

A BILL 

To approve an agreement between the United 

purposes. States and the Republic of Palau, and for other 

DECEMBER 28, 2018 

Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged; committed to 

Union and ordered to be printed the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS