Date: 1992-07-22
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. the bill before us contains a number of provisions that address our responsibilities to the Insular areas associated with the United States. and I urge its passage. As chairman of the authorizing subcommittee. I also want to compliment the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for this legislation. our distinguished colleague from Illinois. Mr. YATES. for his leadership on this measure. his sensitivity to Federal responsibility In Insular areas. and his cooperation with the committee that I chair. There are a few provisions regarding the Insular areas that I want to note briefly. First. In keeping with our responsibiilty for the governing and development of the trust territory of Palau. H.R. 5503 would provide some $7.4 million for capital Improvements and $18.2 million for government operations. as opposed to the zero funding and $15.2 million respectively recommended by the President. Since the United States remains fully responsible for the governing of Palau under a trusteeship agreement with the United Nations. and since the developmental needs of Palau remain great. the support H.RL 5503 would provide for Palau In spite of the Presidents attempts to reduce funding some $23 million for operating government and $5.9 mil. lion for capital Improvements would help fulfill an Important national obligation. It Is particularly Important that we do so since the cuts in assistance to Palau that the President proposed may have been part of an Illadvised effort to try tb pressure Palau to approve a free association arrangement that Palaus leaders have said will probably not be approved by their people unless It Is modified. Our country should meet Its current trusteeship obligations regarding Palau without trying to force Palaus future selfdetermination decisions. Before moving to other Issues. however. Mr. Chairman. I would like the record to show that the point of order raised by my distinguished colleague and chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. Mr. BRUCE VENTO. with reference to the historic preservation fund provision in H.R. 5503 was based. not on any substantive opposition to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands being eligible for historic preservation fund matching grant assistance. but was purely procedural and reflected Chairman VENTOs oppositionas a jurisdictional matter--to an appropriations bill being used for legislative purposes. As Members will recall. Hurricane Hugo hit the territory that I am privileged to represent. the Virgin Islands were particularly hard. To this date. there remains significant damages to a number of buildings at the University of the Virgin Islands. This bill would provide a sorely needed $4.5 million for the reconstruction of these buildings and would. therefore. enable the university to address Itself to the Important task of training not only our young people. but Indeed the young people of the entire region. In surroundings that compromise neither safety nor security. Mr. Chairman. dangerous drug abuse continues to be a plague upon the Insular areas. And an attendant crime wave has hit these islands. It Is well known that the Caribbean Islands in particular are being used as transshipment points to the lucrative mainland drug market. So. I am pleased to note that this bill would provide additional assistnce to these Islands war against drug abuse. As we know. Mr. Chairman. the massive "Bravo" thermonuclear test at Bikini Atoll in 1954 exposed nearby Rongelap Atoll to a high level of radiation. But although the Department and Energy reported high levels of contamination In 1982. It asserted that Rongelap was safe for Its people to live on. Later. however. serious questions were raised about this concluslon. An agreement between the authorizIng and appropriating committees on last years appropriation provided $1 mlaion for additional study of the safety of Rongelap. and $1.975 million for its cleanup and resettlement. Including up to $500.000 for expenses of the people while In exile. The Presidents proposal that the Congress not fund this Important program further concemed me. I am. therefore. pleased to point out that H.R. 5503 would provide an additional $2 million in fiscal year 1993. Mr. Chairman. the President also proposed that capital Improvements spending in AmerIcan Samoa be cut In real terms. and government operations support be cut both In real as well as absolute terms. The Subcommittee on Insular and Intemational Affairs. which I am privileged to chair. opposed N proposal because of the overwhelming needs of these underdeveloped Islands. We did not agree that they should be made because of the apparent problems In financial management In the territory. The weaknesses In the capacities of Amercan Samoa can best be addressed via fiscal responsibility measures at the local level and through greater guidance and Involvement on the part of the Interior Department. H.R. 5503 concurs with the analysis of the subcommittee that I chair and would provide approximately $30 million to American Samoa as opposed to the $26.4 million proposed by the President Finally. the bill also Includes $27.7 million In direct assistance for the Northem Mariana Islands required by the omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1986. as recommended by the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee at my suggestion. This amount of assistance Is to be provided the Commonwealth each year until the Congress provides otherwise by law. The purpose of this assistance Is to fulfill a commitment made In the agreement that established the political union between the Islands and the United States to help develop the standard of living in the Commonwealth and Its ability to meet the costs of local selfgovemment Itself. Some Members have raised serious questions about whether this or any special direct assistance should continue to be provided the Commonwealth. however. One of the reasons for these questions Is that there has been substantial progress In achieving the goals of the assistance. although the Islands still have major basic Infrastructure needs. The economy of the Islands has boomed in recent years. Increasing the standard of living and the ability of the local government to meet Its responsibilities. as well as the Infrastructure needs. In fact. the Governor has said that next years assistance will not be needed to meet costs of operating the government for the first time. Instead. the assistance will be devoted wholly to Infrastructure needs. But the more compelling reason for questioning whether this special assistance needs to be continued relates to the Commonwealths Income tax system and Its fairness. One of the most Important forms of Indirect Federal assistance granted the Commonwealth Is the ownership of revenue from Income taxes at rates identical to those imposed by the Internal Revenue Code and the exemption of residents from Federal Income taxation. The Commonwealth. however. has used its authority to rebate collections of this tax to virtually substitute a local income tax system Instead. This system taxes lower income residents on wage and salary Income at rates higher than Federal rates. but taxes higher Income residents at rates lower than Federal rates. and proportionately less the higher the Income. It has even lower rates on business Income and almost no tax on Investment Income. In 1990 alone. it may have taxed Income over $43 million less than Federal rates would have. according to Information from the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has the right under current law to have such a system. but Its Income tax effort and Its fairness will have to be considered In determining whether to provide further special direct assistance to the islands. So. too. will the extent to which Infrastructure needs relate to the lack of development of the Islands when the Interior Department was responsible for their local government and the extent to which the needs relate to develop ment due to local policies since then. I will fight to force the Federal Government to fulfill Its commitments made In uniting with the islands. we should expect the Commonwealth to do no less. The questions that have arisen with respect to further special assistance for the Northern Mariana Islands are ones that should be examined comprehensively. This bill includes the assistance currently required by law pending such an examination.