HOUSING AID FOR FAS CITIZENS Manglona opposes Underwood’s proposal

Senate President Paul A. Manglona has expressed opposition against changing the eligibility requirements for housing assistance to Freely Associated States’ citizens under a proposal pending with the U.S. House Resources Committee.

The move, contained in the legislation offered by Guam’s delegate to Congress Robert Underwood last year, could open the floodgate for migration of more residents from neighboring Micronesian islands into the CNMI as the bill also affects the Commonwealth, according to the Senate leader.

Mr. Manglona wrote a letter to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chair of the committee which has oversight of insular areas including Guam and the Northern Marianas, to plead the CNMI’s case against such measure.

Mr. Underwood’s bill, H.R. 2462 or the Guam Omnibus Opportunities Act. seeks amendments to the Guam Organic Act and includes provisions that will affect the CNMI, particularly on the proposal to provide preference to FAS people for subsidized housing on Guam or in the Commonwealth.

“In particular, the Commonwealth is concerned that availability of free or low-cost government housing might serve to encourage Micronesians to migrate to the Commonwealth where, in many cases, they are poorly prepared to deal with differences in social organization, customs and legal systems, and the business and economic environment,” Mr. Manglona said in his letter.

He noted that even Guam Sen. Carlotta A. Leon Guerrero has informed the U.S. House committee about potential impact of such a move to the island territory, which also touched on the CNMI’s experience with Micronesians and government housing.

While Guam has received portion of reimbursement from Washington under the Compact impact funding, the CNMI has yet to obtain similar financial assistance to shoulder the costs associated with hosting FAS nationals here.

According to Mr. Manglona, the bill takes on additional importance in view of the fact that the CNMI has been forced to deal single-handedly the “stresses and burdens” of the Micronesian population influx.

He asked Mr. Young to review this bill in light of the reports presented by CNMI officials to his committee about failure by the federal government to live up to the Compact impact agreement.

“At a minimum, Compact impact funding for the Commonwealth should be included with any change in… housing eligibility. Put another way, application of any such change to the Commonwealth should be conditioned on provision of Compact impact funding to the CNMI,” said Mr. Manglona.

As an alternative, the senator recommended the creation of a program to help Micronesians adjust and integrate into the community as productive citizens when they migrate into U.S. soil.

It would be more beneficial to FAS people than housing assistance alone and could also be a boon to local governments struggling to address the education, health care, criminal justice and other needs of this new population, he said.

“Such a program would greatly complement and enhance the Commonwealth’s traditional ‘open door’ to Micronesians,” added Mr. Manglona.

The CNMI, Guam and Hawaii have in recent years called on Washington to honor its commitment to assist people from Palau, the FSM and Marshalls who have chosen to freely reside on these wealthier Pacific islands as part of their privileges under the Compact agreement.