Congressional hearing sought on Compact impact report findings

Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) and four other U.S. House of Representatives members have asked for a hearing on a recently released U.S. Government Accountability Office report that cited “weaknesses” in territories’ collection and reporting on the impact of migration from the Freely Associated States.

GAO found that the CNMI, Guam, and Hawaii counted $1 billion in costs from FAS immigrants for education, health, public safety, and social services from 2004 to 2010, Sablan said. Yet the U.S. government provided only $210 million to these U.S. insular areas as compensation.

Sablan said the CNMI reported $55 million in costs and received $33 million from the federal government.

The CNMI saw a drop in the number of FAS migrants, from 3,570 FAS in 2003 to 2,100 in 2008.

“GAO recommended improvements in how the Interior Department and the U.S. insular areas account for these Compact impact costs and noted the discrepancy between reported costs and compensation,” Sablan said. “A hearing will provide further opportunity to make sure that the insular areas do not bear an undue burden from federal agreements with our neighbors in the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.”

Sablan was joined by Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, American Samoa Delegate Eni Faleomavaega and Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono.

Their Dec. 18 letter, a copy of which was obtained yesterday, was addressed to House Committee on Natural Resources chair Rep. Doc Hastings and ranking member Rep. Edward Markey.

GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, released in November a report titled, “Compacts of Free Association: Improvements Needed to Assess and Address Growing Migration.”

The report stated that some of the affected jurisdictions “did not accurately define Compact migrants, account for federal funding that supplemented local expenditures, or include revenue received from Compact migrants.”

That GAO report was initiated as a result of a joint request made by bipartisan members of Congress from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Arkansas, and the CNMI in order to assess the true impacts of Compact migration and to guide policy discussion on improvements to the implementation of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 or Public Law 108-188.

Under the Compacts, FAS citizens-those from the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap and Kosrae), Marshall Islands and Palau-may live and work in the U.S. without a visa as lawful non-immigrants or habitual residents.

“While the Compacts are critical to our national security, and protecting U.S. interests in the Pacific region, the rising costs of providing social services to Compact migrants in affected jurisdictions must be addressed,” the four U.S. Congress members said.

Sablan, Bordallo, Faleomavaega, and Hirono said the GAO findings provide the most thorough and accurate assessment to date of the costs and impacts of Compact migrants in affected jurisdictions, and addresses the inadequacy of federal funds associated with providing services to Compact migrants.

They said GAO outlines several policy recommendations that could improve the administration’s implementation of PL 108-188, and ease the burden currently shouldered by state and territorial governments.

“In these difficult budgetary times, it is important that we thoroughly consider each of these recommendations to ease the financial impacts of Compact migration. We strongly urge you to convene a hearing on this matter so that Congress can further explore the finding and recommendations found in the GAO report,” the lawmakers said.

A hearing date has yet to be scheduled.