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II 105TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 210 To amend the Organic Act of Guam, the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, and the Compact of Free Association Act, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 1997 Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. AKAKA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To amend the Organic Act of Guam, the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, and the Compact of Free Association Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. MARSHALL ISLANDS AGRICULTURAL AND 3 FOOD PROGRAMS. 4 Section 103(h)(2) of the Compact of Free Association 5 Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1903(h)(2)) is amended by strik- 6 ing ‘‘ten’’ and inserting ‘‘fifteen’’ and by adding at the 7 end of subparagraph (B) the following: ‘‘The President 8 shall ensure that the amount of commodities provided 9 2 S 210 IS under these programs reflects the changes in the popu- 1 lation that have occurred since the effective date of the 2 Compact.’’. 3 SEC. 2. AMERICAN MEMORIAL PARK. 4 Section 5 of Public Law 95–348 is amended by strik- 5 ing subsection (f). 6 SEC. 3. TERRITORIAL LAND GRANT COLLEGES. 7 (a) LAND GRANT STATUS.—Section 506(a) of the 8 Education Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92–318, as 9 amended; 7 U.S.C. 301 note) is amended by striking ‘‘the 10 College of Micronesia,’’ and inserting ‘‘the College of the 11 Marshall Islands, the College of Micronesia-FSM, the 12 Palau Community College,’’. 13 (b) ENDOWMENT.—The amount of the land grant 14 trust fund attributable to the $3,000,000 appropriation 15 for Micronesia authorized by the Education Amendments 16 of 1972 (Public Law 92–318, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 301 17 note) shall, upon enactment of this Act, be divided equally 18 among the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Fed- 19 erated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau 20 for the benefit of the College of the Marshall Islands, the 21 College of Micronesia-FSM, and the Palau Community 22 College. 23 (c) TREATMENT.—Section 1361(c) of the Education 24 Amendments of 1980 (Public Law 96–374, as amended; 25 3 S 210 IS 7 U.S.C. 301 note) is amended by striking ‘‘and the Trust 1 Territory of the Pacific Islands (other than the Northern 2 Mariana Islands)’’ and inserting ‘‘the Republic of the 3 Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and 4 the Republic of Palau’’. 5 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE GUAM ORGANIC ACT. 6 Section 28 of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 7 1421f) is amended by adding at the end the following new 8 subsection: 9 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER OF EXCESS LAND.—(1) At least 180 10 days before transferring to any Federal agency excess real 11 property located in Guam other than real property identi- 12 fied on map and dated as land 13 subject to transfer only by statute, the Administrator of 14 General Services Administration shall notify the Govern- 15 ment of Guam that the property is available under this 16 section. 17 ‘‘(2) The Administrator shall transfer to the Govern- 18 ment of Guam all right, title, and interest of the United 19 States in and to excess real property located in Guam, 20 by quit claim deed and without reimbursement, if the Gov- 21 ernment of Guam, within 180 days after receiving notifica- 22 tion under paragraph (1) regarding the property, notifies 23 the Administrator that the Government of Guam intends 24 to acquire the property under this section. 25 4 S 210 IS ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘excess 1 real property’ means excess property (as that term is de- 2 fined in section 3 of the Federal Property and Administra- 3 tive Services Act of 1949) that is real property. 4 ‘‘(4) With respect to any real property identified on 5 the map referenced in paragraph (1) of this subsection, 6 such property may not be transferred to another Federal 7 agency or out of Federal ownership except pursuant to an 8 Act of Congress specifically identifying such property.’’. 9 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ALLOTMENT FOR TERRITORIES. 10 Section 901(a)(2) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 11 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3791(a)(2)) is 12 amended to read as follows: 13 ‘‘(2) ‘‘State’’ means any State of the United States, 14 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 15 Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 16 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;’’. 17 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE REVISED ORGANIC ACT OF 18 THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 19 (a) TEMPORARY ABSENCE OF OFFICIALS.—Section 20 14 of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (48 21 U.S.C. 1595) is amended by adding at the end the follow- 22 ing new subsection: 23 5 S 210 IS ‘‘(g) An absence from the Virgin Islands of the Gov- 1 ernor or the Lieutenant Governor, while on official busi- 2 ness, shall not be a ‘temporary absence’ for purposes of 3 this section.’’. 4 (b) PRIORITY OF BONDS.—Section 3 of Public Law 5 94–392 (48 U.S.C. 1574c) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘priority for payment’’ and in- 7 serting ‘‘a parity lien with every other issue of bonds 8 or other obligations issued for payment’’; and 9 (2) by striking ‘‘in the order of the date of 10 issue’’. 11 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub- 12 section (b) shall apply to obligations issued on or after 13 the date of enactment of this section. 14 SEC. 7. COMMISSION ON THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE 15 VIRGIN ISLANDS. 16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.— 17 (1) There is hereby established a Commission 18 on the Economic Future of the Virgin Islands (the 19 ‘‘Commission’’). The Commission shall consist of six 20 members appointed by the President, two of whom 21 shall be selected from nominations made by the Gov- 22 ernor of the Virgin Islands. The President shall des- 23 ignate one of the members of the Commission to be 24 Chairman. 25 6 S 210 IS (2) In addition to the six members appointed 1 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior 2 shall be an ex-officio member of the Commission. 3 (3) Members of the Commission appointed by 4 the President shall be persons who by virtue of their 5 background and experience are particularly suited to 6 contribute to achievement of the purposes of the 7 Commission. 8 (4) Members of the Commission shall serve 9 without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for 10 travel, subsistence and other necessary expenses in- 11 curred by them in the performance of their duties. 12 (5) Any vacancy in the Commission shall be 13 filled in the same manner as the original appoint- 14 ment was made. 15 (b) PURPOSE AND REPORT.— 16 (1) The purpose of the Commission is to make 17 recommendations to the President and Congress on 18 the policies and actions necessary to provide for a 19 secure and self-sustaining future for the local econ- 20 omy of the Virgin Islands through 2020 and on the 21 rule of the Federal Government. In developing rec- 22 ommendations, the Commission shall— 23 (A) solicit and analyze information on pro- 24 jected private sector development and shifting 25 7 S 210 IS tourism trends based on alternative forecasts of 1 economic, political and social conditions in the 2 Caribbean; 3 (B) analyze capital infrastructure, edu- 4 cation, social, health, and environmental needs 5 in light of these alternate forecasts; and 6 (C) assemble relevant demographic, eco- 7 nomic, and revenue and expenditure data from 8 over the past 25 years. 9 (2) The recommendations of the Commission 10 shall be transmitted in a report to the President, the 11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 12 United States Senate and the Committee on Re- 13 source of the United States House of Representa- 14 tives no later than June 30, 1999. The report shall 15 set forth the basis for the recommendations and in- 16 clude an analysis of the capability of the Virgin Is- 17 lands to meet projected needs based on reasonable 18 alternative economic, political and social conditions 19 in the Caribbean, including the possible effect of ex- 20 pansion in the near future of Cuba in trade, tourism 21 and development. 22 (c) POWERS.— 23 (1) The Commission may— 24 8 S 210 IS (A) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 1 times and places, take such testimony and re- 2 ceive such evidence as it may deem advisable; 3 (B) use the United States mail in the same 4 manner and upon the same conditions as de- 5 partments and agencies of the United States; 6 and 7 (C) within available funds, incur such ex- 8 penses and enter into contracts or agreements 9 for studies and surveys with public and private 10 organizations and transfer funds to Federal 11 agencies to carry out the Commission’s func- 12 tions. 13 (2) Within funds available for the Commission, 14 the Secretary of the Interior shall provide such office 15 space, furnishings, equipment, staff, and fiscal and 16 administrative services as the Commission may re- 17 quire. 18 (3) The President, upon request of the Commis- 19 sion, may direct the head of any Federal agency or 20 department to assist the Commission and if so di- 21 rected such head shall— 22 (A) furnish the Commission to the extent 23 permitted by law and within available appro- 24 priations such information as may be necessary 25 9 S 210 IS for carrying out the functions of the Commis- 1 sion and as may be available to or procurable 2 by such department or agency; and 3 (B) detail to temporary duty with the 4 Commission on a reimbursable basis such per- 5 sonnel within his administrative jurisdiction as 6 the Commission may need or believe to be use- 7 ful for carrying out its functions, each such de- 8 tail to be without loss of seniority, pay or other 9 employee status. 10 (d) CHAIRMAN.—Subject to general policies that the 11 Commission may adopt, the Chairman of the Commission 12 shall be the chief executive officer of the Commission and 13 shall exercise its executive and administrative powers. The 14 Chairman may make such provisions as he may deem ap- 15 propriate authorizing the performance of his executive and 16 administrative functions by the staff of the Commission. 17 (e) FUNDING.—There is hereby authorized to be ap- 18 propriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as 19 may be necessary, but not to exceed an average of 20 $300,000 per year, in fiscal years 1997, 1998 and 1999 21 for the work of the Commission. 22 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 23 3 months after the transmission of the report and rec- 24 ommendations under subsection (b)(2). 25 10 S 210 IS SEC. 8. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE PHYSICIANS. 1 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 2 provide, on a non-reimbursable basis, assistance for direct 3 radiation related medical surveillance and treatment pro- 4 grams under section 177(b) of the Compact of Free Asso- 5 ciation. Such programs may include the services of physi- 6 cians, surgeons, dentists, nurses, and other health care 7 practitioners. 8 SEC. 9. ELIGIBILITY FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 9 (a) Section 214(a) of the Housing Community Devel- 10 opment Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)) is amended— 11 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 12 (5); 13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 14 graph (6) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 15 (3) by adding at the end the following new 16 paragraph: 17 ‘‘(7) an alien who is lawfully resident in the 18 United States and its territories and possessions 19 under section 141 of the Compacts of Free Associa- 20 tion between the Government of the United States 21 and the Governments of the Marshall Islands, the 22 Federated States of Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1901 23 note) and Palau (48 U.S.C. 1931 note) while the ap- 24 plicable section is in effect: Provided, That, within 25 11 S 210 IS Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari- 1 ana Islands any such alien shall not be entitled to 2 a preference in receiving assistance under this Act 3 over any United States citizens or national resident 4 therein who is otherwise eligible for such assist- 5 ance.’’. 6 SEC. 10. CONSENT TO HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION ACT 7 AMENDMENTS. 8 As required by section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act 9 to provide for the admission to the State of Hawaii into 10 the Union’’, approved March 18, 1959 (73 Stat. 4), the 11 United States consents to the following amendments to 12 the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, adopted by 13 the State of Hawaii in the manner required for State legis- 14 lation: 15 (1) Act 339 of the Session Laws of Hawaii, 16 1993, and 17 (2) Act 37 of the Session Laws of Hawaii, 18 1994. 19 SEC. 11. AMERICAN SAMOA STUDY COMMISSION. 20 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as 21 ‘‘The American Samoa Development Act of 1997’’. 22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.— 23 (1) There is hereby established a Commission 24 on the Economic Future of American Samoa (the 25 12 S 210 IS ‘‘Commission’’). The Commission shall consist of six 1 members appointed by the President, three of whom 2 shall be selected from nominations made by the Gov- 3 ernor of American Samoa, and the Secretary of the 4 Interior ex officio. The President shall designate one 5 of the appointed members of the Commission to be 6 Chairman. 7 (2) Members of the Commission appointed by 8 the President shall be persons who by virtue of their 9 background and experience are particularly suited to 10 contribute to achievement of the purposes of the 11 Commission. 12 (3) Members of the Commission shall serve 13 without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for 14 travel, subsistence and other necessary expenses in- 15 curred by them in the performance of their duties. 16 (4) Any vacancy in the Commission shall be 17 filled in the same manner as the original appoint- 18 ment was made. 19 (c) PURPOSE AND REPORT.— 20 (1) The purpose of the Commission is to make 21 recommendations to the President and Congress on 22 the policies and actions necessary to provide for a 23 secure and self-sustaining future for the local econ- 24 omy of American Samoa through 2020 and on the 25 13 S 210 IS role of the Federal Government. In developing rec- 1 ommendations, the Commission shall— 2 (A) solicit and analyze information on pro- 3 jected private sector development, including, but 4 not limited to, tourism, manufacturing and in- 5 dustry, agriculture, and transportation and 6 shifting trends based on alternative forecasts of 7 economic, political and social conditions in the 8 Pacific; 9 (B) analyze capital infrastructure, edu- 10 cation, social, health, and environmental needs 11 in light of these alternative forecasts; 12 (C) assemble relevant demographic, eco- 13 nomic, and revenue and expenditure data from 14 over the past 25 years; 15 (D) review the application of Federal laws 16 and programs and the effects of such laws and 17 programs on the local economy and make such 18 recommendations for changes in the application 19 as the Commission deems advisable; and 20 (E) consider the impact of Federal trade 21 and other international agreements, including, 22 but not limited to those related to marine re- 23 sources, on American Samoa and make such 24 14 S 210 IS recommendations as may be necessary to mini- 1 mize or eliminate any adverse effects on the 2 local economy. 3 (2) The recommendations of the Commission 4 shall be transmitted in a report to the President, the 5 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 6 United States Senate and the Committee on Re- 7 sources of the United States House of Representa- 8 tives no later than June 30, 1999. The report shall 9 set forth the basis for the recommendations and in- 10 clude an analysis of the capability of American 11 Samoa to meet projected needs based on reasonable 12 alternative economic, political and social conditions 13 in the Pacific Basin. The report shall also include 14 projections of the need for direct or indirect Federal 15 assistance for operations and infrastructure over the 16 next decade and what additional assistance will be 17 necessary to develop the local economy to a level suf- 18 ficient to minimize or eliminate the need for direct 19 Federal operational assistance. As part of the re- 20 port, the Commission shall also include an overview 21 of the history of American Samoa and its relation- 22 ship to the United States from 1872 with emphasis 23 on those events or actions that affect future eco- 24 nomic development and shall include, as an appendix 25 15 S 210 IS to its report, copies of the relevant historical docu- 1 ments, including, but not limited to, the Convention 2 of 1899 (commonly referred to as the Tripartite 3 Treaty) and the documents of cession of 1900 and 4 1904. 5 (d) POWERS.— 6 (1) The Commission may— 7 (A) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 8 times and places, take such testimony and re- 9 ceive such evidence as it may deem advisable: 10 Provided, That the Commission shall conduct 11 public meetings in Tutuila, Ofu, Olosega, and 12 Tau; 13 (B) use the United States mail in the same 14 manner and upon the same conditions as de- 15 partments and agencies of the United States; 16 and 17 (C) within available funds, incur such ex- 18 penses and enter into contracts or agreements 19 for studies and surveys with public and private 20 organizations and transfer funds to Federal 21 agencies to carry out the Commission’s func- 22 tions. 23 (2) Within funds available for the Commission, 24 the Secretary of the Interior shall provide such office 25 16 S 210 IS space, furnishings, equipment, staff, and fiscal and 1 administrative services as the Commission may re- 2 quire. 3 (3) The President, upon request of the Commis- 4 sion, may direct the head of any Federal agency or 5 department to assist the Commission and if so di- 6 rected such head shall— 7 (A) furnish the Commission to the extent 8 permitted by law and within available appro- 9 priations such information as may be necessary 10 for carrying out the functions of the Commis- 11 sion and as may be available to or procurable 12 by such department or agency; and 13 (B) detail to temporary duty with the 14 Commission on a reimbursable basis such per- 15 sonnel within his administrative jurisdiction as 16 the Commission may need or believe to be use- 17 ful for carrying out its functions, each such de- 18 tail to be without loss of seniority, pay or other 19 employee status. 20 (e) CHAIRMAN.—Subject to general policies that the 21 Commission may adopt, the Chairman of the Commission 22 shall be the chief executive officer of the Commission and 23 shall exercise its executive and administrative powers. The 24 17 S 210 IS Chairman may make such provisions as he may deem ap- 1 propriate authorizing the performance of his executive and 2 administrative functions by the staff of the Commission. 3 (f) FUNDING.—There are hereby authorized to be ap- 4 propriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as 5 may be necessary, but not to exceed an average of 6 $300,000 per year, in fiscal years 1997, 1998 and 1999 7 for the work of the Commission. 8 (g) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 9 3 months after the transmission of the report and rec- 10 ommendations under subsection (c)(2). 11 Æ