Guthertz Asks Babauta For Help With Buildup and a Presidential Visit

Guthertz Asks Babauta For Help With Buildup and a Presidential Visit

Guam - Senator Judi Guthertz has presented Assistant Interior Secretary Tony Babauta with a letter making her case for more federal assistance and attention to Guam and to invite President Obama to visit the island.

According to a release, in her hand delivered letter to Babauta, Guthertz called for his "support and aid to encourage President Barack Obama to visit the island and take part in “The Island Conference on Public Administration- The Military Buildup and Beyond: The Guam Perspective”, scheduled for Nov. 19-20, 2009.

In addition, Guthertz stressed to Babauta the need for a firm commitment from the U.S. government in support of the buildup. In her letter delivered this morning, Sen. Guthertz expounded the list of issues, which she shared with the prior Congressional Delegation in August and other federal government officials.

Sen. Guthertz writes: “To date we have had no commitment from the White House, Congress or the Department of Defense to help prepare the civilian community on Guam for the planned buildup,” She added, “It is extremely unfair to expect the people of Guam to shoulder the costs of the buildup in the civilian community without a significant financial commitment from the federal government.”

She also said that the Guam military buildup “must be a “Win-Win” program for both the military and the civilian communities.” She shared her vision with the newly appointed assistant secretary of “One Island, One People, and One Quality of Life for Everyone!”


Written by :
Kevin Kerrigan