Bordallo meets with President Obama, discusses Guam issues

MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2011 01:03 BY THERESE HART | VARIETY NEWS STAFF

GUAM Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo, vice chair of the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), met with President

President Barack Obama meets with members of the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Contributed photo

Barack Obama at the White House last week to discuss issues important to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Federal-territorial issues were discussed with the President. Bordallo thanked Obama for his past support of Guam war claims and asked for his continued help to help pass the bill in Congress. The Obama administration continues to support Bordallo’s efforts to resolve Guam war claims. The Departments of Defense and the Interior have testified before Congress about their continued support.

However, the climate in Washington to grapple with a record high deficit and the recent talks to cut more than what is being proposed has Guam leaders questioning whether Bordallo can push forward with war reparations at this time.

“Let’s be realistic. It’s rather difficult to even try to bring it up in Congress, given what’s being discussed with regards to cuts. I haven’t given up hope, but at this point, I believe it’s something that Congress isn’t ready to deal with yet,” said Speaker Judi Won Pat.

Won Pat said she and her colleagues are certain of federal cuts which will affect Guam; cuts which Guam must be ready to handle.

“We are literally waiting to see what decisions are made in Washington regarding Guam, because whatever those decisions may be, we have to plan appropriately,” said Won Pat.

Parole

During her meetings, Bordallo also spoke about the need to extend parole authority to Guam for Chinese and Russian visitors. The White House committed to ensuring a continued dialogue with the Department of Homeland Security on the status of extending parole authority to Guam.

The delegate expressed her appreciation for these efforts and conveyed her hope that the White House will continue to provide policy direction on the importance of this initiative to DHS.

The meeting also focused on the need for tax considerations for the territories when the Obama administration is developing national economic policy.

Bordallo and the delegates recently sent a letter to Obama, requesting that he include cover over provisions for the territories in his American Jobs Act. Bordallo thanked the President for listening to the delegates’ concerns and for including cover over provisions in his bill.

“President Obama showed that he is sensitive to the needs of Guam and all Pacific Islanders,” said Bordallo.

“I made the point that our visitor industry will grow with the inclusion of Chinese and Russian visitors. I also told him that Guam’s goals are similar to those expressed by Vice President (Joe) Biden last month in China to make it easier for Chinese tourists to visit the United States. I thanked the President for including cover over provisions in the American Jobs Act and for his concern for the economies of the territories.”

Bordallo also shared with Obama: “We were disappointed that he had to cancel his scheduled visits to Guam last year and that our invitation still stands and our welcome mat is always out.”

Bordallo criticized for missing $4.5B ‘opportunity’

MONDAY, 28 MARCH 2011 03:54 BY THERESE HART | VARIETY NEWS STAFF

Vice Speaker Benjamin J.F. Cruz is asking Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo why she wasn’t aware of a $4.55 billion

Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, shown here delivering her congressional address at the legislature last Thursday, has been criticized by Sen. Benjamin Cruz for missing out on a $4.55 billion settlement for Indian and Black farmers as it moved through the House and Senate. Photo by Matt Weiss

settlement for Indian and Black farmers as it moved through the House and Senate, saying that she missed an opportunity for the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act.

In a letter sent to Bordallo, Vice Speaker Cruz states, “Had you acted more quickly, the $185 million needed to fulfill the objectives of the Guam Loyalty Act may have been considered a nominal amendment toward a public law that will ultimately provide a combined $4.55 billion to individual Indians and Black farmers. In fact, its enactment on the Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion, December 8, would have been an auspicious date to have finally enacted the Guam Loyalty Recognition Act.”

Settlement

The settlement stems from H.R. 4783 that ultimately became Public Law 111-291 when President Barack Obama signed the measure. The settlement is for mismanaged funds and other trust assets including royalties owed to individual Indians for oil, gas, grazing, and leases of individual Indian lands and to settle the claim that Black farmers were unfairly refused loans by the Department of Agriculture.

“Considering the effect H.R. 4783 had in rectifying long-standing claims against the federal government for discrimination and mismanagement against individual Indians and Black farmers, I must ask why you were not aware of its movement through the House and Senate,” Cruz said.

“I have noticed through print media, the Internet, a website, a toll-free number, and television notification that information about the settlement has been disseminated for claimants. Had the Guam War Claims Review been included as part of the settlement, the people of Guam may already have begun taking steps to attain their rightful claims,” added Senator Cruz.

Vice Speaker Cruz is a former Commissioner on the Guam War Claims Review Commission. He remains steadfast in his commitment toward rightfully acquiring claims for the people of Guam and their families that suffered during the Japanese occupation of Guam during WWII.

Resolves

Cruz said the settlement resolves the federal government’s failure to provide a historical accounting for Individual Indian Money claims in which the U.S. government mismanaged funds and other trust assets including royalties owed to individual Indians for oil, gas, grazing, and leases of individual Indian lands in the west by providing $3.4 billion to individual Indians.

Additionally, Public Law 111-291 will settle the claim that Black farmers were unfairly refused loans by the Department of Agriculture by providing $1.15 billion to Black farmers.

“Your continuous efforts to reintroduce the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, and then attach it to the Defense Authorization Act are noble, but they have become an annual perfunctory effort rooted in pursuing the same track without attempting viable alternative methods,” wrote Cruz.

As the terms of the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act are similar to those provisions contained in the Settlement Fund, Cruz found it disappointing that no amendment attaching the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act to H.R. 4783 was ever thought of or proffered.

Frustrating

“Equally frustrating is that H.R. 4783 included an amendment proffered by Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, your close colleague and the Chairman of your Committee. I am dismayed that your colleague was able to introduce an amendment to this landmark legislation without our possible inclusion,” wrote Cruz.

Cruz said the size and scope of the settlement could possibly have been the means to fund the war claims.

Accrued interest on the $4.55 billion as authorized by P.L. 111-291 would have been more than enough to provide the $125-$185 million required to fund the Guam Loyalty Recognition Act.

On a related matter, a recent press release issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that the USDA will engage in an “administrative process” to settle claims held by women and Hispanic farmers regarding historic loan discrimination.

The fact that these parties were able to gain an administrative settlement of their grievances may provide a pathway to real progress on Guam war reparations.

“This oversight may have cost the people of Guam much more than money, it may have cost them much needed closure and the belief that our past loyalties have not been in vain,” Cruz stated.

“While I acknowledge that the rise of “fiscal conservatives” may hamper your ongoing efforts, I urge you to consider that Congressional action may not be our only road to resolution. It is my fervent hope that, from this point on, you will look to other avenues for the favorable resolution of the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act,” Cruz added.

PNC :: Bordallo Meets with Interior Secretary Salazar

PNC :: Bordallo Meets with Interior Secretary Salazar

Thursday, 28 January 2010

Guam - In Washington Wednesday, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo met with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his Assistant Secretary Deputy for Insular Affairs, Tony Babauta.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

Secretary Salazar was invited by members of the caucus to present him with priorities important to their districts and the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Also in attendance at today’s meeting was the Honorable Tony Babauta, Assistant Secretary of Insular Areas at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“During today’s meeting with Secretary Salazar, I thanked him for his support in the inclusion of H.R. 44 in last year’s discussion of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010,” Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today. “Secretary Salazar reiterated the Obama Administration’s support in resolving the issue of Guam War Claims this year. I also expressed the importance of the Department of the Interior in addressing civilian infrastructure issues on Guam in preparation of the military buildup and the expected increase in population.

"Secretary Salazar shared my concerns and assured me that these issues are being heard by senior officials within the Administration, and he would work towards securing federal support for civilian infrastructure funding. I also raised the issue of Compact-Impact reimbursement for Guam to the Secretary. He informed me that he was aware of the issue and has offered to work with Guam, through Assistant Secretary Babauta, on addressing this issue.”

Written by : News Release

Committee supports war claims measure

Committee supports war claims measure

By Dionesis Tamondong • Pacific Daily News • December 4, 2009

House Armed Services Committee members expressed their support for the Guam war claims measure in a hearing that aimed to gather more evidence to sway the Senate into approving the provision.

"I am embarrassed that we need to be here today talking about this. It should have been resolved a long time ago," Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., a committee member, said during yesterday's hearing in Washington, D.C.

Two Guam senators, a war survivor, and the former chairman of the Guam War Claims Review Commission were among those who testified in support of a bill that would compensate those killed on Guam during World War II and living survivors.

While the House has supported Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo's war claims bill, the measure has consistently stalled in the Senate.

Questions during yesterday's hearing focused on the objections raised by Senate members during final negotiations on the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.

Earlier this year, the war claims provision was tacked onto the military spending bill but rejected by ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Michigan Sen. Carl Levin and Arizona Sen. John McCain objected to, among other things, payments for spouses and children of Guam's war survivors who have since died.

Levin and McCain offered to keep Bordallo's provision if the claims were awarded solely to those killed during the war and to living survivors of the occupation, but Bordallo didn't accept their offer.

During yesterday's hearing, Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., asked whether heirs of occupation survivors who have since died should be eligible for claims.

Mauricio Tamargo, former chairman of the commission that came to Guam to investigate the war claims process, said they should. "The Guam War Claims Review Commission included survivors in its recommendations strictly as a matter of parity because that is how all claim programs were administered," he said.

Guam Sen. Frank Blas Jr. spoke in the place of the many war survivors who have since died or are too frail to attend the hearing. He said many are upset that the federal government has failed to compensate its fellow Americans but will ask more from them when the U.S. military expands its facilities and beefs up its personnel on Guam.

"There is a demoralizing sentiment that is growing among the survivors. This sentiment is that the United States government is waiting for all of the war survivors to pass on so that this issue will not have to be dealt with," Blas said in his testimony. "Although my upbringing has taught me to apologize for this statement, I chose not to and challenge our nation's leaders to prove that opinion wrong."

Guam Sen. Ben Pangelinan reminded committee members that the island's people don't expect the long-sought payments to change the past.

What they do expect, he said, is "recognition of a people's sacrifice in upholding the honor of America, maintaining their dignity in the fight for their liberty, and demonstrating steadfast loyalty remain priceless."

War survivor Tom Barcinas and Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta of the U.S. Department of the Interior also testified before the committee.

Committee Chairman Ike Skelton committed to including provisions of the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act in the National Defense Authorization Act for next fiscal year if other legislative vehicles are not successful, Bordallo said.

"The commitment from the Chairman reiterated the need for the hearing to build a stronger legislative history that the Senate can reference in future negotiations," she said.

Additional hearings on Guam's war claims will be scheduled.

Chairman Skelton Gets Guam's Drift

Chairman Skelton Gets Guam's Drift

Linking War Claims To The Buildup

Written by Jeff Marchesseault, Guam News Factor Staff Writer
Tuesday, 01 December 2009 15:43

GUAM - On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee of the United States Congress will be hold a hearing to review the Guam War Reparations process. According to a release from Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo's office, the hearing will focus on the war claims issue and its impact on the military buildup.

What is most promising about Wednesday's Congressional hearing is that Congresswoman Bordallo has raised the profile of Guam War Claims to the point that a man as influential as House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton would link the Guam War Claims issue to the military buildup, something that no other leader in Washington, D.C. has been willing to do thus far.

Now Is The Moment

The schedule for this hearing could not be timelier as Guam's leaders and residents are now in the process of reviewing the U.S. Department of Defense's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the vast buildup on island.

As Congress reviews the Guam War Claims process -- thousands of miles across the Pacific through the lens of the DEIS, Guam is seeing, for the first time, the very real impact the massive military buildup will have on our island. No doubt, throughout both reviews, positive and negative impacts will be discussed. No doubt, some will support the measures and some will not. And, yes, each side will stand firm in its position.

But, clearly, the $70 million or so dollars that would pay for the war claims seems miniscule in the context of the $15 billion military buildup or the trillion-dollar United States Government budget. It would not take much to simply add a line item to an appropriations bill to put this nearly sixty-year issue to rest once and for all.

It's Not About The Money

But what must be conveyed to Chairman Skelton and all others in Congress is that the money is only a small part of what Guam's War Claims cause is about. Then, maybe more in Washington, D.C. would understand the link between war claims and the military buildup.

Many of Guam's grandparents and even our parents have been shaped by their experiences in World War II and in post-war reconstruction. The sacrifice and hardship endured and the witnessing of brutal war murders of family, friends and neighbors has left indelible impressions on their lives. And in post-war reconstruction, many were made to believe that their native tongue was a sign of ignorance and that they were to speak English only. The thousands of Marines and Sailors that swarmed our island home brought fear to many because while they were here to help, the clash of cultures was overwhelming for many.

In the decades since the liberation of Guam, many of our leaders have brought the cause of war claims to the steps of Congress only to be told to wait. And during those same years, we watched the military grow behind the fences that blocked us from Guam's most pristine prime properties. Then we saw Guam's vital role in the Vietnam conflict, in the evacuation of Kurds from Iraq, and in Desert Storm. During those same decades, Guam's patriotism never waned, as the Territory continued to rank among the highest in per capita enlistment into military service.

Then in the 1990s, we watched the military presence on Guam shrink, taking precious jobs and aggravating an already weakening economy. And with those jobs, family members left, leaving many on Guam with a sense of loss and betrayal. Still Guam's patriotism never waned, and our per capita military enlistment rate still ranked among the highest.

Now, the United States government is looking to reposition its troops in Asia, and Guam has become central to those plans. Yet, many on Guam are left wondering what is to be done about the issues still remaining from the past. Issues like war claims have been pushed aside in a rush to bring the Marines to Guam.

The conversation in Washington, D.C. about War Claims and the military buildup cannot center simply around money. If Members of Congress are to truly appreciate the magnitude of this issue to the people of Guam, the war survivors and their families, they must be willing to hear and understand the deep emotional ties that these people link to what their nation is asking of them today and the insensitivity with which they believe their beloved nation has treated their sacrifices and patriotism in the past.

'One Guam': Now DOD Can Show Us That It Means What It Says

Today, Guam is one step closer to receiving its hard-earned War Reparations, having found an understanding man in Ike Skelton, who is willing to give Guam its voice with the understanding that war claims and the military buildup, while not directly related, cannot be separated in the dialogue with Guam's people.

Like the occupation, liberation and subsequent reconstruction of Guam have all changed the lives of Guam's people forever, so too will this massive military buildup.

Although the War Claims issue is not believed to be one that will stop the buildup from occurring, it is one that can truly demonstrate the U.S.'s proclaimed commitment to a "one Guam concept," an approach that is vital to the people of Guam -- and an approach that is a stated commitment of the federal government.

Here is a release from Congresswoman Bordallo's office announcing the House Armed Services Committee's Wednesday hearing on Guam War Reparations:

House Armed Services Committee To Hold Hearing On Guam War Claims

November 30, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today announced that the House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on assessing the Guam War Claims Process on Wednesday, December 2, 2009. Congressman Ike Skelton of Missouri, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, convened the hearing at the request of Congresswoman Bordallo and in accordance with an agreement reached regarding Guam war claims in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

The House Armed Services Committee invited Governor Felix Camacho and Speaker Judith Won Pat to testify at the hearing. Unfortunately, both are unable to attend due to prior obligations but the Committee, at the request of Congresswoman Bordallo, has agreed to allow Senator Ben Pangelinan and Senator Frank Blas, Jr. of the 30th Guam Legislature to testify in lieu of the Governor and Speaker. Assistant Secretary Anthony "Tony" Babauta of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Honorable Mauricio Tamargo, former Chairman of the Guam War Claims Review Commission, and Mr. Tom Barcinas, a survivor of the occupation of Guam during World War II, have also been invited by Chairman Skelton to present testimony and are scheduled to attend. Mr. Barcinas has agreed to testify before the Committee and will discuss the importance of Guam war claims from a survivor's point of view. Mr. Barcinas' airfare was donated by the Guam Chamber of Commerce.

The hearing will focus on the issue of Guam war claims and its impact on community support for the military build-up. The hearing will not focus specifically on H.R. 44 as the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act has already passed the House of Representatives in February and Committee's do not hold hearings on legislation that has already passed their respective body. The testimony and questions asked during the hearing will continue to build on the legislative record of Guam war claims.

"This hearing will continue to build on the legislative history for the issue of Guam war claims and help to better position ourselves for passing this legislation in the Senate in the future," Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today.

"I thank Chairman Ike Skelton and Ranking Member Buck McKeon for convening this hearing as it is an important step towards resolving the issue of Guam war claims. This hearing demonstrates the House of Representative's continued commitment to the importance of Guam war claims legislation. I appreciate Chairman Skelton's leadership in convening this hearing and adhering to the agreement made during conference negotiations on the FY10 NDAA to hold further hearings on this matter. I would also like to thank the Guam Chamber of Commerce for their gracious support in bringing Mr. Barcinas to testify before the committee. The Chamber's generosity reflects the community's strong support for H.R. 44 and recognizes the unique opportunity to make the case for Guam war claims before Congress. I thank Chairman Frank Campillo and President David Leddy, and the Board of Directors for their assistance in bringing Mr. Barcinas to testify on behalf of all those who endured during World War II. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses at the hearing this Wednesday and to continuing the fight to bring the issue of Guam war claims to President Obama's desk for his signature."