Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Ms. CANTWELL) (by request):

S. 2360. A bill to improve the administration of certain programs in the insular areas, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise with Senator CANTWELL of Washington State to introduce the Omnibus Territories Act of 2015, which relates to the U.S. territory of American Samoa, as well as the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau--collectively known as the Freely Associated States. Sections 2 and 3 of the legislation are introduced at the request of the administration and section 4 at the request of the governments of the three Freely Associated States.

Section 2 would permit the use of resettlement and relocation funds provided to the people of Bikini Atoll to be used within or outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As a result of nuclear weapons testing by the United States in the northern islands and atolls of the Marshall Islands, Congress, through Public Law 97-257 in 1982, provided the people of Bikini Atoll a relocation and resettlement trust fund to be used by the people of Bikini to resettle from their traditional homeland of Bikini Atoll to other islands within the Marshall Islands. Currently, most members of the community live on the islands of Kili and Ejit. Today, however, the people on these islands have limited living space, lack suitable sustainable resources to provide water and food for their population, and they are exposed to tidal flooding on an increasingly frequent basis. Under current Federal law, citizens of the Freely Associated States, including the people of Bikini, are able to enter into, reside, work, and study in the United States as nonimmigrants without visas. This section would allow the people of Bikini to use the resettlement and relocation trust funds for relocation and resettlement outside of the Marshall Islands, whether in the United States or elsewhere, if they so choose.

Section 3 seeks to improve air service capabilities in American Samoa. There are currently no U.S. airlines that provide flight service within American Samoa between the islands of Tutuila and Manu'a. The U.S. Department of Transportation has granted a foreign air carrier emergency service capability to provide this service, but that designation must be renewed every thirty days under statutory requirement. This section would amend current statute to allow for a foreign carrier to operate between the islands of Tutuila and Manu'a without the need for an emergency service capability designation.

Section 4 would amend the REAL ID Act of 2005, Public Law 109-13, to allow citizens of the Freely Associated States to document their lawful resident status in the United States in conformance with the Compacts of Free Association between the United States and each of these three nations. Section 141 of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003, Public Law 108-188, and the law that implemented the Compact of Free Association with Palau, Public Law 101-219, permits citizens of the FAS to enter into the United States to lawfully engage in occupations and establish residence as nonimmigrants. However, the REAL ID Act of 2005 did not provide a means for FAS citizens to document their lawful status in the United States. As a consequence, FAS citizens are denied anything more than a temporary ID valid only for one year, resulting in practical difficulties in their ability to maintain employment and engage in other lawful activities where they reside. Giving FAS citizens the ability to document their lawful status and obtain a State-issued driver's license or identification card would facilitate employment and provide more stability and certainty as they engage in lawful activity as legal residents in the United States.

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