Feb. 24, 2009 — Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Delegate Donna Christensen pressed the interests of the Virgin Islands and the other island territories this week at a meeting of the White House Interagency Group on Insular Affairs.
More than 80 representatives from the four U.S. island territories and federal agencies attended the plenary session of the Interagency Group, which was established to coordinate federal assistance and activities in the insular areas.
DeJongh focused much of his remarks on getting the most for the territory from the stimulus package, asking that each of the four smaller island territories get an even quarter of the total reserved for the territories, and that any funds that some territories fail to obligate or expend be distributed to the territories who were able to spend their initial allotment.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the Obama administration plans to use the Interagency Group as the means for the island governors and Congress to coordinate significant decisions, and they plan to advocate a collaborative approach to the federal government's responsibilities to insular areas.
"We will promote a vision for the Department of the Interior that moves beyond the traditional western focus and reaches all the people of America, including the insular areas — a vision for the Department of America," Salazar said in an Interior Department news release.
Salazar stressed what he called President Barack Obama's commitment to transparency and accountability, urging governors to work with him in the Interagency Group to improve the coordination of work getting underway as part of the stimulus program.
"I call on the governors and members of Congress to help me ensure that we implement these programs in a manner that fulfills President Obama's vision for accountability and responsibility in government," he said.
Major issues before the Interagency Group include coordinating with the Department of Defense on the relocation of U.S. military forces from Okinawa to Guam; a request for an extension beyond the June 1 deadline for federalization of immigration in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; health care in the Insular Areas; and the minimum-wage law's impact in the islands.
In addition, governors and delegates each submitted a priority list of concerns. They include economic development, the minimum-wage policy, the planned military expansion on Guam, rum excise-tax levels, visa issues, infrastructure financing and local Veterans Affairs services in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Along with DeJongh and Christensen, participants included Gov. Togiola Tulafono of American Samoa; Gov. Felix Camacho of Guam; Gov. Benigno Fitial of the Northern Mariana Islands; Delegate Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa; Delegate Madeleine Bordallo of Guam; and the newest member of Congress, Delegate Gregorio Camacho Sablan of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Also attending the plenary session were partners from more than 15 federal agencies, representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and the White House.
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