Madeleine Z. Bordallo
Following are outtakes from the Congressional Address delivered by Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam’s delegate to Congress, on March 8.
Any discussion on our work to improve the quality of life on Guam should begin with our efforts to resolve the longstanding question of our political status with the United States and our efforts to exercise our right to self-determination. Resolving our political status is an important long-term goal that will give our people an opportunity to determine the political future of our island.” …
“A cornerstone of our economy is a robust tourism industry. […] I share concerns that visitors to our island are experiencing long immigration processing times when they arrive. […] I have written to and had discussions with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to request that they secure additional officers and deploy technologies that could help alleviate these long wait-times. I have a commitment from CBP that they will work to ensure that Guam International Airport has the resources to meet the immediate demands resulting from [the Festival of the Pacific Arts]. I know that CBP leadership will authorize overtime for officers and monitor daily the passenger loads to see if even more resources are needed to process visitors on Guam. I still urge CBP leadership to add more personnel on Guam as well. In the long-term I will work with our local stakeholders and CBP to install new technology at the airport to automate forms required under the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program.” …
“I continue to work with local leaders and our federal partners to diversify the tourists we target and include additional countries in our visa-waiver program. […] I have supported the Obama Administration’s efforts to work a reciprocal agreement with China to offer up to 10-year visas for visitors to our respective countries. Over time, I believe that we will be able to attract repeat Chinese visitors to Guam using the 10-year visa. I appreciate that our local partner United Airlines has established permanent flights between Guam and Shanghai, and in the years to come I believe that other routes can be developed as we bolster the Guam brand in the Chinese market. However, we cannot lose sight of other countries that have a developing middle class in Asia. Let us get ahead of curve and work to attract those visitors to our island. Countries, particularly in Southeast Asia have growing middle class populations that have disposable income and want to travel.
[…] I now call on Governor Calvo to exercise authority provided in the 2008 Consolidated Natural Resources Act to petition DHS to add Vietnam and the Philippines to the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program.” …
“Another component of our economic improvement is the progress we have made in moving forward with the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. […] Last summer, the Department of the Navy published the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and corresponding Record of Decision, which were key steps in formalizing the relocation process. […]
In last year’s defense bill, I worked with my colleagues to provide $272 million for military construction projects on Guam. These projects build off of our past efforts to harden facilities and develop site and infrastructure capabilities, and they are a firm indication that progress continues to be made. Additionally, I worked to lift restrictions on $106 million for civilian water and wastewater projects that were provided in previous appropriations bills. […]
President Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget request provides nearly $250 million in military construction projects in Guam. This investment continues to demonstrate our commitment to the strategy and that the realignment is moving forward. The budget also requests over $80 million to complete water and wastewater infrastructure improvements as well as additional funding for the public health lab. As in previous years, I will work to remove restrictions on funds I have already secured for a cultural repository and public health lab in the House’s defense bill. Furthermore, this year we should expect to see construction begin on the new Marine base where government of Japan funds will be used for initial infrastructure development.” …
“Many people ask me, will the commitment to the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region continue into the next Administration? My answer is ABSOLUTELY YES.” …
“I believe that Guam can better leverage IT and support services in the future. I am aware of an endeavor where new fiber optic cable lines will be tapped here on Guam to essentially build a cloud storage facility. I know that other companies are looking to build redundancy in fiber optics lines in the Pacific. Investment in IT jobs will lead to good paying jobs that will last well into the future. Online systems, cloud storage and IT infrastructure will play a key role in the development of the U.S. economy in the years to come. It is important that we take advantage of our strategic location and the fact that Guam is provided the protections of U.S. laws to harness the potential of IT on our island. Not only will it benefit business but our education sector can piggy-back on this IT infrastructure for research and development.” …
“To build on the progress that we’ve made economically, we must not forget to take care of our workers. The presidential debate has frequently focused on what each candidate’s plans are to take care of workers and develop more economic opportunities. Workers must be paid a fair wage and we must enact legislation that recognizes the importance of families in our economy. We can’t force men or women in our workforce to decide whether they want to keep a good paying job or have a family. Enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 was an important step forward to recognizing that workers need time when they want to start a family or have a very difficult medical situation, but we now must go further.” …
