Guam NewsThursday May 15, 2008
By Zita Y. Taitano, Variety News Staff
CONGRESSWOMAN Madeleine Z. Bordallo is stepping up to plate to make sure Guam gets what is needed for the impending military buildup.
Bordallo, along with Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie, recently introduced H.R. 5931, or the Joint Guam Projects Oversight Act, a measure that would establish a separate account solely for the military buildup.
The bill would also ensure appropriate implementation and oversight of the realignment of military installations and the relocation of military personnel to Guam, among other purposes.
In the bill, any appropriations for the buildup would be transferred to what is to be called the Guam Defense Policy Review Initiative Account. That account, the bill states, will solely be used for construction projects geared around the buildup.
In addition, the measure also seeks to have the Secretary of Defense enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Guam to identify local funding requirements for civilian infrastructure development and other needs related to the transfer of military units to the island.
The MOU would establish a commitment of federal agencies to help out GovGuam in making sure the transfer is done in a responsible and consistent manner.
No later than 180 days after the measure has been enacted (if passed), the Comptroller General would submit to Congress a status report of the buildup. The report will address what the Interagency Group on Insular Areas is able to coordinate, so it can meet the 2014 completion deadline of the transfer as indicated in the 2006 agreement between the United States and Japan.
One aspect of the bill may play a crucial role in the participation of small businesses.
In Section 9, H.R. 5931 asks for the Secretary of Defense to grant preference to small businesses not only on Guam, but also in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The section also includes the development and support of programs to train residents with the necessary skills for the buildup.
H.R. 5931 has been referred to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Small Business for review.
Meanwhile, the Joint Guam Program Office is already getting its budget proposal together for fiscal year 2010.
According to Major General David Bice, JGPO executive director, the proposal is geared at construction projects associated with the military buildup.
However, when asked what the budget cost would be, Bice said: "We're still working that, and that will go through a series of [reviews] based on budget allocations and guidance from the White House and the Department of Defense."
He further explained that they would then lay out where all the potential projects will be, and from there, the budget programmers will let his office know how much they can use for each project.
"It will be an integrative process as we continue on," he said. "[But] because this is an election year, the current administration will work up the budget, and then I suspect sometime in late November early December, the current administration will brief the transition team of the next administration so that the new president will present the budget to Congress next year in January/February."
He also touched on meetings between his office and the Guam Department of Labor's Director Maria Connelly with regard to the construction efforts.
"Ms. Connelly's focus is ensuring that the Guam workforce is aligned to take on long-term career jobs after the construction is done," he said, referring to the island's youth.
"Children in the sixth grade today will be entering the workforce when the Marines arrive in 2014, so that's important for the education program. When those Marines come in, there will be high-tech paying jobs that will be coming in. It's important for educators to help guide the students. We're glad to see Ms. Connelly is really working on that," he said.
At least 8,000 Marines and about 9,000 dependents are expected to transfer to Guam from Okinawa by 2014.
Posts
