Hundreds of people marched in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, on March 1 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Bravo hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, including Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko (left center) and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna (next to Kaneko). Photo: Wilmer Joel.
The over five-month log-jam blocking US Congress approval of the Compacts of Free Association for the three North Pacific nations in Micronesia could end in the next few days.
This follows an outpouring of bipartisan - meaning Republican and Democrat - support for passing the Compact legislation for the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau last week in Washington, DC. The Compact has been stalled since last October and was previously embedded with other US funding measures that did not get passed.
During her speech at the 70th anniversary of the Bravo hydrogen bomb test on 1 March, President Hilda Heine questioned the US commitment to the Marshall Islands.
"Today, the Marshall Islands is at a crossroads," she said.
"As you all are aware, the US and RMI signed a new agreement to continue our free association relationship.
"The US Congress has failed to pass legislation that would allow the funding that is a critical part of the agreement we signed with the US government, including funds allocated to address nuclear related issues.
"So, when we are told that there is 'wide bipartisan praise' for the agreement, yet the US Congress fails to pass the legislation necessary to turn on the funding taps linked to our agreement, and instead goes on vacation for the next two weeks, leaving us high and dry, it begs the question whether we are now at the crossroads with our relationship with the US."
She said Marshall Islands, at some point, needs to seriously consider other options if the US is unable or unwilling to keep its commitments
"Our nation has been a steadfast ally of the United States, but that should not be taken for granted."
President Heine then added an unscripted comment not in her written speech, saying the word that had come from Washington Friday morning was that there is now movement of the Compacts for possible passage by the end of this week.
There is no opposition to the three Compacts that call for Washington to provide US$7.1 billion to the three islands over 20 years.
Numerous Congressional leaders have been calling for Congressional action to approve the funding agreements. In late February, even the Pentagon joined the crowd clamoring for the Congress to take action
Last Thursday, 26 senators led by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), the Chair and Ranking Member of the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, signed a letter to senate leadership urging support for the legislation to renew the Compacts.
Two days after the senate letter, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson informed Congresswoman Amata Radewagen of American Samoa and a strong advocate of Compact ratification, that House leaders had reached bipartisan agreement on a package of spending bills that includes renewal and funding for the Compacts of Free Association.
Members of the full House will be asked to approve the bills sometime this week, said a release from Radewagen's office.
"This legislation will protect US geopolitical interests in the Pacific for the next 20 years and block the People's Republic of China's efforts to expand its influence in the region," said the US Senators' letter.
Amata expressed her appreciation for the Speaker's confidence and thanked him "for keeping me informed as he worked with other House leaders in deciding on the legislative vehicle for this urgent national security priority."