"The residents of our insular areas are stewards of some of the most beautiful and environmentally sensitive areas under the U.S. flag. It is so important that we work diligently to preserve and enhance this inheritance." Ron de Lugo, Former Chairman of the Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs
The United States presently maintains sovereignty over five inhabited territories that vary in population, land mass, economic power, and political development. Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen (D-VI) is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, which was re-established in the 110th Congress and has the primary jurisdiction to set federal policy for each of these territories. Article IV, Section 3, of the United States Constitution, known as the Territorial Clause, provides Congress with power over the territories.
The Insular areas of the U.S. include the territories of American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), as well as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The U.S. was ceded three of the five territories at the end of the Spanish-American War and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, originally, as a United Nations Trust Territory at the culmination of World War II. The remaining territories were either acquired by the U.S. through a Deed of Cession, as was American Samoa in 1900, or through outright purchase, when U.S. Virgin Islands was purchased from Denmark in 1917. In addition, the Committee oversees matters regarding the Compact relationship between the U.S. and the 'Freely Associated States' of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Under Congress' authority, these territories have been able to exercise limited self government. Like the States, each territory elects its own head-of-state (governor) and legislators who serve in either a unicameral or a bicameral legislative body. In general, federal law applies to all the territories, and local legislative bodies are responsible for laws that have local application. Except for the CNMI, Congress has authorized elected representation from each territory in the U.S. House of Representatives - providing representatives the opportunity to participate in shaping the federal policy that impacts their home territories.
Today, after more than a century under the American flag and as a part of the American family, U.S. territories continue to struggle with a multitude of issues. From working to protect their indigenous cultures and languages, to tackling federal policies that impact their economic, social, and political development - it is clear that these regions are challenged with a multitude of issues that inhibit their full political, economic, and cultural development.
Further, for colonized cultures there is a natural aspiration for political advancement through self-determination. The Committee strives to consider issues of self-determination that are constitutionally sound, and provide the territories with a clear direction for achieving political status consistent with the U.S. Constitution. The territories already contribute economically, socially, and militarily to the American fabric - and it is only fitting that we work to help meet the challenges they face and assist in their continued well-being. They are, after all, our fellow American citizens.
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