Mr. AKAKA--Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation with my senior colleague from Hawaii, Senator Dan Inouye, to provide certain federal public benefits for citizens of the Freely Associated States (FAS) who are residing in the United States. The bill would provide eligibility for non-emergency Medicaid, Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to FAS citizens residing in the United States.
Citizens from the FAS are from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Republic of Palau, which are jurisdictions that have a unique political relationship with the United States. The Compact of Free Association established these nations as sovereign states responsible for their own foreign policies. However, the FAS remain dependent upon the United States for military protection and economic assistance.
Under the Compact, the United States has the right to reject the strategic use of, or military access to, the FAS by other countries, which is often referred to as the "right of strategic denial." In addition, the U.S. may block FAS government policies that it deems inconsistent with its duty to defend the FAS, which is referred to as the "defense veto." The Compact also states that the United States has exclusive military base rights in the FAS.
In exchange for these prerogatives, the U.S. is required to support the FAS economically, with the goal of producing self-sufficiency, and FAS citizens are allowed free entry into the United States as non-immigrants for the purposes of education, medical treatment, and employment. Many FAS citizens reside in the State of Hawaii. Since 1997, when Hawaii began reporting its impact costs, the state has identified more than $140 million in costs associated with FAS citizens. In 2002, the State of Hawaii expended more than $32 million in assistance to FAS citizens. P.L. 108-188, the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003, provides $30 million in annual funding for Compact impact assistance to be shared between the State of Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and American Samoa. While this funding is a positive step forward, it does not begin to reimburse the affected jurisdictions for the costs associated with FAS citizens.
This legislation would provide assistance to states and territories that shoulder the majority of the costs associated with the Compact. The federal government must provide appropriate resources to help states meet the needs of the FAS citizens - an obligation based on a federal commitment. It is unconscionable for a state or territory to shoulder the entire financial burden of providing necessary educational, medical, and social services to individuals who are residing in that state or territory when the obligation is that of the federal government. For that reason, we are seeking to provide reimbursement of these costs. It is time for the federal government to take up some of the financial responsibility that until now has been carried by the State of Hawaii, CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa by restoring public benefits to FAS citizens.
This bill would restore eligibility of FAS citizens for non-emergency Medicaid. FAS citizens lost many of their public benefits as a result of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity (PRWORA) Act of 1996, including Medicaid coverage. FAS citizens were previously eligible for Medicaid as aliens permanently residing under color of law in the United States.
After the enactment of welfare reform, the State of Hawaii could no longer claim federal matching funds for services rendered to FAS citizens. Yet, the State of Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the CNMI have continued to meet the health care needs of FAS citizens. The State of Hawaii has used its resources to provide Medicaid services to FAS citizens.
In 2003 alone, the state spent approximately $9.77 million to provide Medicaid services without receiving any federal matching funds. This represents a dramatic increase from $6.75 million in state Fiscal Year 2002. Furthermore, the trend in the need for health care services among FAS citizens continues to rise. During FY 2004, the number of individuals served in the State of Hawaii's Medicaid program grew from 3,291 to 4,818 people based on the average monthly enrollment. This is an increase of 46 percent.
This bill would also provide eligibility for FAS citizens residing in the United States to participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income programs. According to Hawaii's Attorney General, financial assistance in the form of the Temporary Assistance to Other Needy Families (TAONF) program, a state program, provided $5.1 million to FAS citizens in state Fiscal Year 2003. This continues an upward trend from $4.5 million in state Fiscal Year 2002. This total includes funds that go to the General Assistance program, which supports individuals and couples with little or no income and who have a temporary, incapacitating medical condition; the aged, blind, and disabled program for FAS citizens with little or no income who are not eligible for federally-funded Supplemental Security Income; and the state's TAONF program that assists other needy families who are not eligible for federal-funding under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The financial assistance that the State of Hawaii provides to FAS citizens in the form of TAONF is a great support to those families attempting to achieve economic stability, but it has a significant financial impact on the state's budget.
The bill would also provide eligibility for the Food Stamp Program. Mr. President, the Food Stamp Program serves as the first line of defense against hunger. It is the cornerstone of the federal food assistance program and provides crucial support to needy households and those making the transition from welfare to work. We have partially addressed the complicated issue of alien eligibility for public benefits such as Food Stamps, but again, I must say it is just partial. Not only should all legal immigrants receive these benefits, but so should citizens of the FAS. Exclusion of FAS citizens from federal, state, or local public benefits or programs is an unintended and misguided consequence of the welfare reform law. We allow certain legal immigrants eligibility in the program. Yet FAS citizens, who are not considered immigrants, but who are required to sign up for the Selective Service if they are residing in the United States, are ineligible to receive Food Stamps. Mr. President, this bill corrects this inequity.
Mr. President I ask that my statement and the bill be printed in the Record. I also ask that a letter of support I received last week from Director Lillian Koller of the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services be printed in the Record.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this measure which is of critical importance to my state of Hawaii, which has borne the costs of these benefits for FAS citizens living in Hawaii for the past 19 years.
