(Washington)
President George W. Bush today signed an executive order to re-establish
the Interagency Group on Insular Areas, which will coordinate federal
policy towards Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Flanked by Secretary of the
Interior Gale Norton, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, Secretary of
Transportation Norman Y. Mineta and Guam Governor Felix P. Camacho, the
president signed the executive order at a White House ceremony to
commemorate Asian-Pacific Heritage Month.
Secretary Norton,
whose department administers the federal government's relationship with
the insular areas, hailed the re-establishment of the IGIA. "I'm delighted
that the president has demonstrated his appreciation and concern for the
special issues faced by the territories," said Norton, who will chair the
IGIA.
Norton, who had
sent a letter to President Bush requesting that the IGIA be
re-established, noted the significance of the president's having signed
the executive order during the celebration of Asian-Pacific Heritage
Month. "This will help the Pacific Islanders and others who live in Guam,
American Samoa and the Northern Marianas," said Norton. "It will also be a
great benefit to the U.S. Virgin Islands. It will enable the federal
government to address the territories' unique concerns in a coordinated,
efficient manner."
Deputy Assistant
Secretary of the Interior David Cohen, who also attended the signing
ceremony, said that policies designed for the 50 states must be carefully
analyzed to determine if they make sense for the territories. "As an
example, people born in American Samoa are U.S. nationals but not U.S.
citizens," said Cohen. "When Congress passed a law requiring all airport
screeners to be U.S. citizens, it meant that American Samoans could not be
airport screeners at their own airport. That problem has been corrected,
but all of the territories have special issues that need to taken into
account. All of the territories are much poorer and less developed than
the poorest states. Each territory faces unique issues arising from its
remote location, its special legal status and its lack of resources.
Policies designed for the 50 states may not fit properly in the
territories. The IGIA will be able to spot those cases and recommend
appropriate adjustments." Cohen heads the Office of Insular Affairs, which
is responsible for developing and administering policy towards the insular
areas on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior.
The IGIA will
consist of the heads of each department in the executive branch and the
heads of those other agencies that the Secretary of the Interior
designates. The group will have an annual meeting to which the governors
of the insular areas will be invited and will otherwise meet as
appropriate.
The IGIA will be
responsible for identifying issues that affect the insular areas and will
make recommendations to the president and other appropriate officials
regarding those issues. The IGIA will consult with governors, delegates to
the U.S. House of Representatives and other elected representatives from
the insular areas, as well as members of Congress, in the process of
fulfilling its mandate.
President Clinton
created the original IGIA by executive memorandum in 1999. The executive
memorandum had no legal effect upon the expiration of the Clinton
administration, and so the original IGIA did not automatically continue
into the Bush administration. Because of Puerto Rico's special status,
Puerto Rican issues, unlike those of the other territories, are not
administered by the Secretary of the Interior but rather are administered
directly by the White House. Puerto Rico was not included in the original
IGIA nor in the IGIA reconstituted by President Bush
today. |