Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that Chairman Nick J. Rahall of the House Committee on Natural Resources will lead a Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to the Pacific.  The Congressional visit will afford the Members of Congress an opportunity to meet with the Department of Defense officials in Hawaii regarding the relocation of U.S. forces from Japan to Guam; discuss minimum wage and ways to diversify the economies of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas and American Samoa; and review the Compact Agreement between the U.S. and Palau.  The delegation will be in American Samoa from August 4-5, 2009 and will specifically examine the tuna fishing and processing industries and consider what needs to be done to keep StarKist in the territory.

The following Members will be part of the CODEL:

• The Honorable Nick J. Rahall, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources
• The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, & the Global Environment, Committee on Foreign Affairs
• The Honorable Jim Costa, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Committee on Natural Resources
• The Honorable Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife, Committee on Natural Resources
• The Honorable Henry Brown, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife, Committee on Natural Resources
• The Honorable Donna M. Christensen, Member of the Committee on Energy & Commerce and the Committee on Natural Resources, 2nd Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
• The Honorable Gregorio Kilili Sablan, Member of the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Natural Resources

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my good friend, Chairman Rahall, for taking the time during this recess to include American Samoa as one of the site visits for the Congressional Delegation,” Faleomavaega said.  “This CODEL is significant given that the Chairman and Members of the Committee on Natural Resources have jurisdiction in the Congress over matters pertaining to the U.S. territories.”

“Again, I want to thank Chairman Rahall and my colleagues from the Committee on Natural Resources for always considering the interests of our Territories.  I also want to thank the staff of the Committee on Natural Resources and the military personnel who were involved in organizing this trip,” Faleomavaega concluded.