Sec. 1248. Sense of Senate on strategic importance of maintaining commitments under Compacts of Free Association
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The Senate makes the following findings: The Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are sovereign countries in free association with the United States under the Compacts of Free Association (in this section referred to as the Compacts ), which provide for the exclusive right of the United States Armed Forces to operate in the areas covered by the Compacts. Such exclusive right allows the United States to curtail the potential expansion of foreign militaries into areas covered by the Compacts.
Under the Compacts, eligible citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau may— reside, work, and study in the United States without a visa; and serve in the United States Armed Forces. An estimated 1⁄4 of the populations of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau has relocated to the United States. Under the Compacts, the Federal Government is required to provide assistance to any affected jurisdiction in the United States to defray costs incurred by the affected jurisdiction for health, educational, social, or public safety services, or for infrastructure relating to such services, due to the residence in the affected jurisdiction of citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
It is the sense of the Senate that maintaining the commitments of the United States under the Compacts is of vital strategic importance to the national security interests of the United States.