Sec. 30296. Findings
761 words·~3 min read·
/bill/117/hr/4521/eh/section-30296A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: The Pacific Islands— are home to roughly 10 million residents, including over 8.6 million in Papua New Guinea, constituting diverse and dynamic cultures and peoples; are spread across an expanse of the Pacific Ocean equivalent to 15 percent of the Earth’s surface, including the three sub-regions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia; and face shared challenges in development that have distinct local contexts, including climate change and rising sea levels, geographic distances from major markets, and vulnerability to external shocks such as natural disasters.
The United States is a Pacific country with longstanding ties and shared values and interests with the Pacific Islands, including through the Compacts of Free Association with the Freely Associated States, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. The United States has vital national security interests in the Pacific Islands, including— protecting regional peace and security that fully respects the sovereignty of all nations; advancing economic prosperity free from coercion through sustainable development; and supporting democracy, good governance, the rule of law, and human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Successive United States administrations have recognized the importance of the Pacific region, including the Pacific Islands, in high-level strategic documents, including the following: The 2015 National Security Strategy, which first declared the rebalance to Asia and the Pacific, affirmed the United States as a Pacific nation, and paved the way for subsequent United States engagement with the Pacific Islands, including several new policies focused on conservation and resilience to climate change announced in September 2016.
The 2017 National Security Strategy, which includes a commitment to shore up fragile partner states in the Pacific Islands region to reduce their vulnerability to economic fluctuations and natural disasters . The 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which identified the Pacific Islands as critical to U.S. strategy because of our shared values, interests, and commitments and committed the United States to building capacity and resilience to address maritime security; Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing; drug trafficking; and resilience to address climate change and disaster response .
The United States has deepened its diplomatic engagement with the Pacific Islands through several recent initiatives, including— the Pacific Pledge, which provided an additional $100,000,000 in 2019 and $200,000,000 in 2020, on top of the approximately $350,000,000 that the United States provides annually to the region to support shared priorities in economic and human development, climate change, and more; and the Small and Less Populous Island Economies (SALPIE) Initiative launched in March 2021 to strengthen United States collaboration with island countries and territories, including in the Pacific Islands, on COVID–19 economic challenges, long-term economic development, climate change, and other shared interests.
The Boe Declaration on Regional Security, signed by leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum in 2018, affirmed that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific and asserted the sovereign right of every Member to conduct its national affairs free of external interference and coercion . The Asian Development Bank has estimated that the Pacific Islands region needs upwards of $2.8 billion a year in investment needs through 2030, in addition to $300 million a year for climate mitigation and adaptation over the same period.
The Pacific Islands swiftly enacted effective policies to prevent and contain the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (commonly referred to as COVID–19 ) pandemic to their populations. The United States has provided over $130,000,000 in assistance to the Pacific Islands for their COVID–19 response. However, priorities must be met to ensure continued success in preventing the spread of the COVID–19 pandemic, achieving swift and widespread vaccinations, and pursuing long-term economic recovery in the Pacific Islands, including through— expanding testing capacity and acquisition of needed medical supplies, including available COVID–19 vaccines and supporting vaccination efforts, through a reliable supply chain; planning for lifting of lockdowns and reopening of economic and social activities; and mitigating and recovering from the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic on the health system and the reliance on food and energy imports as well as lost tourism revenue and other economic and food security damages caused by the pandemic.
Since 1966, thousands of Peace Corps volunteers have proudly served in the Pacific Islands, building strong people-to-people relationships and demonstrating the United States commitment to peace and development in the region. Prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, the Peace Corps maintained presence in four countries of the Pacific Islands. Peace Corps volunteers continue to be in high demand in the Pacific Islands and have been requested across the region.