Sec. 2. Sense of Congress
390 words·~2 min read·
/bill/118/hr/7159/ih/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress as follows: The United States has longstanding and enduring cultural, historic, economic, strategic, and people-to-people connections with the Pacific Islands, based on shared values, cultural histories, common interests, and a commitment to fostering mutual understanding and cooperation. Successive United States administrations have recognized the critical importance of the Pacific Islands, to the world in high-level strategic documents, including 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; 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 ; 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which identified the Pacific Islands as critical to United States strategy because of our shared values, interests, and commitments ; 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which recognized the need to engage further with the Pacific Islands on shared security goals; and 2022 Strategy for Pacific Partnership, which outlined goals and methods for deepening the United States partnerships with Pacific Island nations.
The United States Government should further develop, expand, and support a comprehensive and multifaceted United States policy for the Pacific Islands that— promotes peace, security, and prosperity for all countries that respects the sovereignty and political independence of all nations; preserves the Pacific Ocean as a corridor for international maritime economic opportunities and growth and promotes sustainable development; supports regional efforts to address shared challenges, including by strengthening resilience to natural disasters and stewardship of natural resources; and strengthens democratic governance and the rule of law, and promotes human rights and the preservation of the region’s cultural heritages.
The United States should support the vision, values, and objectives of existing regional multilateral institutions and frameworks, such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Community, including— the 2000 Biketawa Declaration; the 2014 Framework for Pacific Regionalism; the 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security; the Boe Declaration Action Plan; and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. The United States should work closely with United States allies and partners with existing relationships and interests in the Pacific Islands, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan, and regional institutions like the Pacific Islands Forum.