Sec. 2. Sense of Congress
404 words·~2 min read·
/bill/118/s/4148/is/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 that— the United States has longstanding and enduring cultural, historic, economic, strategic, and people-to-people connections with the Pacific Islands region, based on shared values, cultural histories, common interests, and a commitment to fostering mutual understanding and cooperation; successive Presidential administrations have recognized the critical importance of the Pacific Islands region 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 region; the 2017 National Security Strategy, which included 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 region as critical to the U.S. strategy because of our shared values, interests, and commitments ; the 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy, which recognized the need to engage further with the Pacific Islands region on shared security goals; and the 2022 Pacific Partnership Strategy, which outlined goals and methods for deepening 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 region that— promotes peace, security, and prosperity for all nations in a manner 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, such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Community, and frameworks 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; and the United States should work closely with allies and partners of the United States that have existing relationships and interests in the Pacific Islands region, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan, and regional institutions such as the Pacific Islands Forum.