Guam Sen. Jesse Lujan has sent a letter to the Interior Department’s Office of Insular Affairs asking the federal government to address Guam’s cost of living and infrastructure needs.
Lujan, who chairs the 38th Guam Legislature’s Committee on Federal Affairs, sent a letter to Insular Affairs Director John Brewer in advance of the upcoming Interagency Group on Insular Areas meeting in Washington, D.C.
Lujan’s letter outlined problems facing Guam residents, including high grocery and housing costs, energy and health care infrastructure problems, labor shortages and disparities in access to federal programs.
Lujan said his letter was not a call for handouts, but a call for equity.
The Interagency Group on Insular Areas gathers information from elected leaders of Guam, the CNMI, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands and makes recommendations to the president.
“I understand that our governor and congressional representative will state their priorities during the presentations and I believe as the Chairperson of the Guam Legislature’s Committee on Federal Affairs, that it is important to bring another perspective to the table; the people’s perspective,” Lujan stated in a news release.
Among his recommendations:
- Jones Act reform: Lujan is requesting OIA’s support for expanded exemptions or alternative routing options that would reduce the cost of goods in Guam.
- Air cabotage flexibility: With airfare from Guam to the U.S. mainland often prohibitively expensive, the senator recommends a feasibility study and targeted exemptions to allow allied foreign carriers to operate flights to one U.S. port of entry.
- Construction material costs: The letter calls on OIA to advocate for investments in port modernization and pre-clearance facilities to reduce the cost of building supplies and stimulate affordable housing development.
- Health care labor and infrastructure: Lujan proposes a federal-local strategy that includes specialty care expansion, capital renovation support, and increased Medicaid reimbursement.
- Federal program disparities: Lujan is calling for baseline parity in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), FEMA, and recent Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provisions.
- Food security: Lujan wants OIA to partner with USDA to develop a territory-specific agriculture strategy, including incentives for rooftop, aquaponic and vertical farming.
- Transportation and youth retention: Lujan discussed the need for inter-island ferry services, improved public transit and federal workforce reinvestment programs.