Many eyes were on the House when they made history on having the longest speaker contest in over 100 years and while that was happening – Congressman Moylan together with others used this time to discuss future plans and build connections with other members of Congress.
Congressman James Moylan says, “Finally we were sworn in, but in the meantime, we kept busy , negotiating , my team and I negotiating with the members, I was negotiating with the members and my team was negotiating and working hard to establish these relationships with their staff as well, the chief of staff and other folks and their offices. So we built that relationship up and are working on different measures so upon swearing in we got things going on right away.”
According to the Congressman, they are currently working on the SSI and COFA among other measures under discussion.
Furthermore, efforts have been made in the Compact with the signing of an agreement between the Marshall Islands and Palau, but no details have been released on how much it can benefit Guam.
Delegate James Moylan, in an interview with Newstalk K57 interview with Patti Arroyo, that upon leaving D.C. he had an opportunity to to speak with Carlotta Leon Guerrero, who has worked to prove that our numbers are larger on Guam and other territories, as well as Hawaii to prove that we deserve a larger portion of the benefit said Moylan.
Additionally, he reminds the community that his team has met with Ed Case who has agreed to Co-Sponsor the reintroduced measure, HR 681 as Delegate Michael San Nicolas introduced in the 117th Congress which could waive matching requirements on those federal grants which Guam and other communities obtain.
In terms of the Lions share of COFA reimbursement and how much Guam can expect to receive, the Congressman explains and compliments the efforts of the University of Guam and Carlotta Leon Guerrero who have done research to give solid numbers. This would be vital information as the negotiations on the renewal of the COFA commences this year, added Moylan in a press release sent earlier this week.
Pursuant to Public Law 108-188 the United States Department of the Interior announced that the Government of Guam will be allocated $2,506,448 in Compact Impact discretionary funding for Fiscal Year 2023, which can only be used for educational purposes.
Moreover, Congressman Moylan has gotten into the prized House Services Committee which he has expressed that with the upcoming military buildup, it is important that Guam has a voice in the committee.
Congressman Moylan said, “We did receive that information just early this morning, and we’re happy to be on that committee especially knowing that the buildup continues and it’s important to have a member especially from Guam because we get so much more details and information and it’s important to know exactly what is going on, I think I can voice the concern especially for our citizens on Guam and the Government of Guam and relay the information to our committee to show the importance of working together as the build up continues.”
As of right now, the Delegate is still awaiting approval to sit on Homeland Security and Veterans Committees.
