Amata’s Letter to President Trump Outlines Key Federal Aid Requests for American Samoa

Washington, D.C. – Thursday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata sent a letter to President Donald Trump", informing the administration of several key ways in which the federal government could take the next steps to help American Samoa following the severe damages of Cyclone Gita, and in support of Governor Lolo's request for a major disaster declaration by the President.

"We appreciate President Trump's rapid response with the emergency disaster declaration to set initial assistance in motion," said Aumua Amata. "Now, we're moving on to the next important steps the federal government can take in support of Governor Lolo's requests, and the territory's necessary procedural steps to obtain this much-needed assistance. We're getting the word out every day in Washington that American Samoa needs significant help, and doesn't have the economic power to overcome these obstacles without sustained assistance."

Specifically, the letter to the President addresses several main components: 1) Declaring a Major Disaster to allow the next phase of significant federal assistance, 2) action on a fishing expansion that will benefit American Samoa's economic recovery both immediately and long term, 3) waiving the FEMA match so that the territory no longer needs to come up with 25 percent matching funds, 4) waiving Medicaid match requirements to allow more funds to flow promptly to essential needs and 5) farm and small business loan assistance from the Small Business Administration and Department of Agriculture.

"These are important steps to get funding where it's needed most," continued Congresswoman Amata. "I'm taking every opportunity to describe the full magnitude of Cyclone Gita's impact to policy makers throughout Washington, D.C., and urging these multiple remedies that can help our people in this time of need."

Read Full Letter here

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