Amata Welcomes House-Passed Appropriations Securing Grant Priorities for American Samoa
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata welcomed House passage of the second round of six appropriations bills for the fiscal year, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, sending the bill to the Senate.
Congresswoman Amata and Speaker Mike Johnson in the House of Representatives crop
“It’s best for American Samoa and all of the United States to have full-year funding in place for dependability and planning,” said Congresswoman Amata. “This year’s process has had obstacles, but bipartisan passage of this bill ensures important appropriations such as the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury, HHS, and Homeland Security will be funded, including FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard, as this bill notably funds two new fast response cutters. Defense and diplomacy are very important in our Pacific region, and in American Samoa we look to various federal agencies for a number of grant-funded services for healthcare, education and more.”
The $1.2 trillion appropriations package includes numerous elements that affect American Samoa directly, and the Pacific region broadly. The legislation increases overall Head Start funding, and boosts child literacy programs. It bolsters grant programs supporting treatment, prevention and research for diabetes, as well as digestive and kidney health, while the HHS block grant program is funded nationally with $770 million. Diplomatic support throughout the Pacific Islands is $160 million, and support for the Peace Corps is renewed. The legislation also supports the Resilient Pacific Blue Economies Program, Pacific American Fund, and natural disaster and humanitarian response provision for the region, while the Defense funding implements the policies authorized by the NDAA, and bolsters the Indo-Pacific Command.
Currently, about half the federal departments are funded for the fiscal year and this package funds the other half, which are on temporary funding extensions that expire Friday at midnight. Negotiations over the Department of Homeland Security appropriations were the final agreement, however, a partial shutdown of some government departments is possible in the short term over the weekend, depending on the timing of the Senate vote and the President’s signature.
President Biden, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had each announced Tuesday that Congress was ready to move forward with the last legislative package that would fully fund the U.S. government, and the legislative package was released early Thursday, a prerequisite to holding votes.
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