Pacific Islands Caucus 2024 Year in Review
Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus: 2024 Year-In-Review
Background
The bipartisan Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus was formed in 2019. It currently consists of 36 U.S. House Members and is co-chaired by the following Members of Congress: Aumua Amata Radewagen Coleman (R-AS), Ed Case (D-HI), Young Kim (R-CA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Brad Sherman (D-CA).
The Caucus has the following objectives:
- Serve as a resource in educating Members and staff on the importance of the Pacific Islands and the issues they face.
- Demonstrate United States commitment to the Indo-Pacific and specifically to the Pacific Islands.
- Facilitate communication and cooperation on issues of shared interest between the United States and the Pacific Islands, including development, trade, regional stability and security and climate change.
- Assist in formulating and implementing sound national policy in the Indo-Pacific over the next generation.
2024 Briefings and Events
The Pacific Islands Caucus hosted several activities and initiatives focused on exchange and education. In total, the Caucus hosted nine Member-level and staff-level events:
- Member roundtable with Pacific Island Ambassadors in conjunction with the Embassies of Australia and New Zealand (May 1, 2024).
- Member classified briefing with Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on U.S. efforts in the region (November 19, 2024).
- Staff briefing with the Department of State, Department of Interior and Department of Defense on the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) (January 12, 2024).
- Staff briefing with the Department of State’s Office of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands (June 24, 2024).
- Staff briefing on Strengthening Media Resiliency and Countering the People Republic of China (PRC) Misinformation in the Pacific Islands with the Department of State, the Embassy of New Zealand and Radio Free Asia (November 21, 2024).
- Member and staff End of Year Reception with Pacific Islands partners (December 5, 2024).
Members and staff of the Caucus also joined in various individual and group exchanges with representatives of and delegations from the Pacific Islands on various topics, and appeared in the media regarding various Pacific Islands-related issues. Some of these exchanges included a Member meet-and-greet with the East West Center’s Resilient Pacific Islands Leaders Fellowship, and staff meetings with the Cook Islands’ Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Pacific Islands Mission Director, the Asia Foundation’s Pacific Islands Regional Representative, Australian Department of Defense officials, Pacific Islands experts from the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute and more.
Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
The Pacific Islands Caucus supported various Pacific Islands-related initiatives in the FY 2025 NDAA, including coordinating the introduction of several amendments. Four amendments were adopted into the final version for the NDAA:
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing on expanding the State Partnership Program in the Western Pacific.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing on planned military major and minor construction in the Freely Associated States (FAS) over the next five years.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing on land use policies and encroachment risks near military installations located in the FAS over the next five years.
- Requires the Department of Defense’s annual report on Military and Security Developments Involving the PRC to include an analysis of the PRC’s influence in Pacific Islands nations.
Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations
In March 2024, Congress passed appropriations bills for FY 2024. Several provisions the Caucus had advocated for were passed into law, including:
- The renewal of Compacts of Free Association and inclusion of the Compact Impact Fairness Act.
- $175 million for assistance to the Pacific Islands region.
- Report language on increasing staffing for Pacific Islands missions.
- Funding to support the initiatives announced in the Pacific Islands Forum’s Roadmap for a 21st-Century U.S.-Pacific Island Partnership including:
- Funding to expand the Electrification Partnership throughout the Pacific Islands, as promised by the Administration at the first U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit.
- $500,000 to expand Global Innovation through Science and Technology into the Pacific, as promised by the Administration at the first U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit.
- $6 million for the USAID Pacific American Fund.
Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations
In April, the Pacific Islands Caucus led bipartisan letters to the House Appropriations Committee advocating for certain priorities in the State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) and Homeland Security Appropriations bills. Of those priorities, the following were included in the House-passed bills:
SFOPS:
- $175 million for the Pacific Islands region.
- $1.3 million for the International Monetary Fund’s Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center.
- Funding for a Flexible Microfinance Facility for the Pacific Islands under USAID and the International Development Finance Corporation.
- Funding for the Pacific Islands Infrastructure Initiative.
- Funding for a new, demand-driven initiative to diversify trade opportunities in Pacific Islands countries.
- Report language requiring USAID to submit a strategy for faith-based engagement as part of development assistance in Pacific Islands countries.
Homeland Security:
- $60 million for the 270’ Medium Endurance Cutters Service Life Extension Program to allow the U.S. Coast Guard to deploy an additional support cutter to the Indo-Pacific.
- $3 million for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Indo-Pacific Regional Engagement project.
- Report language requiring the U.S. Coast Guard to report on its operations in the Pacific Islands.
- Report language supporting the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s engagement in the Pacific Islands.
The Caucus is working to preserve these provisions in a final bill, including by sending a letter in November 2024 supporting the retention of the SFOPS provisions in conference.
COFA Extended
The COFA were renewed and included in the FY 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act on March 9, 2024. The agreements included grant assistance and trust fund contributions for the Republic of the Marshall Islands , Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau (collectively, the Freely Associated States (FAS)), that totaled approximately $2.3 billion, $3.3 billon and $900 million, respectively, for FY 2024 through FY 2043. The agreements also included $634 million to continue the U.S. Postal Service in the FAS, established an Interagency Group on the FAS, authorized expanded access to Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare services to FAS veterans and made FAS migrants in the U.S. eligible for U.S. federal programs.
Since the renewal of COFA, the Caucus has continued to advocate for efficient and full implementation.
Other Actions
Caucus Members were active on Pacific Islands matters in other ways in 2024, to include:
- Pacific Islands Caucus Members Ami Bera, Ed Case, Ted Lieu and Donald Norcross, along with other colleagues, traveled to Fiji, Tonga and Tuvalu in April.
- On July 30, 2024, twelve Members of the Pacific Islands Caucus sent a letter to U.S. Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn advocating for the Peace Corps’ expansion in the Pacific.
- On August 19, 2024, four Members of the Pacific Islands Caucus sent a letter to the State Department advocating for additional funding for the Pacific Islands Forum’s Pacific Resilience Facility.
- H.R. 7159, the Pacific Partnership Act, passed the House on September 9, 2024 with 25 cosponsors including several Caucus members.
- Caucus Co-Chair Radewagen’s H.R. 6062 regarding American Samoa’s territorial constitution passed the House and was ordered the be reported to the full Senate by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
- Caucus Co-Chair Case co-introduced H.R. 9836, the Pacific Ready Coast Guard Act, with Congressman Trent Kelly on September 25, 2024.
- Along with 11 Pacific Islands Caucus cosponsors, Caucus Co-Chair Case introduced H.R. 10206, the Engage the Pacific Act, on November 21, 2024.
- Caucus Member Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) introduced H.R. 8358, the Taiwan Allies Fund Act, with 21 cosponsors, to authorize funds specifically for foreign assistance to Taiwan's allies, including three Pacific Islands countries: Palau, RMI and Tuvalu.
Newsletter on the Pacific Islands and Congress
The regular Caucus newsletter now has a broad subscription, including officials from the U.S. government including the Departments of Defense and State, embassies, non-profits, academics and media. To sign up, please enter your email here: https://tinyurl.com/msampyu8.
The Pacific Islands Caucus is grateful for the assistance and support of all of our partners in 2024 and looks forward to further advancement in 2025. For more information on the Caucus, please visit https://pacificislandscaucus-case.house.gov/.