S.Amdt. 2021

SA 2021. Ms. HIRONO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1264. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE FULFILLMENT BY THE UNITED
STATES OF ITS OBLIGATIONS TO THE REPUBLIC OF
PALAU.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Republic of Palau is comprised of 300 islands and
covers roughly 177 square miles strategically located in the
western Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and the United
States territory of Guam.
(2) The United States and Palau have forged close security,
economic, and cultural ties since the United States defeated
the armed forces of Imperial Japan in Palau in 1944.
(3) The United States administered Palau as a District of
the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
from 1947 to 1994.
(4) In 1994, the United States and Palau entered into a 50-
year Compact of Free Association which provided for the
independence of Palau and set forth the terms for close and
mutually beneficial relations in security, economic, and
governmental affairs.
(5) The security terms of the Compact grant the United
States full authority and responsibility for the security and
defense of Palau, including the right to foreclose the
territory of Palau to any nation except the United States and
to establish and use defense sites in Palau.
(6) The Compact entitles any citizen of Palau to volunteer
for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, and the
citizens of Palau volunteer for such service at a rate that
exceeds that of any of the 50 States.

[[Page S4144]]

(7) In 2009, in accordance with section 432 of the Compact,
the United States and Palau reviewed their overall
relationship. In 2010, the two nations signed an agreement
updating and extending several provisions of the Compact
including an extension of United States financial and program
assistance to Palau, and the establishment of increased
immigration protections in the wake of the September 11,
2001, terrorist attacks. However, the United States has not
yet approved this agreement or provided the assistance called
for in the agreement.
(8) On July 1, 2013 the Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of State, and the Secretary Defense submitted to
the Senate proposed legislation to approve the agreement
described in paragraph (7) and included an analysis of the
budgetary impact of the proposed legislation. The letter
transmitting the proposed legislation concluded that
``[a]pproving the results of the Agreement is of import to
the national security of the United States, to our bilateral
relationship with Palau and to our broader strategic interest
in the Asia-Pacific region''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) in order to fulfill the promises and commitment of the
United States to our ally, the Republic of Palau, and
reaffirm the special relationship between the United States
and Palau, Congress and the President should place a top
priority on the approval of and full funding for the
agreement signed by the United States and Palau in 2010; and
(2) Congress and the President should immediately seek a
mutually acceptable means of funding the legislation proposed
to implement the agreement.
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