My esteemed colleagues and leaders of our Territory, it is once again an honor for me to stand before you, on this hallowed ground where generations of our ancestors have assembled to carry out the will and the work of the people.

 

Before I begin, let us take a moment to honor the memories of our leaders who we have lost in this past year, including the late Senator Liufau Tanielu Sonoma and other loved ones whose absence today reminds us that we must always move forward for the sake of our Territory. We also honor the memories of our loved ones who have fallen in battle, serving our country all over this world. And we honor our loved ones who died as a result of the September 29, 2009 disaster. May the Lord grant unto them eternal peace.

 

Please join me in a moment of silence in memory of our fallen leaders, our sons and daughters of the armed services and our loved ones who perished in the tsunami just a few months ago.

 

 

The year 2009 was a very challenging year for American Samoa. With the Congressionally mandated minimum wages continuing to escalate, we were awaiting the departure of an economic mainstay in our islands for the past 50 years – COS Samoa and its 2,000+ jobs.

 

With the loss of Samoa Packing, the Territory received a serious blow to its economy. Together, our two canneries accounted for approximately 80% of all private sector employment. The full effects of the loss of Samoa Packing have not yet begun to take hold on our economic landscape. According to initial reports, revenues in the last quarter of 2009 exceeded expenditures by $1.5 million. At least in the short term, projected losses due to the closure of Samoa Packing have been offset by other economic activity, in our case, due mostly to the infusion of federal dollars as a result of disaster assistance.

 

This short term offset gives us an opportunity to continue working on this situation. In the middle of 2009 I approached the Fono about funding the purchase of Samoa Packing's assets. That bill is still with the Fono for consideration. In addition to this initiative, we are promoting the Territory as an ideal place for any interested canning companies that wish to do business here. We have had meetings with just about every major U.S. Company as well as the largest foreign canners, and next week, we are slated for more meetings with interested companies to try and solve this problem.

 

The recovery from the natural disaster is progressing well and eventually will restore our property losses. But the issues with the minimum wage and it effects are not over. If nothing happens this year to suspend the escalation of minimum wages, and to help our fish canning industry, we could see our remaining closing too.

 

We have indicated to the U.S. Congress our support for Congressman Faleomavaega's ASPIRE legislation, which would assist any tuna canning operation in this Territory. The prospects for a new fish canner/processor entering the Territory are promising and we remain committed to pursuing positive proposals that would return jobs and investment to this critical industry in American Samoa.

 

One of the root causes of our sluggish economy during 2009 was the worsening U.S. financial situation. In an unprecedented initiative, President Obama made available to the Territory approximately $160 million in stimulus and recovery funds. The purpose of these funds is to assist the Territory with shortfalls owing to the economic slump, the creating and preserving jobs, strengthening infrastructure and promoting economic development. At current, the Territory has established ARRA grant accounts of nearly $49 million with the expectation that this figure will easily double in the next few months.

 

Even with this important funding initiative, we still face challenges ahead. The first challenge is to spend these dollars quickly. In line with this challenge, I have created the American Samoa Economic Stimulus and Recovery Office. This office will track these critically needed funds under very stringent requirements, and assist agencies with compliance under federal guidelines for the receipt and use of these monies.

 

Another challenge is our ability to take advantage of programs for which there was no existing program such as the Weatherization Assistance Program. Nonetheless, we will forge ahead in making sure that these available monies benefit the Territory where they are needed the most. It will take time, but we are committed to making these funds count while being as accountable and transparent as the federal government requires.

 

There can be no replacement for the loss of jobs engendered by the departure of Samoa Packing. However, through the ARRA enhanced Summer Youth Employment program, summer workers climbed to 400 students which is a 50% increase over last year. Additionally, pursuant to the National Emergency Grant and Disaster Unemployment Assistance, $25.2 million became available to create jobs for temporary disaster workers and assist individuals who were injured or lost their job or business as a result of the disaster. Under the National Emergency Grant, 1,451 temporary disaster jobs were created, serving at 48 government and non-profit agencies. Upon completion of the national emergency grant, follow-on funding has been identified for developing this workforce. Over 900 people are working today through the NEG assistance. We hope to employ the rest of the 1,451 that have applied for jobs.

 

While there are promising times ahead, ASG projects a FY2009 deficit of $8.8 million. The major shortfalls in collections came from corporate taxes and license and permit fees, while the government overspent its budget on the whole by $3.8 million. ASG’s finance agencies will be meeting over the coming weeks to discuss revenue generation as well as austerity measures for the coming year.

 

American Samoa is current with its audit reports. Fiscal year 2008 Single Audit and Basic Financial Statements were timely filed on June 30, 2009. The Fiscal year 2009 filing is on schedule for timely filing as well. Questioned costs from fiscal year 2007 went from $297,069 to $100 in 2008. Our financial systems, especially for audits and financial reporting are continuing to improve. This has ripple effects. As a result of timely audits, ASG was able to charge and receive its indirect costs in a timely manner, which for 2009 was approximately $6 million.

 

As a result of its work with high risk issues and general program compliance, Treasury has designed, implemented and now monitors new policy documents such as the ASG Travel Policy, Payment Vouchers Policy and Time Card Policy. These new policies represent a sea change in the conduct of business in ASG and are helping the government in making headway toward the removal of the high risk designation.

 

 

In May of this year, American Samoa’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure received a major boost as the American Samoa Government and eLandia brought to fruition the launch of the American Samoa Hawai’i (ASH) cable. As many of you can attest, faster internet speeds and the expansion of same-day U.S. programming and live sports broadcasts are but only a few of the benefits that our new robust telecommunications infrastructure is providing to our residents. We are working with ASH Cable and KVZK-TV to bring Honolulu TV programs directly through the use of fiber optic all the way to KVZK TV studios.

 

This past summer saw the groundbreaking of ASTCA’s new telecommunications business building in Tafuna. The building is slated for completion at the end of this year, and boasts the most current state-of-the-art technology which is meant to reflect the nature of its function. This construction brings more convenient service for customers residing in the increasingly populated central and western districts.

 

As part of ASTCA’s proposal to expand information technology infrastructure, we will be submitting a bill in this session to authorize the borrowing of $10 million to improve ASTCA’s potential for receiving funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Utilizing ARRA funds, ASTCA will seek to improve its off-island connectivity as well as its territory-wide domestic network, which is the only network that connects the islands of Tutuila, Aunu’u, Manu’a, as well as soon-to-be-launched service to Swains Island.

 

In 2009, American Samoa saw many initiatives dedicated to the conservation and protection of our environment. Collaborations between agencies, businesses, and community groups have resulted in the development of important programs, increased public awareness, and appreciation of our natural environment.

 

ASEPA in this past year continued their efforts at reducing nonpoint source pollutants through their Piggery Compliance Program and Lube Cube Waste Oil Collection Program. Through the piggery compliance program, we have decreased the number of illegal piggeries by nearly 20%. Through this accomplishment, American Samoa is more protected against Leptospirosis, as well as decreasing harmful nutrient overloading by over 40,000 lbs. of nitrogen and 17,000 lbs. of Phosphorus.

 

Through the Lube Cube Program, we continue to eliminate harmful waste oils from entering our water resources. This past year, waste oil collection increased by 15% with a record 1,700 gallons of waste oil collected and removed from the Territory for proper disposal.

 

During the disaster, initiatives were undertaken that resulted in the collection and proper disposal of 310 lead acid batteries, 55 compressed gas cylinders, 315 gallons of combustible liquids and 550 gallons of waste oil between September 29 and November 29. ASEPA and the EOC improved access to potable water for over 300 people in the villages of Fagali’i, Fagamalo and Maloata. Through FEMA funding, 470 5 gallon water bottles were procured and deployed to residents as drinking water in these villages was unsafe for consumption.

 

 

We continue to deal with the issue of High Risk with our DOE funding. While we have made significant strides toward completing several of the recommendations contained in our Corrective Action Plans, there are still matters which we are striving to resolve. Our reports have been timely, and we remain committed to seriously ending the designation which has plagued us for far too long with our education programs.

 

In reviewing all of the devastation that occurred as a result of the recent disaster, and the damage inflicted especially on our schools, we must be thankful for the very small number of fatalities with our school children. All public schools now have evacuation plans in place. Fortunately, many schools and offices had conducted drills prior to the disaster, which no doubt saved many lives on that fateful day.

 

For the first time in the history of DOE we now have School Report Cards and a Territorial Report Card in Education. This begins the process of monitoring student achievement at every school.

 

ASCC continues to pursue the Bachelor of Education program. With the approval of the accrediting body for junior colleges, ASCC is offering 300 level courses, which is the equivalent of third-year college study. ASCC has been deemed eligible for pursuing approval to offer 400 level, or fourth-year college courses. In line with ASCC’s plans, we will be submitting for Fono consideration this session, a bill which authorizes ASCC to become a four-year institution. It is our hope that this move will provide better educational opportunities for our children who are unable to complete their studies off island for whatever reason.

 

The Samoan Studies Institute at the college has published two books for the Samoan speaking audience – a collection of myths and legends from the Alataua District and a compilation of student research on Samoa’s traditional healing and medicine. A children’s book is being planned as well as a number of Samoan language appreciation activities.

 

One of the challenges facing ASCC is that a significant number of students entering the college are in need of remedial English and math instruction. This utilizes much of the college’s resources. One of the ways we are dealing with this is through the GEAR UP Program, which works with students, providing tutoring, counseling, support activities and increasing parent involvement. The test scores for the participants in this program show steady improvement and classroom participation is higher as well. The challenge is to promote GEAR UP principles for every student in every year of their education, so that when our children get to college, they are prepared for college level work.

 

 

In meeting the healthcare needs of our people, we have worked hard, through our American Samoa Medical Center and the Department of Health to continue improving their services and programs. 

 

Over this past year, we were successful at establishing new access points for primary healthcare services which have been approved as Community Health Centers (CHC) in the villages of Leone and Amouli. The combined funding for these new centers is $1.3 million. Services offered at these new centers include primary and prenatal care, Well Baby Clinic, Family Planning, Oral Health, Nutrition Education, Behavioral Health and WIC services.

 

Also over the past year, Tafuna Family Health Center received $1.2 million to fund capital construction, personnel and supplies for carrying out new functions as well as to meet the increased demand for services. Included in this is ASG’s proposed mental health outpatient facility. With more comprehensive health services offered to these satellite sites, it is expected that general health in these areas, and in the Territory as a whole, will improve. It is the vision of the government carried out through the Department of Health, to place community health centers throughout our islands and districts. I am pleased to confirm that in 2009 we were able to recruit and locate a doctor in the Manu’a islands to tend the healthcare needs of the residents of Manu’a, via health dispensaries in Ta’u and Ofu, Manu’a.

 

Funding in the amount of $700,000 has been identified for the purpose of setting up a new laboratory and/or improving current facilities in the Territory. With pandemic influenza and especially the recent disaster, the ASG has recognized this as a serious impediment to moving our local diagnostic and treatment capacity forward.

 

We continue to maintain close communication with federal, regional and local authorities regarding the spread of the H1N1 flu pandemic. At present, we are coordinating with partners both in and outside of our community in order to deal with this critical issue. Vaccinations are being distributed by the Department of Health and all individuals who are eligible are encouraged to get their vaccinations.

 

We need permanent funding for our off-island referral program for LBJ. The reality is that there are several times throughout the year that we need to send individuals off island for care that is beyond the capability of our local hospital. This requires a substantial amount of money and the only way that we can accommodate the needs for off-island care is to meet the expense head on. Therefore, we will be considering a number of initiatives for funding this program so that the health needs of the Territory are provided for adequately.

 

The recent disaster provided an excellent opportunity for collaboration between key agencies. Our health, environment and utilities agencies were instrumental in identifying, planning and implementing strategies for protecting the health of the victims of the disaster as well as our environment and infrastructure.

 

On the social services front, our nutrition assistance programs and child care programs saw an increase in funding owing to ARRA dollars, and counseling services were offered as part of the disaster response and recovery efforts. The Strategic Prevention Framework which enables county coalitions in the Territory to undertake anti drug, alcohol and tobacco approaches at a grass-roots level, received $1.3 million for these coalitions to continue their work of implementing substance abuse prevention in communities through the Department of Human and Social Services.

 

 

Friday, January 8, 2010, the American Samoa Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Procurement awarded the contract to construct the siren warning system. This was made possible with a grant that FEMA has allowed us in the aftermath of the recent tsunami, to build this additional early warning system. Having said that let me take this opportunity to set the record straight with respect to recent media reports relating to a siren system. The claim that American Samoa was awarded Home Security funds from 2005 to install an island wide siren warning system was false. Further to that, the allegations that American Samoa officials took monies set aside to install such a siren system and used it for payroll was absolutely false. While there was an MOU, where ASTCA was to install a demonstration siren, that MOU was never carried out. This grant I just announced was the first time the American Samoa Homeland Security successfully applied and awarded a grant to install a siren warning system for the Territory.

 

2009 marked a return to earnest training and certification with the adoption of the Police Officer Standardized Training (POST) commission by the Department of Public Safety. In line with this action, we will be submitting to the Fono in this session a bill for the establishment of the POST certification standards in order to establish a baseline training program for every single law enforcement officer on island. The certification will ensure that every officer who is deputized to enforce our public safety laws is properly trained in accordance with prevailing public safety standards. It is our hope that with this training and certification, public safety officers will develop the professional capacity to serve and protect according to the highest standards. Initially, this program will extend to public safety, but the application is for all law enforcement officers including local immigration, customs and fisheries officers. We will likely be pursuing in conjunction with the local community college, a curriculum, training venue and instructors for assisting with setting up the necessary academy.

 

Also in 2009, we enhanced efforts toward public safety primarily in the area of traffic safety netting an increase of traffic violations of 60% and an increase of DUI arrests by 46%. Seat belt usage in the territory, as a result has increased accordingly. Alcohol related public peace disturbances remain high as well as the incidence of underage drinking. However, we remain committed through programs such as the Enforcement of Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) and Ta’ita’itama to continue educating our young about the evils of underage drinking.

 

In this New Year, we will be pursuing the expansion of services to the districts by setting up a new substation in the village of Leone, which will house DPS, Fire and EMS officers. This will help to ease the burden on the Tafuna substation, which currently serves the most populous area in the Territory, and provide faster response to our western villages.

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2009 finally unfroze funding destined for the Territory which finances our homeland security programs. The setup and implementation of the local Department of Homeland Security by statute was key to this outcome. It is our commitment that we will discharge our responsibility with regard to these programs more carefully and maintain vigilance with regard to our obligations under these grant funds.

 

 

Before we end, let us take note of a few worthy things whose success depends on all of us.

 

 

MV Sili will be certified soon. It is currently on the dry dock and is being worked on as we speak. The US Coast Guard identified the work items and we are working hard to make sure that these items are checked off of the list so that the MV Sili can resume trips to the islands of Manu’a. In the meantime, we are working to provide transportation services utilizing the MV Fo’isia and the Sega’ula to meet the basic needs of the Manu’a islands. We appreciate the patience of the Manu’a people during this time.

 

 

The first house to be built by FEMA in the Permanent Housing Construction Program will break ground today in Amanave. The construction by FEMA of permanent housing for victims of the recent disaster is a precedent for the nation. Never before has this been undertaken where FEMA will actively monitor and build permanent housing for victims of disasters. The Congress is watching this program intently hoping that this experience will result in new policies whereby disaster victims will be able to receive FEMA built homes all across the nation.

 

 

Federal Highway Administration Hawaii Federal-Aid Division has approved $49.3 million in Emergency Relief funds for our roads that were damaged in the disaster. These funds will assist the American Samoa Government in repairing damages for the Federal-Aid highways in the Territory that were damaged due to the earthquake and the tsunami waves on September 29, 2009. FHWA has approved 26 eligible projects with the estimated cost of $49,348,345.

 

 

As you are well aware, enforcing our labor laws and safety regulations has been a very serious challenge. We will be submitting in this session bills that will create a separate Department of Labor and an Office of Personnel Management. The present set up in the Department of Human resources is making it very difficult to adequately address the Immigration issues with our labor laws and safety requirements. The new department will have law enforcement ability and capability to truly effect the enforcement of these laws and further provide protection for our workforce and employees.

 

Similarly, the new exclusive Office of Personnel Management will allow that office to concentrate on upgrading the systems and become more efficient in processing he employment needs of the American Samoa Government workforce.

 

The proposal for a new department - Department of Labor - will divide the current duties of the Department of Human Resources into the two new agencies. The Department of Labor will undertake most of the duties of the current Human Resources department while the ASG personnel portion of HR’s duties will be handled by Office of Personnel Management. I look forward to working with the Fono in expounding upon these changes during this legislative session.

 

 

Our relationship with the Untied States requires re-examination. We should be very worried about the march towards re-federalization of American Samoa that we see today here on our soli as well as other insular areas. We need to make some hard decisions some time as to our political future, and I believe that time is now.

 

The Constitutional Convention is being planned for June 2010. Our Constitutional Convention Office has been open and operating for the past several months. There will be public service announcements and town hall meetings that will take place between now and June. I urge all of you and all of our Territory to get involved and to encourage participation in your families, your villages and your churches. Our political future hangs in the balance and we need everyone to take part in this critical process for the sake of ourselves and our children.

 

We will be making public appearances to explain the process and enlighten our people as to the choices before us. We hope to provide townhall-type meetings and community outreach in order to have as much discussion of these issues before the conventions. It is anticipated that after the main convention, a youth forum will be empanelled to review the outcomes of the Convention at the same time the Fono will be examining the final proposals. We expect these to all happen this year. We will announce this week members of the Constitutional Review Board.

 

 

The opening of the marketplace will be one of the highlights for kicking off 2010. It is significant in that our farmers have waited a long time for the reopening of this staple of American Samoan life and more importantly, it continues the long march toward revitalization of our downtown area.

 

 

The recent disaster has presented the need to re-look at our business processes in order to streamline our operations both in disaster and non-disaster mode. Our government operation needs to progress into the 21^st century by integrating the latest emerging technologies and industry based standards into our business priorities. There are issues that continue to hamper our ability to streamline operations especially in disaster mode such as the absence of real-time communication between leaders and key authorities both on and off the island. 

 

A single Information Technology (IT) authority within ASG does not exist to provide guidance and instruction on hardware and software standards to ensure compliance with U.S Federal IT directives and to safeguard this network from malicious and viral attacks that traverse the World Wide Web. For this reason, I will be appointing an IT Director serving as the single authority on all ASG IT related issues.

 

 

While 2009 was marked by two devastating events which will have far reaching effects and implications for the next several years, we remain confident that American Samoa will continue to not only survive, but to thrive in this coming year. I look forward to our work together and take this opportunity to express to you my commitment in leading the Territory through these trying times. I thank you for your work thus far in this Legislature and I hope our work brings great accomplishments to these shores.