Economic Adjustment Committee Report on Civilian Infrastructure Projects Released

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today issued the following statement on the report from the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) regarding civilian infrastructure projects relating to the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. The report can be found online at: https://bordallo.house.gov/eac_implementation_plan.

“The Department of Defense has released a report from the Economic Adjustment Committee (EAC) on civilian infrastructure projects that addresses impacts from the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. The report was required through a provision I included in the FY14 defense authorization bill that required the DoD to establish an EAC for Guam civilian infrastructure projects.  The intent behind this provision was to give Governor Calvo’s Administration a second opportunity to recommend projects to mitigate impacts of the realignment on our community.

“I recognize that the projects listed in the EAC report are less than in previous reports. However the revised Marine relocation plan has reduced personnel and therefore it will have reduced impacts.  The report does validate what Governor Calvo and his Administration had identified several years ago as key infrastructure impacts and mitigations. 

“The report is also evidence of the progress that we continue to make to move the build-up forward in a way that is beneficial to our civilian community. Further, the EAC report release comes as both the House and Senate have passed a revised version of the FY16 NDAA which eliminates restrictions on funding to support water and wastewater infrastructure on Guam.  Removal of restrictions would allow the OEA to execute funding that I have already secured in previous appropriations bills to address civilian infrastructure needs on Guam.  In particular, I have secured over $120 million for water and wastewater projects; nearly $12 million for a cultural repository as stipulated in the Programmatic Agreement signed by Governor Calvo in March 2011; and $13 million for a public health lab, all of which were identified in this EAC report. 

“Although this year’s NDAA only removes restrictions on water and wastewater projects, I believe this EAC report will help to further articulate the need to remove restrictions in next year’s defense bill for the cultural repository and public health lab facilities.  However, to address the Senate’s remaining concerns, it is also important to continue our “One Guam” approach and identify areas where the Government of Guam has provided its own funding to improve civilian infrastructure.

“I believe this report is good for Guam. It holds the DoD accountable to address some of our most pressing infrastructure needs. I appreciate the work of both federal officials and Governor Calvo’s Administration in identifying these project priorities. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to provide the resources and authorities needed to execute these projects.”