THE SENATE TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013 STATE OF HAWAII

MAR I 2 2013

S.C.R. NO. loS

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO INCLUDE RESIDENT CITIZENS OF THE FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES WHO LAWFULLY RESIDE IN THE UNITED STATES AS "QUALIFIED ALIENS" UNDER THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996 IN RECOGNIZING THEIR UNIQUE HISTORIC AND ONGOING SACRIFICES AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. WHEREAS, the Freely Associated States of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia comprise a multitude of islands, languages, and cultures throughout the Micronesian regions of the Pacific Ocean; and WHEREAS, the Freely Associated States were former Trust Territories of the United States and, as sovereign nations, continue to place their trust in the United States through the Compacts of Free Association; and WHEREAS, the Compacts of Free Association between the Freely Associated States and the United States of America recognize the historic sacrifices and contributions of the citizens of the Freely Associated States to the interests of the United ,States of America, including:
(1) The use of their island atolls for sixty-seven nuclear

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tests from 1946 to 1958, which subjected Marshallese people to human radiation experiments without their knowledge or their consent; and
(2)

The occupation by the United States military of the island atolls to ensure control of the Pacific; and

WHEREAS, under the Compacts of Free Association, the United States continues to exercise exclusive military jurisdiction over the lands and waters of the Freely Associated States and
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continues to use the atolls as part of the United States National Missile Defense Program's long-range intercontinental ballistic missile defense system; and WHEREAS, decades of United States administration have failed to establish economic independence within the Freely Associated States, contributing to a lack of adequate agricultural, educational, and health infrastructure necessary for a self-sufficient society; and WHEREAS, in addition to these sacrifices, the sons and daughters of the citizens of the Freely Associated States continue to lay down their lives in the interest of the United States, representing some of the highest levels of per-capita military personnel recruitment levels to the United States military compared to any other jurisdiction including the fifty states comprising the United States of America; and WHEREAS, the people of the Freely Associated States have also contributed greatly to Hawaii's understanding of the common cultural heritage and pride of all Pacific Islanders, such as traditional navigation techniques that were kept alive by the late llPapa'f Mau Piailug; and WHEREAS, despite the limited right to travel, reside, work, and take advantage of educational opportunities, and medical treatment in the United States, citizens of the Freely Associated States who lawfully reside in the United States continue to encounter substantial and varied forms of discrimination including cultural, economic, linguistic, and social barriers; and WHEREAS, despite the rights to reside and seek economic opportunity in the United States as granted to the citizens of the Freely Associated States, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 denied citizens of the Freely Associated states who reside in the United States eligibility for numerous federal benefits, including Medicaid, Social Security Income, food stamps, housing, and other social safety nets that are accessible by other legal resident immigrants; and WHEREAS, this discrepancy has resulted in the harsh and disparate treatment of a significant number of Hawaii's 2013-1741 SCR SMA.doc

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residents who are citizens of the Freely Associated States, causing them to suffer adverse health consequences and even death; and WHEREAS, H.R. 912, "Restoring Medicaid for Compact of Free Association Migrants Act of 201311,in the United States House of Representatives, as introduced by United States Representative Colleen Hanabusa on February 28, 2013, amends title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to restore Medicaid coverage for citizens of the Freely Associated States lawfully residing in the United States under the Compacts of Free Association between the Government of the United States and the Governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, thereby providing relief from Hawaii's burdensome uncompensated Medicaid costs for these individuals; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to include citizens of the Freely Associated States who lawfully reside in the United States as Ilqualified aliens" under the Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in recognizing their unique historic and ongoing sacrifices and contributions to the United States of America; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional delegation, President of the United States, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, Chair of the Appropriations Committee of the United States Senate, Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives, and Governor.

OFFERED BY:

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