Washington D.C., March 22, 2024 – H.E. President Wesley W. Simina has concluded a highly successful series of meetings in Washington D.C. this week, engaging with key members of the executive and legislative branches of the United States government. President Simina held 24 official meetings over the course of 4 days to discuss the implementation of the recently renewed Compact of Free Association (COFA) legislation.Throughout the week, President Simina and his delegation held constructive discussions with executive branch cabinet members and officials, including:
– Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III;
– Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland;
– Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell;
– Director of the Peace Corps Carol Spahn;
Additionally, President Simina and his delegation engaged with members of Congress from both the House and Senate, who played critical roles as Chairs or ranking members of committees of jurisdiction on COFA, as sponsors or co-sponsors of the COFA Amendments Act, Compact Impact Fairness Act, and Care for COFA Veterans Act, as well as signatories of the bipartisan letters to House and Senate leadership that urged for the passage of the COFA legislation, including:
– Senator John Barrasso (R-WY);
– Representative Young Kim (R-CA);
– Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA);
– Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI);
– Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI);
– Delegate Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen R-AS);
– Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD);
– Senator John Boozman(R-AR);
– Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK);
– Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME);
– Representative Andy Barr (R-KY);
– Representative Dina Titus (D-NV);
– Representative Steve Womack (R-AR);
– Representative Ed Case (D-HI);
– Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-MP);
– Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR);
– Representative Ami Bera (D-CA);
– Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV);
– Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA);
– Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA);
President Simina personally thanked these members for their leadership and support that led to the ultimate passage of the COFA legislation. The President also sought members’ support for the potential return of the Peace Corps to the FSM, following a discussion with the Director of the Peace Corps at the top of the week. The central theme of these discussions were around actionable next steps, continued support and continued collaboration to ensure that the transition to implementation moves forward expeditiously.
In all of the meetings, the moods were that of great satisfaction in the bipartisan effort that got COFA over the finish line and an overall recognition and appreciation of the importance of the partnership that the United States has with the Freely Associated States.
President Simina stated “As I conclude this week of important discussions in Washington D.C. and prepare to engage our own FSM citizens who reside here in the U.S., I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to begin these talks with key people in the executive and legislative branches in order to keep the momentum on COFA going. While I may not have had the chance to personally meet and thank everyone who worked tirelessly to reach this point, my gratitude is theirs. I look forward to continued close collaboration as we work together to ensure that everything we worked so hard to agree on and get passed, will now come into fruition to strengthen the partnership between the FSM and U.S.”
President Simina will lead his delegation to Kansas City, where there is a hub of FSM citizens, to hold a joint town hall meeting alongside Speaker Moses and several members of the 23rd FSM Congress, JCRP and the FSM Dept. of Justice, to answer citizens’ questions on the renewed COFA and other issues.
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