Guam faces challenges in military realignment plans

Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a full hearing on the Department of Defense’s plans for military build-up in Guam and its impact on the community.

Witness Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) said that plans for “military realignments” of troops from Okinawa, Japan to Guam will increase the island’s population by approximately 30 percent, presenting “many, many challenges” to local resources including construction, waste disposal, electricity, and other infrastructure and economic concerns. Bordallo called for Memorandums of Understanding, or MOUs, between the federal and Guam governments in order to establish funding sources for necessary improvements to Guam’s infrastructure in order to accommodate the population boost. She said that with the upcoming presidential election, MOUs are crucial to establishing a “road map that we can depend on” in the face of a new administration. Bordallo urged the Senate to pass H.R. 1595, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, saying that it would be “tremendously helpful” in not taking Guam “for granted” and preparing them to assist with national security.

Brian Lepore, a Government Accountability Office director, said that the DOD has yet to submit formal budget requests and that it faces the challenge of obtaining enough funds to complete the operation, as well as strains on the island’s infrastructure if it cannot obtain these funds and does not have a clear plan of action.