GAO team on island to conduct Federal reviews affecting Am Samoa

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Indo-Pacific Climate Change Risk is one of the two reviews being conducted in American Samoa this week, by a five-member team from the U.S Government Accountability Office, led by Latesha Love-Grayer, GAO’s Director of International Affairs and Trade

The second review, as mandated by Congress under federal law, is the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which despite the name includes along with Puerto Rico —  American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

INDO-PACIFIC

The visiting GAO team is performing a review of Indo-Pacific climate change risks at the request of the U.S House Committees on Natural Resources and Foreign Affairs and other members of Congress, said Love-Grayer.

“Our current objectives for the climate risks engagement entail reviewing any assistance U.S. government departments and agencies provided to assist Pacific Island countries, U.S. territories and others in the Pacific in addressing climate risks as well reviewing what’s known about the effectiveness of this assistance,” she pointed out.

“This work is in initial stages and we do not yet have a date for its completion,” she said yesterday responding to Samoa News inquiries.

As previously reported by Samoa News, it was last December that GAO — the investigative arm of the U.S Congress — informed Gov. Lemanu P. S Mauga about the “new U.S. Government Accountability Office engagement on Indo-Pacific Climate Change Risks—code 106236.”

And that American Samoa will take part in the engagement, addressing climate change risk in the Indo-Pacific Region.

GAO initiated the first conference call with the American Samoa Resilience Commission last month. (See Samoa News edition Dec. 14, 2022 for details.)

PROMESA REVIEW

As required by the PROMESA law, “we are conducting a study to update Congress on the public debt outlook of the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories — American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Love-Grayer explained.

And this will be the 4th update of this work and PROMESA requires GAO to issue an update by ‪June 30, 2023, she said.

For each U.S. territory involved in this review, she explained that GAO would:

•           analyze trends in public debt, its composition, and drivers;

•           analyze trends in revenue/expenditures and its composition, and overall financial condition; and

•           evaluate what is known about risk factors that may affect the territory’s ability to repay public debt.

Love-Grayer also told Samoa News that to gather information on both reviews, “we are in American Samoa meeting with relevant local and federal officials as well as others who may provide insight into both issues.”

The GAO team, which arrived Monday night, met Tuesday with the American Samoa Resilience Commission.

The other GAO team members on island are: Joseph Carney,  Assistant Director in GAO's International and Trade Affairs; Pedro Almoguera, Economist and Assistant Director in the Center for Economics of GAO's Applied Research and Methods; Colson Sutherland,  Analyst in GAO's Strategic Issues; and Sujin Yon, Senior Analyst with GAO's International and Trade Affairs.

GOVERNOR & GAO

The Governor’s State of the Territory Comprehensive Report, distributed to lawmakers last week, cited three-engagements, in which American Samoa is involved with GAO.

The report cites the PROMESA and the Indo-Pacific Climate Change Risks engagements. The third one is review of COVID-19 Relief funding to U.S. territories as mandated in the Corona Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

And it reviews what the territory received and how the funds were utilized. According to the report, a GAO team will be visiting the territory this year to conduct on-site visits and meetings to the assigned departments to ensure compliance and information are provided.