Pago Harbor an ideal place to homeport Coast Guard Cutters, Amata says

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On a four-person panel that included senior Biden Administration officials from the White House, State and Defense departments, Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata reiterated her call for the U.S. to homeport a squadron of Coast Guard cutters in Pago Pago harbor. Given the urgent need to counter China’s growing involvement in the South Pacific, said the congresswoman, “We in American Samoa welcome talk in Washington of home porting a squadron of US Coast Guard cutters in Pago Pago harbor.”

Speaking at the official launch of a new publication and website on US-Pacific Islands relations by the East-West Center, Congresswoman Amata delivered her remarks remotely from Tutuila, where she is currently reviewing the work of the federal team with whom she arrived to help combat the recent COVID outbreak on the island.

 “Your focus today on the Pacific Islands and Oceania is so important,” she told the gathering in the U.S. Capitol. “Since World War II, all U.S. policy in the Pacific has flowed from two national defense imperatives: keep the sea lanes to Asia open, and keep bad actors out of the region,” Congresswoman Amata said, going on to detail the historic elements of U.S. policy in the Pacific, leading up to the current need to counter China.

HEALTHCARE GRANT

Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming a health grant for the American Samoa Department of Health to ensure HIV care availability.

The discretionary health services grant of $17,161 is through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) for Health Center, under the Ryan White Title II Grants Formula Program.

 “Thank you especially to Faafouina Sagaga for the initiative on this project, and congratulations to Governor Lemanu and his administration, Director Motusa Nua, and everyone who provides care for people in need,” said Amata. “Thank you to HHS Secretary Xavier Becarra, and HRSA Acting Administrator Diana Espinosa.”