House Finance Committee approves Supplemental bill for $15 Million plus

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Introduced by House Vice Speaker Fetu Fetui, Jr. last week, September 25, 2023, the House Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a supplemental bill of more than $15 million appropriating unobligated and unexpected revenues from FY 2022 for FY 2024. The bill then went to House floor and was passed in its second reading — also on Tuesday.

The bill picks up the $15,953,000 of unobligated and unexpended revenues that became ‘available’ after the Senate did not pass Section 9 — Governor’s Office Special Projects — of the supplemental bill for $22 million last week, instead appropriating only $6,047,000 within 8 items, and deleting the rest.

During the Senate hearing for the $22 million, senators objected to the lack of details in the one-page list of projects provided by Treasurer Malemo Tausaga and Budget Director Catherine A. Saelua.

Malemo outraged senators who were present at the hearing by suggesting they call in the governor to give them the in-depth explanation of the projects they wanted, as the list was all they were handed from the Governor’s Office, despite their forwarding the Senate’s request for details of the projects.

As a result, in second reading of the bill, the Senate passed only 8 items of the $22 million bill and those items included the $1 million for the office expense allowance increase for the Fono and the $1 million for the Fono’s 75th anniversary celebration (which Malemo said only $200,000 has been used from an earlier $1Mil appropriation, and so they’ve resubmitted the same amount for FY 2024.)

The senators agreed at the time to hold off on the $15.9 million for the Governor’s Special Programs and deleted Section 9 from the bill.

The new bill, proposed by the House Vice Speaker however, re-introduces the list of projects that was in Section 9 — the Governor’s Office Special Programs — of the $22 million supplemental bill, and are as follows:Maui Fire Donation- $200,000

•    Maui Fire Donation- $200,000
•    Mosooi Festival- $50,000
•    Samoa Bowl – $200,000
•    Overtime Compensation Fund -$500,000
•    Ofu Seaport Terminal – $150,000
•    Faleasao Sea Port Terminal – $150,000
•    Fitiuta Airport Terminal – $250,000
•    Manu’a Air Travel Subsidy – $200,000
•    Manua Sea travel Subsidy -$200,000
•    Washington DC Consultants – $253,000
•    Manu’a Community Center – $300,000
•    Swains Island Airport and Roads – $5,000,000
•    Pacific Island Forum/SPC – $150,000
•    ANZ Building & Furniture – $2,000,000
•    Dementia Awareness & Support – $2,000,000
•    FAA Park – $2,000,000
•    DMWR Building $850,000
•    Shoreline Improvements – $1,500,000

On Tuesday October 3, 2023, four witnesses appeared before the House Finance Committee, chaired by Faipule Vailoata Amituana’i to explain the new bill in which the Governor’s Office’s special projects are listed for the amount of $15,953,000.

Witnesses called were Silia Time- the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) administrator; Faleosina Voight, Director of Public Works; Malemo Lafoaia Talosaga, Treasurer; and Catherine A. Saelua, Director of the Budget Office.

The hearing reviewed amendments the House made to the new bill — S.B.38-26 on which the witnesses testified.

Amendments are as followed:

Manu’a Community Center listed originally at $300,000 was raised to $650,000.

Swains Island Airport and Roads originally at $5,000,000 was reduced to $1,500,000.

DMWR Building originally at $850,000 was reduced to $500,000.

Island wide shoreline improvement originally at $1,500,000 was raised to $4,000,000.

Emergency Evacuation Routes not on the original list of projects appears at $3,000,000.

Dementia Awareness & Support on the original list for $2,000,000 has been eliminated.

The bill was passed in its second reading yesterday before the House and will now make its way to the Senate for consideration.

FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET

The Fiscal Year 2024 budget for the American Samoa Government was sent to the Governor ‘s Office last Friday morning, Oct. 1, 2023, and was signed by Acting Governor Talauega E. V. Ale that same afternoon.

The appropriations bill totaling $664.9 million doesn’t have any changes from what the Lemanu Talauega Administration submitted.

(Rhonda Annesley, Editor in Chief contributed to this report)