FY 2026 budget proposal reduced after salary adjustments for unconfirmed directors

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The House of Representatives has finalized the budget for the American Samoa Government for Fiscal Year 2026, resulting in a reduction from the initial budget proposal.

The government initially proposed a budget of $815,392,069, representing an 11% increase over the FY2025 budget of $733,683,167. However, during budget hearings, lawmakers agreed to implement notable salary adjustments for the directors of certain agencies, who have yet to be confirmed by lawmakers.

Currently, the budget is set at $807,555,113, representing a decrease of $7 million from the original proposal. The House budget bill advanced to its initial reading in the Senate last week and will undergo a final reading today.

In discussions last week, lawmakers extensively considered reducing salaries for directors whose names had not yet been submitted to the Fono for confirmation. During the House regular session on Thursday, several significant salary adjustments were implemented within the budget. 

Notably, the House eliminated salaries for directors of specific agencies, including the Office of Property Management, the Arts Council, the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Disaster Assistance and Petroleum Management, the Criminal Justice Planning Agency, the Office of the Public Defender, and the Administrative Law Judge. 

Additionally, the salaries of directors for the Veterans and Military Affairs Office, Sports Complex, American Samoa Resilience Office, ASG Hawaii Office, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Office of Insurance Commissioner were reduced from $80,000 to $70,000 per year. The salary for the Director of Medicaid was decreased from $85,000 to $75,000, ensuring that the director's compensation remains higher than that of the deputy director, who earns $71,000 as a career service employee. Furthermore, the salary for the Director of the Technology Office was lowered from $84,000 to $70,000.

The reductions also impacted the deputy directors of these agencies, with those previously budgeted at $70,000 now adjusted to $65,000. However, the House chose to retain the salaries of directors for all other agencies under the Office of the Governor, which includes the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, Samoan Language Commission, Historical Preservation Office, Biodiversity Program, Manu’a Operations, Workmen's Compensation Commissioner, ARPA Office, the American Samoa Economic Development Authority, and the Governor’s Drug Control Office.

The House also cut the Special Programs budget, reducing various allocations: the Department of Administrative Services' subsidy to $215,000, the Ceremonial Activities Fund to $700,000, and former governors’ allowances to $144,000. Overall, $1,072,000 will be reallocated to increase the American Samoa Community College subsidy to $2.5 million, add $300,000 for elections, and increase the Small Village Fund to $162,000, while other projects will remain unchanged.