Month: August 2020

Terlaje: Prioritize any Excess Revenues to Support Public Health Efforts

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (August 24, 2020- Hagåtña, Guam)

During today’s budget hearing, Senator Therese Terlaje attempted to lock up any excess revenues collected under withholding and corporate taxes for the Department of Public Health and Social Services in FY 2021.  The proposed amendment would have appropriated all fiscal year 2021 withholding and corporate income tax revenues collected per quarter in excess of the revenue level adopted (or ‘revenue budgeted’) for that quarter as reflected on the monthly CRER to the Department of Public Health and Social Services for expansion of its environmental health inspections, its other regulatory purposes and other DPHSS operations, but not to exceed $6 million for the entire fiscal year.

“We are being tasked to make hard decisions and difficult cuts.  The Office of Finance of Budget has cut DPHSS by $3.5 million overall and $13 million in operations, and the Department is still short $9.8 million to fund our full match in Medicaid and $2 million in CHIP. This amendment simply ensures that if there is excess revenue, that it is appropriated to the agency that is going to continue to get us through this health emergency for their operations over any other priority of the Government of Guam,” stated Senator Therese Terlaje.

Senator Terlaje further stated, “If we don’t lock this money up right now for public health we may never see it again.  Last year we appropriated $10 million in excess revenues from FY 2019 for capital improvements at GMH and have yet to see these funds transferred by the administration, even though it was signed into the FY 2020 budget law and there was more than $30 million in excess revenues available.”

During the discussion, Senator Terlaje noted that the current substitute bill for FY 2021 appropriates $13 million less for DPHSS operations than what was earmarked in FY 2020 for the basic operations of public health that could not be funded by new CARES grant funding.

The Terlaje amendment failed with 7 votes in favor and 8 votes against.  Senator Therese Terlaje thanks Vice Speaker Nelson, Legislative Secretary Shelton, Minority Leader Senator Taitague, Senator Perez, Senator Moylan, and Senator Castro for their support on the amendment.

Three Senators Push for Progress on Simon Sanchez High School

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (August 20, 2020 – Hagåtña, Guam) – During Fiscal Year 2021 budget discussions at the Guam Legislature today, Senator Therese Terlaje passed an amendment that would put $500,000 away for the physical construction for Simon Sanchez High School.  While previous efforts were directed at financing an Owner’s Agent Engineer and Architectural & Engineering Services, Senator Terlaje received the support of her colleagues to get one step closer to building a new home for the Sharks.

“After ten years of unsuitable conditions and numerous delays in procurement, the students and teachers deserve some good news and some tangible progress for their new campus,” stated Senator Terlaje.

Former high school teacher, Vice Speaker Telena Nelson, passed her own provision that would commit the money to Simon Sanchez by ensuring the funding was non-transferable.  In prior years, appropriations for SSHS were diverted by GDOE to operations when Territorial Educational Facilities Funds were short.

Additionally, Senator Sabina Perez passed an amendment that would require quarterly reporting from the Department of Education on progress moving forward which would include a listing of projects awarded, projects that have been put out for bid, a detailed ledger of the expenses for the rebuild, and the current status of the rebuild.

Senator Perez stated, “As a former teacher at Simon Sanchez High School, I understand first-hand the unhealthy, demoralizing facilities our hardworking students and teachers contend with on a daily basis. No child should ever need to cope with mold and leaky roofs when trying to learn. However, while all agree a new school is needed, it’s been over ten years and the long-promised construction of a new Simon Sanchez High School still hasn’t broken ground.

Today, my colleagues and I passed three amendments to increase transparency and ensure progress towards building the learning environment our students and teachers deserve. We fight for this cause because our students and teachers need us, and we must do everything in our power to build a new home for the Sharks.  We owe it to our island’s children to build them a school worthy of their limitless potential”

Budget discussions resume for the Guam Legislature in the Committee on Appropriations and can be viewed on local television, GTA Channel 21, Docomo Channel 117/60.4, and online via I Liheslaturan Guåhan’s live feed on Youtube.