FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 29, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) In an effort to make whole Guam’s War Survivors, Speaker Therese Terlaje introduced an amendment to Bill 130-36 (LS) “AN ACT TO ADD A NEW ARTICLE 13.2 TO CHAPTER 1 OF DIVISION 1, TITLE 5, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO ESTABLISHING THE “GUAM WORLD WAR II RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2021” TO COMPENSATE CLAIMS OF THE GREATEST GENERATION OF GUAM FOR THE ATROCITIES SUFFERED DURING THE WORLD WAR II OCCUPATION OF GUAM” that would expand the eligibility for War Claims to include those who survived war atrocities, but were excluded from receiving compensation by the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act because they passed away prior to December 23, 2016.

The arbitrary eligibility date of the federal law created a gap that excludes many Guam war survivors who suffered under Japanese occupation from December 8, 1941 to August 10, 1944.  Speaker Terlaje stated, “My amendment would have included many of our parents and grandparents who suffered forced march, forced labor, and personal injury but did not qualify for the federal program.  Our manamko’ fought for these war claims and testified in Congress but did not survive to see federal recognition of their suffering,” said Speaker Therese Terlaje.

The effort to expand the program was inspired by Jose Garrido who, at Bill 130’s public hearing, testified in support of the inclusion of all war survivors, regardless of their date of death. Speaker Terlaje agreed with Mr. Garrido stating that, “I join Mr. Garrido and the others who testified on this bill in believing that excluding those who survived the war and all its atrocities is not true justice. They survived, and showed us their resilience, courage, and fortitude when they testified before Congress and the Guam Legislature. Excluding those who died before this arbitrary date is not logical when you think about what war claims should be. War claims are not about the money, they are about justice and recognition. We the people of Guam should always have it on record that we include them, even if Congress excludes them.”

After some discussion on the amendment, Appropriations Chairman Joe San Agustin ruled it out of order, believing it was materially different from the bill’s intent.  Speaker Terlaje made a motion to overrule the Chair’s decision, but the attempt failed with only four votes from the Speaker, Senator Sabina Perez, Senator Telo Taitague, and Senator Jose “Pedo” Terlaje.

Another amendment passed by the Speaker would require that any related transfers made by the Governor be reported to the Guam Legislature no later than five days prior to the transfer.  The reporting should indicate where the funds were transferred from.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 27, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) Speaker Therese Terlaje’s resolution supporting the creation of a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs advisory committee for Guam veterans was heard on the session floor today.

Resolution 143-36 (LS) expresses the support and advocates for the passage of H.R. 3730, which seeks to establish in the Department of Veteran Affairs an Advisory Committee on United States Outlying Areas and Freely Associated States, and for other purposes. H.R. 3730 was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by the Honorable Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan from the Northern Marianas Islands on June 04, 2021 and is co-sponsored by 13 other House members, including Guam’s Honorable Delegate Michael F.Q. San Nicolas.

Speaker Terlaje recalled on the session floor today the testimonies heard at the Resolution’s public hearing held on August 18, 2021: “For years Guam veterans have vocalized their concerns over the inconsistent level of care they have received through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We’ve heard tragic stories about what our veterans must go through to receive any level of care. More often than not, they are left with exacerbated medical issues, increased financial burdens, and feelings of frustration, and sometimes hopelessness.” Speaker urged her colleagues to support the resolution by saying, “Our veterans should not be subjected to this treatment, especially because of the sacrifice they have given to serve our country. This resolution will give them the opportunity to have their unique concerns be heard and attended to directly and appropriately.”

During discussion Resolution 143-36 (LS) received unanimous support and was placed into the third reading file for voting. In addition to Speaker Terlaje and Senator Pedo Terlaje, all other members of the 36^th were added as co-sponsors to the resolution.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 23, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) Two bills including Guam as a nuclear fallout downwinder in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) were introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on September 22, 2021. The original RECA legislation covered those affected by nuclear fallout during atmospheric testing in Nevada and the Marshall Islands, and the new bills introduced in Congress amend it to expand eligibility and improve compensation and benefits.

The original RECA legislation, signed in 1990, did not include Guam as a “downwinder” or area affected by nuclear fallout. Mr. Robert N. Celestial, President of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors (PARS) and others gave written and oral testimony in 2004 to the Board on Radiation Effects Research (BRER) Committee to address Guam’s RECA eligibility. Celestial’s testimony, in conjunction with other testimonies like those provided by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, Dr. Chris Perez, and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles Bert Schreiber convinced the BRER Committee to conclude in 2005 that Guam residents did receive measurable fallout during the period of U.S. nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific from 1946 to 1962.

S. 2798 was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) with eight co-sponsors. The House of Representatives bill was introduced by Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and 14 co-sponsors including Guam’s Delegate Michael F.Q. San Nicolas. The bills would extend coverage to claimants in Guam for the Pacific test sites; increase RECA awards for “downwinders” from $50,000 to $150,000; provide coverage for additional forms of cancer; and extend the claims filing period for 19 more years.

Specifically, the new bills provide those persons present in Guam for at least one year from 1946 to 1962 and were diagnosed with cancer are eligible for $150,000 compensation and medical benefits under RECA. The cancer diagnoses eligible under RECA include:

• leukemia (excluding chronic lymphocytic leukemia)
• multiple myeloma
• lymphoma (other than Hodgkin’s disease), and primary cancers of the:
• thyroid
• male or female breast
• esophagus
• stomach
• pharynx
• small intestine
• pancreas
• bile ducts
• gallbladder
• salivary gland
• urinary bladder
• brain
• colon
• ovary
• liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), and
• lung.

According to incidence data reported from Guam to the Pacific Regional Central Cancer Registry between 2007 and 2018, seven of the top ten adult cancers on Guam are compensable under RECA.

“I want to thank Senator Crapo, Senator Luján, Representative Leger Fernández, and their co-sponsors, including Guam’s own Delegate Michael F. Q. San Nicolas for introducing their legislation in support of adding Guam as a RECA downwinder,” stated Speaker Terlaje. “This legislation is important for securing the justified compensation and benefits our island radiation survivors need. The $150,000 for each cancer patient or survivor will help offset the exorbitant costs of treatment in Guam and improve our island’s overall access to healthcare opportunities.”

Speaker Terlaje plans to introduce a resolution this week that expresses the 36^th Guam Legislature’s support of both Congressional bills to recognize and provide benefits for Guam radiation survivors.

Speaker Terlaje also wants to extend her thanks to PARS for their work in getting the new bills introduced: “For over 20 years PARS has put forth education campaigns, solicited community input to tell the stories of Guam radiation survivors, and show our island’s support for RECA. Un dungkulu na Si Yu’us Ma’åse’ to PARS President Robert Celestial and PARS members, past and present who helped make Guam’s inclusion in these new RECA bills possible.”

Copy of Senate bill (taken from Senator Crapo Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 21, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) Speaker Therese Terlaje, Legislature Oversight Chairperson on Health, and senators, held a Virtual Roundtable with Administrator Lillian Posadas, as well as board trustees, administrative and medical personnel of the Guam Memorial Hospital. The discussion provided an overview of GMHA’s strategic plan, COVID-19 response efforts, financial posture, and efforts to achieve financial stability, CMS and regulatory compliance, and capital infrastructure progress and plans.

During the roundtable, Speaker Terlaje noted that it was good to hear that GMHA received $26.5 million in federal grants and $7.2 million in ARP funding for FY 2021. GMHA updated the Committee that the Electronic Health Records System is 72% complete, that A&E designs were complete for many of the HVAC upgrades and the hospital roof, and shared progress on improvements to the Telemedicine program.  However, the Electronic Health Records system project has been temporarily put on hold while staff is working to handle the surge of patients.

In addition, Dr. Joleen Aguon, Associate Administrator of Clinical Services, clarified the Regeneron policy noting that a majority of their supply is going to the Guam Regional Medical City transfusion clinic and that the limited space in the GMH emergency room hinders the public hospital’s ability to expand its clinic and treatment capacity.

The Legislature Oversight Chair on Health urged the board for more transparency on CMS reporting and COVID details that help the community recognize symptoms and act swiftly to get medical help as needed.

Speaker Terlaje closed by thanking GMHA and urged continued updates for the people of Guam and stated “It’s very important we continue to work together to foster confidence in our public hospital, confidence in our plans moving forward, and confidence in our response to COVID.”

This is Public Health’s Data/ Surveillance Update on Recent COVID-19 Mortality as of 9/20/2021.

Notable data they share include:

62% of recent deaths were DOA or “dead on arrival”

71% of recent deaths tested positive on the same day they died (or immediately afterward), implying neither they nor anyone else knew they were infected

50% of DOA deaths had known co-morbidities, with the other 50% not having enough information to report

60% of non-DOA deaths had known co-morbidities

This means that getting tested is important and we need to alert island residents with known co-morbidities of the danger they face if they contract COVID-19.

In order to make informed decisions, we need to be informed of the data.

In Public Health’s latest COVID-19 Data/ Surveillance 2021 Update, the report states that “within the last month, there have been 3,748 positive COVID-19 cases, with 607 of these cases were children ages 0-11 or 16.2% . . . Among the cases ages 0- 11 years, 194 reported being exposed in their household (32%) and 43 reported being exposed in their community (7%) respectively.”

We need more data like these moving forward to keep our community leaders and members updated.

Here’s the entire report:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 11, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam)  

Now that the FY 2022 budget has lapsed into law, it is time for the administration to implement the priorities in the $937 million budget set forth by the Legislature. This budget was constructed with no information from the administration regarding how $600 million in American Rescue Plan funds will be used to move our island forward during this pandemic and supplement the FY 2022 budget. 

Regardless, a successful budget requires continuous oversight and transparency, adherence to the law and spending priorities contained in the law, and critical checks and balances for the benefit of the people of Guam. Adjusting the FY 2021 budget to ensure all revenues are accounted for and appropriated for tax refunds is a crucial addition to the FY 2022 Budget Act. All budgets are based on projections and need to be adjusted throughout the year so that it is responsible and responsive to agencies’ needs and critical services for the community. 

The FY22 budget bill as passed prioritizes current FY 2021 revenues for tax refunds, including money received from Section 30 and other taxes, in contrast to the reduction of the general fund amount presented for refunds in the initial FY22 Substitute Bill and its further reduction on the floor. I want the people’s money returned to them now when they need it. It is the Legislature that has mandated through budgets that refunds are a priority and the Legislature should not go back on that policy now especially with all of the federal funds the administration is currently holding and the additional funds it is expecting. We should pay refunds faster with what we can control and no longer hold on to people’s refunds. There is no excuse to lag behind other jurisdictions in returning the people’s money to them.

Critical services can continue without interruption now that the budget bill is law. We must now address the urgent needs this budget cannot address and ensure fairness and transparency for the additional $600 million that Guam is holding in the bank and the millions more that Guam is expecting from the federal government to aid and recover the people of Guam.

Attached below is a Freedom of Information Act request received on September 7, 2021 and the Speaker’s response that was sent on September 8, 2021.