FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (July 17, 2023 – Hagåtña, Guam) – Speaker Therese Terlaje makes the following statement regarding the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024:

“I was shocked to see that the Senate Armed Services Committee version of the NDAA included very detailed provisions regarding Eagles Field (Lålo) land (referred to by the Senate as “transmitter site”) and an express provision that Eagles Field property shall not be deemed excess, contradicting earlier promise and action by the Secretary of the Navy. Several concerns struck me immediately. 

First, there are some very high level discussions and lobbying going on in Washington D.C. regarding land on Guam— behind our backs, and apparently without any knowledge of our Congressman. Neither the Congressman nor the Governor have announced this to us as part of their lobbying efforts. If Guam has such a high level, effective lobbying power, Congress should have included a provision expressly affirming that excess federal land returned to the Government of Guam may be transferred to the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission to meet the public purpose of rectifying the injustice done by military land takings years ago. 

Most concerning is, from what I have learned regarding their desire to station defense missiles in the same area, this offer for us to develop Eagles Field property may be connected to creating a buffer zone for them to put missiles in the adjacent area without fully addressing the environmental impact or the surrounding residents, and the people of Guam will bear the cost of bringing in infrastructure such as power, roads, and water, and the lease can be designed by the military to include the safety zone required for the missile stations.

Instead of getting more transparency as promised, we are getting less. We must unite our efforts to ensure the people of Guam are not again held carrying an unfair burden for national defense. All of this, together with the discussion in the June 2023 Senate Armed Services Committee NDAA 2024 Executive Summary on the use of nuclear microreactors on Guam should unite our Governor and Congressman to demand the truth. I know I will.” 

For more information, please contact Speaker Therese M. Terlaje’s office at (671) 472-3586 or via e-mail at senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com. 

Attached: 

Copy of Senate Armed Services Committee NDAA Bill text, advanced on June 23, 2023; see Section 2806

Copy of Senate Armed Services Committee NDAA Bill executive summary, published June 2023; see highlighted portion