FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (April 28, 2020- Hagåtña, Guam)

Statement from Senator Therese Terlaje regarding Governor’s veto of Bill No. 336-35

Bill No. 336-35 was introduced three weeks ago, 22 days after the declaration of this unprecedented public health emergency and after four people had died from COVID-19. At that time, despite individual agency efforts, the government had failed to obtain ventilators to expand our ICU capacity, had failed to obtain enough PPE to allay the fear and concerns of our frontline healthcare workers, had failed to obtain enough tests beyond the meager amounts handed out by the CDC, had failed to provide a place for GMH nurses to rest without infecting their families, and had failed to provide safe housing for COVID-exposed homeless individuals.

Those involved in emergency procurement reiterated that these expenditures would exceed the monthly $100,000/month limitation set in the Islan Guahan Emergency Health Powers Act.   In the absence of any clear explanation for the failure, the Legislature unanimously sought to ensure that money was NOT going to be the reason for the delay in obtaining supplies and equipment that other jurisdictions were aggressively pursuing.  

At that point, the administration refused to disclose the source of funding for any emergency expenditures or the details of any FY2020 transfers.  Coincidentally, on the day before we went into session to ensure the swift procurement of these critical items, the first transfer report for fiscal year 2020 was delivered to the Speaker. 

I will not pursue an override to authorize additional spending without accountability.  We need the Executive Branch to account for the money already spent and to demonstrate that these critical supplies made it to the frontlines where they belong.

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