09 December 2009

US House Approves Political Status Education Bill

News from Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo

House Passes Political Status Education Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 7, 2009 – Washington, D.C. –

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 3940, a bill that would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend technical assistance grants and other assistance to facilitate a political status public education program on Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. H.R. 3940 today passed on a voice vote one month after Congresswoman Bordallo first introduced the bill and two weeks after it was approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources. H.R. 3940 will now be transmitted to the U.S. Senate for consideration in their chamber.

“The passage of H.R. 3940 by the U.S. House of Representatives today advances the issue of political self-determination in the non-self-governing territories by providing federal funding for political status education,” Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today. “H.R. 3940 now goes to the Senate for consideration and I hope that they will act on it with the same sense of priority that the House has viewed this issue. This bill is supported by the Obama Administration, elected officials from Guam, and decolonization and indigenous rights advocates on Guam. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and with Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta to pass this legislation in the Senate.”

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