A delegation of Guam senators in Washington, D.C. this week have discovered in meetings with education, health and human services, interior, and White House officials that important programs those agencies fund in Guam are not in jeopardy of being cut. In fact, according to the senators, the government of Guam has been leaving quite a bit of money on the table that the Trump administration they say is eager to get to the island’s people.
Guam Vice Speaker Tony Ada is leading the mission that includes Senators Shelly Vargas Calvo and Vince Borja in their attempt to provide the people and government of Guam clarity amid the confusion about what federally funded programs could be cut in next fiscal year’s budget. The senators, in a Zoom interview with Kandit Thursday morning said they paid for this trip out of their pockets, to include airfare, hotel stays, and food. The public is not paying for this trip, they said.
What they found out instead from cabinet members, senior Trump officials, and even Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is that Guam’s consumers of programs including special education, child welfare, disability services, senior citizens, and substance abuse treatment and prevention will not be affected by Congress and the president’s proposed reforms. More importantly, these senior government officials, including the assistant secretary of special education, and managers at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Native Americans, have informed the senators that millions in grant funding have been waiting for someone in Guam’s government to send the applications.
Ms. Calvo said she would provide more details on the funding opportunities, but they include funding for parental involvement and one-to-one aide training for Guam Department of Education’s special education program, and education pilot program Guam qualifies for, community and assisted living, and even multi-year funding to save and proliferate the Chamorro language.
Mr. Ada, recognizing that these opportunities are executive matters, said he will be discussing these items with Speaker Frank Blas, Jr. so the legislature can communicate with administration officials to secure the funds. Mr. Borja said he will be engaging GDOE officials as well, and would like to explore areas of procurement and policy at GDOE that might need to be reformed in light of the problems U.S. DOE officials highlighted with federal programs administration in Guam.
The senators finished their second day of meetings in the nation’s capital earlier today, and within hours will be starting their third day of meetings. Kandit is scheduled to interview the senators again via Zoom on Friday morning, Guam time.
Here is our full interview with Mr. Ada, Ms. Calvo, and Mr. Borja:
