State asks feds to The state has found $100 million it could use to help balance future state budgets.
repay $100 million
for migrants
The money is linked to aid for
Micronesians and Marshall IslandersBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comThe catch is it must first persuade the Congress to pay the money.
The state Legislature is asking Congress to reimburse the state $100 million for assistance given to Micronesians and Marshall Islanders who migrated to Hawaii over the past 15 years, under a resolution up for approval tomorrow in the state House Health Committee.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 102, House Draft 1, attempts to recover some of the costs incurred from the 6,000 people from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republican of the Marshall Islands and Palau who lawfully came to Hawaii under the Compacts of Free Association between them and the United States.
As much as 58 percent of these 6,000 who came here live below the federal poverty level, and state officials say they have strained social welfare services and threatened to overwhelm Hawaii's health care and safety net programs.
"Hawaii is providing educational services, health services and human services, and we're supposed to get paid from the federal government for these services. Guam is getting paid, so Hawaii should also get paid," said state Rep. Barbara Marumoto (R, Waialae Iki) yesterday.
The 1986 agreement recognizes the sovereignty of the three freely associated states and also provides federal services and military protection to these nations in exchange for defense rights. Moreover, the compact permits residents there to freely enter the U.S. to live and work as non-immigrants.
Portions of the compact are being re-negotiated this year.
Last December, the federal General Accounting Office told Congress an Oct. 5, 2001 report showed the impact of this migration on Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands was at least $371 million, primarily for health and education services, between 1986-2000.
Gov. Ben Cayetano, in an Aug. 31, 2001 letter to the GAO, said the estimated cost of the migration to Hawaii was at least $85 million, with an annual cost of $15 million since then. Of that amount, costs to the state Department of Education were more than $64 million, he said.
Guam receives $7.58 million in annual compact impact. So far, Hawaii has received only $4 million in reimbursements, despite submitting annual impact reports that document expenses more than $100 million.
State Human Services Director Susan Chandler, in testimony yesterday to the House committee, said because of their status, these lawful non-immigrants are not eligible for federal financial assistance or federal medical assistance, which means all financial aid and medical costs come from the state.
Hawaii hospitals also face financial problems because of this migration. Marumoto said Queen's Medical Center reported in 2001 those island nations owed $11.4 million in medical payments up to 5 years overdue, while Kapiolani Women's and Children's Hospital reported bills of $1.3 million.
Both hospitals expect to collect less than 30 percent of these amounts, she said.
Marumoto added that the compact doesn't mandate the state be reimbursed for all costs, but it also does not allow "adverse consequences" of the migration to be solely borne by the affected areas.
"The state of Hawaii has a strong and compelling case for reimbursement," she said. "These resolutions are designed to bring awareness of these adverse consequences to those who can effectively act to mitigate these circumstances."
State of Hawaii
