The Freely Associated States and Issues for Congress
Lum, Thomas (2020-07-10). The Freely Associated States and Issues for Congress (Report). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
- Has attachment: File:CJ5KRZAH.pdf
Abstract: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Freely Associated States (FAS)—the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau—and on the Compacts of Free Association that govern their relationships with the United States. The FAS are sovereign states that through bilateral Compacts of Free Association with the United States receive U.S. economic assistance and grant the United States the prerogatives to operate military bases on their soil and make decisions that affect mutual security.
The report provides information about Compact economic assistance, funded through the Department of the Interior, which expires in 2023 for the Marshall Islands and Micronesia and 2024 for Palau unless the United States and the FAS negotiate agreements to extend such assistance, and Congress approves the agreements through implementing legislation. Discussions between the United States and the FAS to renew economic assistance began in May 2020. Some U.S. policymakers and experts have expressed support for continued economic assistance to the FAS, given their ongoing economic dependency, U.S. historical obligations, and the perceived need to counter China’s rising influence in the region. The FAS and their citizens have contributed to U.S. military efforts and helped advance U.S. diplomatic and security interests globally and in the Pacific Islands region. The U.S. military operates the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Some experts recommend that the United States government should further integrate the FAS into its Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy.
The Compacts allow FAS citizens to serve in the U.S. armed forces and to live, work, and study in the United States as nonimmigrants. Many have served in the U.S. military and/or migrated to U.S. states and territories for economic reasons. Some U.S. jurisdictions with large FAS migrant populations have requested increased federal support for education, social and health services provided to FAS migrants, who are not eligible for most federal public benefits.
Other issues of concern to Congress as it considers renewing economic assistance to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau include FAS eligibility for some U.S. federal programs and services that expire at the end of the current Compact terms. From 1946 to 1958, the United States conducted 67 atmospheric atomic and thermonuclear weapons tests over the Marshall Islands. Some experts and Marshall Islands officials suggest including further compensation for U.S. nuclear testing in the negotiations on renewing the economic provisions of the Compacts. The economic impacts of COVID-19 and climate change on the FAS may also be considered in the Compact discussions.
