Removal of Restriction on Amendments to or Modifications of the Constitution of American Samoa
Floor Speech
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Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 6062, which repeals the outdated statute requiring amendments to American Samoa's Constitution be ratified by Congress.
I want to thank Chairman Westerman and Subcommittee Chair Hageman for their efforts to move this bill through committee, and I thank Ranking Members Grijalva and Leger Fernandez for making this a bipartisan effort. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to my fellow territorial Delegates, Delegate Moylan and Delegate Sablan, for their cosponsorship and support.
The original piece of legislation that H.R. 6062 repeals was moved through without regular order, and over the past several decades, multiple attempts were made to walk back the bill and allow the necessary hearings and oversight to occur. Today that misstep has been corrected.
H.R. 6062 provides equal treatment among the U.S. territories, as no other territory has a similar restriction on editing their local laws. It is a critical and key piece of legislation for American Samoa, allowing us to enact constitutional changes as approved by our people without the burden of unnecessary bureaucracy in Washington.
This bill is designed to restore the essential structure of our government to what it was intended to be, providing a much-needed adjustment to the previous 1983 law. The 1983 law, as it stands, is inconsistent with the principles of local self-government over local affairs, an area where Congress has rightly delegated local authority to us. The current law imposes restrictions that are outdated and counterproductive, hindering our ability to govern ourselves effectively.
This bill is about more than just procedural changes. It is about reaffirming our commitment to self-governance and democratic values. By removing unnecessary obstacles, we are reinforcing the principle that the people of American Samoa have the right and the ability to govern themselves.
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