Federal restrictions on air transportation and mandated minimum wage hikes are among the issues that the Lolo Administration plans to discuss during a meeting later today with Congresswoman Aumua Amata, who returned to the territory last Friday evening after taking the oath of office on Jan. 6 as the territory’s new Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The governor's executive assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira told Samoa News last Friday that local leaders planning to attend the meeting with the Congresswoman, are Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga, Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga, Senate President Gaoteote Tofau Palaie, House Speaker Savali Talavou Ale and possibly Chief Justice Michael Kruse — if he is available.

The Congresswoman told Samoa News that she will brief local leaders on the first week of the new Congress, the direction the U.S. House plans to take, find out what the ASG leaders need to be done in Washington D.C. and “how we can mesh it with the agenda of the GOP-controlled Congress.”

Additionally, “I am coming to listen intently to their concerns and issues,” she said last week Wednesday before arriving on island, where she will also attend today’s opening of the 34th Legislature.

Asked as to what issues the governor plans to discuss with the Congresswoman at the meeting, Iulogologo shared the agenda, which includes the federally mandated minimum wages, with the next wage hike set for Sept. 30, 2015.

The governor will inform Amata that if “our local economy can support these increases, we would not oppose” them, but “unfortunately, the competitive advantage of our two canneries must be preserved to weather the onslaught by low cost fisheries operations located in Taiwan, Thailand, and other parts of the world, with recent exacerbation by China’s entry into the fishing industry,” according to prepared meeting information provided by Iulogologo.

Lolo will ask Amata to rally her Republican colleagues to revert back to the traditional way of coming up with local minimum wage levels, which were determined through Wage Industry Committees. The local preference is to let American Samoa  determine its own minimum wage based on local economic conditions.

The governor will also seek Amata’s support in urging Congress to disallow fish loins received from foreign countries to bypass quotas and import fees stipulated under the federal Headnote (3A) tax incentive benefit.

According to the Lolo administration, China and neighboring Samoa are hoping to sell their fish loins to US based companies like Bumble Bee attempting to qualify under the Headnote(3a) bypassing trade and import quotas and duties into the United States. This will undermine the competitive advantage of the two local canneries.

Samoa News should point out that Samoa’s cannery development is currently in review due to Bumble Bee being acquired by Thai Union Frozen Products. "In light of Bumble Bee's recent acquisition by Thai Union, the company plans to review its Samoa factory initiative with the new ownership group," Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski told JustFood.com. (See article for details on samoanews.com)

TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

On matters dealing with air transportation, the governor will ask for Amata’s support on waiving the federal cabotage law, in order to allow foreign carriers to operate in and out of American Samoa to the U.S.

Lolo contends that American Samoa has long recognized the need to diversify the local economy with tourism development as the natural diversification alternative, “but our hands have been tied because of the cabotage policy aimed to protect U.S. airlines and transportation jobs. Providing the cabotage waiver to American Samoa, similar to Alaska, will not affect these American interests because of the size of our market.”

The governor is hopeful that the new Republican-controlled Congress “will see our frustration and the irony of federal policy contradicting its expectation for the Insular Areas to become self-sufficient and self-reliant.”

Another issue is the federal Essential Air Service (EAS) program. The governor claims that the U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) delisted American Samoa from its list of eligible communities for EAS benefits — based primarily on Hawaiian Airlines’ position that it was providing sufficient airline seats to American Samoa.

However, the governor argues that the American Samoa route is the most expensive (Cost per Mile) of all Hawaiian Airlines’ air routes thus preempting the development of the local tourism industry.

Consequently, Hawaiian Airlines claims that its average passenger load factor is below 60% indicating to USDOT that there are many empty seats on its flights to and from American Samoa thus justifying its claim that it has met the Essential Air Service seat requirements, the governor contends.

The governor will also seek the Congresswoman’s support for American Samoa to have it’s own Air Traffic Control Tower, after the territory tried for years to convince USDOT and the FAA that  there is a great need for a Tower to improve the territory’s attractiveness and eligibility as an alternative emergency landing airport for planes overflying American Samoa.

Moreover, the existence of this facility also improves safety and accords American Samoa autonomy with respect to providing flight path information for air travel to and from American Samoa.

About five years ago, $2 million was made available by the feds to construct the Control Tower — specifically for the construction of the structural frame to accommodate the Air Traffic Control Cap which had been on island a year earlier — and which cost $800,000.

According to the governor, this asset is now rotting at the Tafuna airport and cannot be salvaged for utilization. The governor says that a control tower facility is a critical component in the support infrastructure system necessary to entice airlines to consider American Samoa.

Lolo is asking Amata’s support to compel FAA and USDOT that the Air Traffic Control Tower is necessary and required for American Samoa.

FEDERAL REVIEW POLICIES

The administration believes that federal review policies are undermining the territory’s ability to complete federally funded projects. For example, all shoreline, harbor, wharf, and demolition projects which are federally funded must first obtain permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Historical Preservation, NOAA, and other federal regulatory agencies.

As a result, the governor contends that implementation of these projects “are grossly delayed which cause unfavorable rating from federal funding agencies claiming that we cannot complete these projects promptly — which then affects future allocation of additional funds to the Territory.”

The governor believes there needs to be a “One Stop Review Center” to speed up the review process and cause permits to be issued promptly so construction work can begin. At this juncture, each reviewing federal agency has different review timelines which contribute to extensive delays in the implementation of the construction projects.