Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Access to affordable child care, combating climate change, reducing housing costs, and local eligibility for the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI), are the among the many benefits that American Samoa is expected to receive under U.S President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” framework — legislation that is pending in the U.S Congress.

This is according to the Build Back Better fact-sheet on American Samoa released by the White House, along with similar ones for the rest of the states and other territories.

According to the White House, the measure will create good-paying jobs for residents of American Samoa, combat climate change, give children cleaner air and water, make America the leader in global innovation and 21st century manufacturing.

For investment in childcare and early education, the Fact Sheet states the framework, will enable American Samoa to:

•           provide access to child care for young children (ages 0-5) 
from low- and middle-income families, and ensure these families pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care; and

•           expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more 3- and 4-year-olds and increase the quality of preschool for children who are already enrolled.

Under the section on climate change, the Fact Sheet points out that American Samoa is facing more heat waves, stronger tropical storms and cyclones, sea level rise, and challenges for coral reefs from climate change.

The framework will set the U.S on course to meet its climate targets — a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 — in a way that creates good- paying union jobs, grows domestic industries, and advances environmental justice.

“And the framework will create a new Civilian Climate Corps that will enlist a diverse generation of American Samoans in conserving our public lands, bolstering community resilience, and addressing the changing climate …,” it says.

Among the benefits to American Samoa is making education beyond high school more affordable and accessible.

To help unlock the opportunities of an education beyond high school, the framework will increase maximum Pell Grant awards by $550 for students at public and private non-profit institutions, supporting the 870 students in American Samoa who rely on Pell.

And the framework will also invest in American Samoa Community College and other minority-serving institutions and the students they serve across the country, the fact-sheet shows.

Another benefit is training America’s workers for jobs of the future. The document explains that the framework invests in training programs that will prepare American Samoa’s workers for high-quality jobs in fast-growing sectors like public health, childcare, manufacturing, IT, and clean energy.

Additionally, American Samoa Community College will have the opportunity to benefit from grants to develop and deliver innovative training 
programs and expand proven ones.

Providing nutritious food options for children is another benefit under Biden’s legislation for the territory and the framework will ensure that the nutritional needs of American Samoa’s children are met by providing 14,000 students with resources to purchase food over the school break.

American Samoa will also benefit under by reduced housing costs and expanded housing options where the framework will expand rental assistance for American Samoa renters, while also increasing the supply of high-quality housing through the construction and rehabilitation of over 1 million affordable housing units nationwide.

A provision of the Biden legislation will “Expand Supplemental Security Income benefits to territories”, saying that the President is “committed to treating all residents of American Samoa with dignity and respect.”

It says that framework follows through on that promise by expanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to thousands of low-income senior citizens and disabled citizens in American Samoa, providing them with monthly checks to help make ends meet.

“This is a historic step towards greater equality between territories and states, which all American Samoans deserve,” it says.

Another provision of the bill, that would also benefit the territory, is that it will extend the Child Tax Credit (CTC) increases of $300 per month per child under 6 or $250 per month per child ages 6 to 17.

(Samoa News notes that CTC for American Samoa is frozen under the 2000 law and that ASG revenue funds the current CTC, while the federal government funds the Additional Child Tax Credit for tax payers who qualify.)

Also under Build Back Better framework is a provision that will increase health care funding for Medicaid. It will expand health care access by increasing the federal Medicaid allotment funding for American Samoa to $90 million and the federal Medicaid match to 83%.

“This additional funding will help ensure over 37,000 residents of American Samoa enrolled in Medicaid continue to have access to high quality and affordable health care,” according to the White House.

Specific details on the American Samoa Fact-Sheet is found on the White House website [www.whitehouse.gov].