Vice speaker: Invest Section 30 windfall in health, safety, education
Vice Speaker Tina Rose Muña Barnes is proposing to invest Section 30 funds windfall into safety agencies, medical tuition subsidies, and retention of local physicians and nurses, following a reported increase in the reimbursement of income taxes earned by military and federal personnel stationed on Guam,
A key official of the Office of Insular Affairs, along with Del. James Moylan, announced earlier that the local government is estimated to receive $80 million in Section 30 funds for fiscal 2025 — millions more than the current year’s reimbursement.
Since the executive budget request that Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero submitted in January projected about $74.2 million from this source being deposited into the government of Guam’s general fund next year, an estimated $5.8 million in Section 30 money is not accounted for in the spending plan, the vice speaker’s office said.
“While the delivery of our next Section 30 reimbursement is months away, my goal is for the Legislature to consider these proposals as soon as possible, so they can be included in our fiscal year 2025 budget deliberations,” the vice speaker said in a press release. “Directing this windfall into these departments and programs will help save lives and build up our health care workforce.”
Her funding proposals are outlined in a series of measures introduced on Thursday:
- Bill 298-37 seeks to invest an additional $700,000 in the Guam National Guard’s local matching funds, so it can receive increased federal grants. According to the Guard, this greater subsidy will unlock a further $2 million worth of grants for soldiers and airmen.
- Bill 299-37 seeks to appropriate $1 million to the Guam Police Department for the purchase of patrol cars and security cameras along major roadways.
- Bill 300-37 would appropriate $1.3 million to the Guam Fire Department to purchase life-saving vehicles and equipment, including those used in rescue and grass fire responses.
- Bill 301-37 would invest $900,000 into an existing physician retention program, which provides those who serve on Guam with financial support like loan repayments.
- Bill 302-37 would invest $900,000 into existing nursing recruitment and retention incentives that are managed by the Department of Administration.
- Bill 303-37 would invest $1 million to continue funding medical degree subsidies for local students who attend off-island universities through a program administered by the Guam Community College.
Muña Barnes said she’s grateful to these agencies for being forthcoming about their funding needs, thanking them for their patience while waiting for credible funding source to emerge.
“We would not be able to move forward with these bills if it weren’t for the collaboration and open communication we share with Del. Jim Moylan, which is key as the oversight chair on federal affairs,” Muña Barnes said. “I hope the discussions brought out by the public hearings on these measures will shore up more support for these critical appropriations.”