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U.S. Approves Funding for Pacific Island Nations
April 2024
The U.S. House of Representatives on March 6 approved a $7 billion spending package that included funding to support updated versions of the Compact of Free Association with the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia that will govern relations with these island nations for the next 20 years. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on March 8.
The extension of the compact with the Marshall Islands, and earlier compacts with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau, guarantees the United States exclusive military rights over large areas in the Pacific region, including a missile test facility in the Marshall Islands and a high-frequency radar system being built in Palau. It also guarantees a continuation of federal services and rights for citizens of the island nations. The Compact of Free Association packages will provide economic assistance of $3.3 billion to the Federated States of Micronesia, $2.3 billion to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and $889 million to Palau through 2043.
The agreement with the Marshall Islands also will update and expand U.S. financial and technical assistance to the island nation, including for the ongoing health and environmental damage caused by the 67 atmospheric nuclear test explosions conducted between 1946 and 1958. (See ACT, March 2023.)—DARYL G. KIMBALL