Press Release

Representative Ami Bera (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, today led 12 bipartisan Members of Congress in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young expressing support for the Office of Management and Budget's efforts to continue U.S. Postal Service servicing to the Freely Associate States (FAS)—the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia—as a part of the wider negotiations to renew the Compacts of Free Association (COFA, or Compacts).

The letter comes amid ongoing discussions between the United States and the FAS to renew the Compacts, through which the FAS receive U.S. economic assistance, grants, and key federal services, and the United States the rights to operate military bases on FAS soil and make decisions that affect mutual security. One of the outstanding issues is ensuring the USPS continues to provide postal services to the FAS moving forward.

In the letter, the Members wrote:

Click here or see below for full text of the letter:

July 28, 2022

The Honorable Shalanda Young
Director
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Director Young,

As Members with a deep interest in the U.S. relationship with the Freely Associated States (FAS)—the Federates State of Micronesia (FSM), Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau—we appreciate your work to ensure the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) fully participates in the negotiations to renew the Compacts of Free Association (COFA, or Compacts). We support your office's ongoing efforts to engage USPS and facilitate a mutually agreeable solution to address reported concerns related to the cost of continued postal services to the FAS—such as by adding consistent funding aligned with the terms of the renegotiated Compacts to future presidential budget requests.

The United States shares both a deep history with these three sovereign countries as well as a unique relationship governed by the COFA, which grants the United States the right to operate military bases on FAS soil and make decisions that affect mutual security. The FAS were indispensable partners during the Second World War and have continued to help advance U.S. diplomatic and security interests in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. They receive U.S. economic assistance as well services from at least 60 U.S. agencies, including USPS.

The Compact economic assistance, funded through the Department of Interior, expires in 2023 for the RMI and FSM, and 2024 for Palau. Discussions between the United States and the FAS to renew economic assistance began in May 2020, but one of the sticking points is ensuring the USPS continues to provide postal services to the FAS moving forward. Per comments provided to the Government Accountability Office for the report on the Compacts of Free Association Grants & Trust Funds (GAO-22-104436), the USPS shares it has incurred "losses in excess of $110 million since 2002 by providing services to the Freely Associated States under the current Compact Agreements," and that it seeks "full reimbursement for past expenses incurred going forward. It is our understanding that USPS has been unwilling to meaningfully engage in Compact negotiations discussions so far.

The United States has a strategic interest in maintaining robust connections with the FAS, which view continued postal services to be a crucial component of Compact renegotiation. We strongly support any efforts by your office to work with USPS to devise and include a mutually agreeable funding level in future presidential budgets to ensure continued mail services to the FAS.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,