US DoD announces price drops at exchanges and more
Shoppers at military commissaries will see prices cut, with the goal of achieving “at least” a 25% savings on grocery bills compared to local marketplaces, according to a Sept. 22 release from the U.S. Department of Defense.
According to Journal files, both the Navy Exchange and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service were affected some years ago by a provision in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2008, which was signed into law on Nov. 13, 2007.
The provision required military installations in all states the District of Columbia and Guam to procure alcoholic beverages “within that State.” Prior to the Act’s Sept. 1 effective date, the Navy Exchange used its procurement office in Virginia to purchase products directly from the manufacturers in the continental U.S.
According to Journal sources, the law has been upheld in – for example – Hawaii. But in Guam nine months of product were purchased locally, and not thereafter.
As to current pricing, one industry expert told the Journal, “Here on Guam it’s a good gap already.” Industry experts said the difference between pricing for beverages is about 30%.
By example, a case of 36 cans of Budweiser costs $32.99 at Cost U Less in Guam. On base, a case of 30 cans costs $18.75. That’s the equivalent for a 12-pack of $7.58 on-base and $11 in Guam.
Shipment of products is 100% subsidized for military outlets, which do not pay local taxes.
According to the DoD release, several measures “to help secure affordable basic needs” for personnel include
- A review of the prospective 2023 Basic Allowance for Housing tables “to ensure calculations reflect the unusually dynamic fluctuations in the housing market.”
DoD will institute automatic increases in BAH for active-duty Service members in 28 Military Housing Areas that have experienced an average of more than 20% spike in rental housing costs this year above this year’s BAH rates.
However, those areas are all in the U.S. mainland.
Guam is classified as an overseas location, which the release does not address. It does say that the Temporary Lodging Expense for U.S. mainland moves will increase from 10 to 14 days and allow up to 60 days of TLE if a mainland Military Housing Area with a housing shortage.
- A 4.6% pay increase for personnel from Jan. 1.
- Paying eligible personnel the Basic Needs Allowance from January 2023.
The BNA is a supplemental allowance for military “with dependents who apply and qualify based on their gross household income.”
The memorandum for Taking Care of Our Service Members and Families can be found here.
MilCon updates:
“U.S. territories” are among locations to get an upgraded satellite network through a $9.6 million contract modification awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense to CACI NSS Inc., of Colorado Springs, Colo.
The modification “provides for Phase 3 of the Air Force Satellite Control Network Radio Frequency Interference Monitoring System, deploying to the U.S., U.S. territories, and outside the U.S.,” to replace the existing system, which is being decommissioned as the ARMS solution is deployed at each site. The period of performance will be 16 months from contract award and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $565,309,687. The Space Systems Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colo., made the award, according to a Sept. 26 release from DoD.
Nan Inc. of Honolulu was awarded a $45.1 million firm-fixed-price contract for construction services to repair the Zamperini Dining Facility at the U.S. Army Garrison, Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 7, 2025. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $45,088,540 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu made the award, for which five bids were received, according to a Sept. 27 release from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Saipan Chamber and NMI businesses push back against tax increase
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce has “joined a coalition formed by many local and regional companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell non-alcoholic beverages across the CNMI to engage with the small business community to support the opposition of the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax bill” proposed in House Bill 22-116, the fiscal 2003 Appropriations Act, the chamber said in a Sept. 22 release.
The coalition has put together a letter to submit to Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres “to request the opposition of the Sugar Tax Bill in HB 22-116. “
The chamber said the beverage tax will “dramatically impact low-income families,” be passed to consumers, impact small business owners, and add to the existing tax burden on beverages.
Only seven cities in the U.S. have a beverage tax. Cook County, Ill. repealed its beverage tax “due to the outcry from local consumers and businesses,” the chamber said.
The bill also includes a “sin” tax on cigarettes and tobacco, certain to be equally unpopular.
A substitute version of the bill passed the Senate on Sept. 24, with disagreement among lawmakers on whether taxes can be included in a budget bill or need separate legislation.
The bill will need to be signed by Torres before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
Nominate a small business
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Guam Branch office has announced that nominations are open for the following categories:
- Small Business Person of the Year (National Award)
- Women in Business Small Business Champion of the Year (Local Award)
- Home-Based Business Champion of the Year (Local Award)
- Minority Small Business Champion of the Year (Local Award)
- Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year (Local Award)
Visit the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/nsbw to download forms, criteria, and guidelines for submitting a nomination. The Guam Branch Office Nomination Guidelines and branch awards categories can be found on the website above.
The Guam Branch Office must receive nominations by electronic submission only to the Branch’s box account no later 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 8.
For information or to receive a copy of the National/Guam Branch Nomination Guidelines, please contact Kenneth Lujan at [email protected].
DOI funding announced for Guam
The Office of the Insular Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior announced $167,815 funding for the University of Guam’s Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Pesticide Tree Injection Program to service ports of entry to prevent the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle from spreading on Guam and throughout the region. DOI also said $57 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has been announced for Guam. This year “the territory will receive nearly $30 million for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports and more than $26 million for clean water. More projects will be added in the coming months, as funding opportunities become grant awards and formula funds become available,” DOI said. The Sept. 20 announcement was made after Deputy Assistant Carmen Cantor visited Guam and met with officials of the government and judiciary.
Micronesian countries address issues at UN General Assembly
Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia officials spoke at the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking on Sept. 22, Gustav N. Aitaro, minister for Foreign Affairs of Palau, said climate change is “not only about hurricanes and floods; it is about droughts, it is about wildfires, it is about our ability to provide drinking water and feed our people when our lakes run dry and our aquaculture facilities and our reefs are ravaged by typhoons. We face all of these challenges and more in Palau today,” Aitaro said.
He said many of Palau’s fiscal resources have been dedicated to disaster relief. While Aitaro said there are “glimmers of hope” in Palau’s efforts against climate change. The country has also committed to 100% renewable energy by 2032.
Speaking on the Compact of Free Association with the U.S., Aitaro said while there has been development, “Our economy has grown too little and is fragile, demonstrated by a contraction of more than 30% in the last five years. Much of this is due to the COVID pandemic, but some to geopolitics,” he said. The country had been forced to borrow more than it should have, he said. “And we lack essential infrastructure.” On the March appointment of Joseph Yun as special presidential envoy for Compact negotiations, Aitaro said he hoped the envoy “will get his government to at least meet Palau’s minimum needs, so that our people can attain a decent standard of living without having to leave. This is essential to enabling the relationship to endure,” he said. Aitaro said Palau needs “greater financial and programmatic assistance and require these for the foreseeable future for as long as free association continues,” he said. “But what we want most are government measures and public and private investment to grow our economy.”
Specifically, Aitaro said the Belau National Hospital in Koror needs to move from a site that regularly floods “to a high elevation area.”
Also addressing the assembly on Sept. 22, President David W. Panuelo of the FSM, said the country’s foreign policy is to be a friend to all. “While acknowledging our interest in strengthening our tourism sector and developing value-added agricultural products, investment in the Blue Economy is our main aim, whereby our government works closely with the private sector for the benefit of all,” he said. “Sustainable fisheries management and protection of the environment are therefore essential in our endeavor to sustain marine life for our future generations
Panuelo said on loss and damage specifically, “Micronesia calls for the adoption of an agenda item for COP 27 (The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Egypt in November) on a Loss and Damage Response Fund, the establishment of that Fund in COP 27, and the full operationalization of the Fund to be completed in COP 28. The Federated States of Micronesia cannot overemphasize the extreme urgency of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees through rapid, deep, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”
However, he said, to the extent that mitigation, as well as adaptation, are not sufficient to avert or minimize loss and damage, “finance must be provided with all due haste to help vulnerable communities, like those of my country, to recover from Climate Change and related loss and damage.”
COVID-19 positives in Chuuk leap into hundreds
Community transmission of COVID-19 has risen from an initial 20 cases to more than 260, according to figures released on Sept. 27 by the Office of the President of the Federated States of Micronesia. There are no hospitalizations. Sports activities were cancelled, and residents were urged to wear masks and avoid crowds.
GVB gives a partial reveal on bylaws, updates on tourism efforts
Almost 80 people attended the Guam Visitors Bureau membership forum virtually on Sept. 21.
The last agenda item was listed as “remedial and corrective actions” of the bylaws, following a highly publicized rift between the GVB board and the staff. Carl T.C. Gutierrez, president of GVB said, “The bylaws … compete with the law that created GVB and the open government law and has been this way for a long, long time.” Gutierrez thanked senators Joe S. San Agustin and Clynton E. Ridgell “for giving the general manager fiscal and personnel authority over the bureau, even though it is apparently in there – but just to be doubly sure that there was no challenge.”
That authority is for fiscal 2023. “I hope they will call for a public hearing and oversight for testimony to be taken under oath, so we can clear this up once and for all in a forum where it can be fixed,” Gutierrez said. “And that was not without a fight from elected and selected members, who continue to believe they can operate the way they were [doing.]”
He said the legislation says that the general manager is responsible for running the bureau and enforcing the board’s laws and rules.
An in-person meeting is planned in November, Gerald S.A. Perez, vice president of GVB said. “At that time, we’ll have the revised bylaws and the corrective action plan done, for the membership to approve,” he said.
GVB legal counsel Joseph McDonald said under the enabling law he advises both the general manager and the board, particularly when the board is in session, but represents the best interests of the organization. McDonald said that unlike other organizations the board of GVB does not exercise all controls over the bureau, and the seconded amended bylaws go “far further than what is allowed under the enabling act. That is the actual root cause of some of the laws that we’ve been seeing.” Some of the bylaws take away abilities of the members to do things, McDonald said, which also needs reconciling.
He detailed the responsibilities of the general manager and the board and said the legislature remains ultimate control over the agency. “We’ve also involved an outside expert,” McDonald said. “It’s a high integrity outfit that consists of former law enforcement and some of the highest levels of the Internal Revenue Service,” he said.
While he did not provide details, McDonald said management had evidence and belief about some violations of the open government law and referred to business discussions about GVB outside of an open government meeting. “This is an ongoing review; we haven’t had any conclusions to date,” McDonald said.
During the meeting the status of Guam’s tourism markets were discussed, with Perez providing an update since the bureau’s last meeting in May, to include marketing efforts. “We are actually up in all markets,” he said. “We are … probably going to end the fiscal year with about 200,000 visitors,” he said. GVB had previously forecast a high of 130,000, he said.
PCR testing is no longer required in Japan, with almost all border requirements lifted from Oct. 11, to include visa-free entry for original travelers. Taiwan and Hong Kong are also easing restrictions, although Hong Kong will continue to test travelers for a week after arrival.
Perez said higher fares and a weak yen “is also starting to dampen enthusiasm for travel” in Japan. “However, we still believe that the pent-up demand will overcome some of these challenges and we will start seeing more Japanese arrivals.”
GVB had enhanced its Japan “PR activity and media exposure in excess of half a million dollars,” he said. GVB was also due to attend at the Pacific Islander Festival in San Diego on Sept. 24 and 25, at the IMEX MICE event in Las Vegas in October and at the MICE Show Asia in Singapore in October.
Perez and representatives of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam had also met with officials of the U.S. Department of Transportation. “We were encouraged to re-engage discussions on issues like the fifth freedom flights (when airlines from a certain country fly between two other foreign countries) and Haneda opportunities. … They understood very well that Guam’s specific bilateral issues even to the point where we discussed the possibility of going back to where we were … that carve Guam out – and Saipan – from the slots, allowing us to operate in other cities.”
Other efforts include reintroducing the Guam Island Fiesta Tour, expand tourism from Tumon to island wide diversified attractions with strengthened cultural experiences in the villages, invest in special events, a Guam Educational Travel Guide
The bureau posts biweekly progress updates on its site, Perez said. GVB has 117 members, with more expected to join, he said. Annual dues are $100. The deadline for membership dues is Oct. 5, with elections in January.
In related news, the Marianas Visitors Authority announced members can join for fiscal 2023 for $100 by registering and paying at www.mymarianas.com. MVA currently has 144 members.
MVA attended the Asia Dive Expo from Sept. 16 to 18 in Singapore, according to a Sept. 26 release. Palau was among 127 other exhibitors at the expo, which drew 29,000 attendees, including 17,000 consumers and about 10,000 diving trade representatives.
And also:
At the 36th Guam Legislature, the Committee on Health, Land, Justice, and Culture of the 36th Guam Legislature will convene a public hearing on Oct. 18 on the proposed medical health care campus, to discuss the proposed location of a new hospital as well as contracts pertaining to the proposed medical health care campus, and to hear from stakeholders as to the proposed sites and alternatives.
Bill 277-36, relative to authorizing the Chamorro Land Trust Commission to “enter into commercial submerged lands license agreements passed into law, to be known as the Guam Undersea Access for Home Act. Fees will be deposited into the Chamorro Land Trust Survey and Infrastructure Fund. There are at least 11 submarine cables that either pass through or terminate in Guam. In addition to local telecom providers, other major companies operating in a consortium include AT&T, Tata Telecom, RTI, TPG, Google, Verizon, and SoftBank, according to a Sept. 23 release from the Office of Sen. Telo T. Taitague.
Bill No. 309-36 (COR), “relative to ensuring person or entities who have filed complaints with the Guam Board of Medical Examiners for alleged medical negligence or misconduct are promptly informed on the status of their cases,” was debated and moved Sept. 26 to the voting file on the Session floor without objection.
The Western Pacific Maritime Academy in the Northern Mariana Islands announced Sept. 22 its first U.S. Coast Guard-approved course. The vessel security course (Vessel Personnel with Designated Security Duties) was given to 12 candidates who are sea farers’ holding a Merchant Marine Credential, or men and women who wish to become professional mariners.
WPMA is a non-profit corporation in Saipan with its maritime offices and classrooms located at Northern Marianas Technical Institute in Lower Base. The academy will be offering a full curriculum of USCG-approved maritime courses and services. For information, contact Selina Taitano at [email protected] or Capt. Michael Bacher at (670) 789-1636/ [email protected]
United Airlines members of the Association of Flight Attendants in Guam will join other United Airlines personnel around the U.S. and in London “to demand United Airlines fix ongoing operational disruptions and focus on labor relations that support people on the frontlines,” according to the union. United personnel scheduled picketing from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 27 at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam.
For your diary:
Oct. 1 – The Guam Department of Agriculture’s Forestry and Soil Resources Division, the University of Guam Sea Grant and “several small businesses” will host the Ridge to Reef with ArborFest event at Jeff’s Pirates Cove from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will include art and cultural activities, education and outreach information and a native tree maze. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Oct. 24 – The U.S. national Economic Census will begin. Businesses including those in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are required by law to respond. The first statistics are due to be released in March 2024. Information for the Economic Census of the Island Areas is typically released later, during a visit by census bureau officials. The 2017 Island Areas information was released in February 2020.
Did a friend forward this? Sign up for FREE Journal News Flashes at www.mbjguam.com