DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BEGINS FIRST STEPS TOWARD ESTABLISHING ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT COMMITTEE FOR GUAM
(Washington D.C.) — The Department of Defense (DoD) has confirmed that it is initiating the first steps toward potentially convening a full EAC. This comes after a joint letter from Congressman Moylan and Governor Leon Guerrero requested the establishment of an Economic Adjustment Committee (EAC) to address the community impacts of the ongoing Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) build-up on Guam.
DoD officials confirmed the process is beginning by bringing federal agencies together at the regional level to identify available resources, assess gaps, and determine what additional information is needed from the Territory. Although not yet a full EAC, this process provides local leadership with new avenues to convey their needs to federal partners.
“Guam is carrying the responsibility of hosting the most consequential missile-defense system in the Indo-Pacific,” said Congressman Moylan. “But our island’s civilian infrastructure has not been growing at the same pace as the military footprint. An EAC is how we bridge that gap and ensure federal agencies are aware of the realities our community will face as a result of this build-up.”
An Economic Adjustment Committee is a federal mechanism that coordinates multiple agencies to support communities experiencing major defense-driven changes. For Guam, the need is immediate and tangible. In 2015, the last EAC for Guam[1] produced millions of dollars in project proposals, which resulted in major investment across the Island. Notable accomplishments included:
• Construction of a Guam Cultural Repository
• Construction of a Guam Public Health Laboratory with Biosafety Level 2/3 Testing Capability
• Improvements to Guam Civilian Water and Wastewater Systems
• Improvements to Apra Harbor through MARAD Grants
A new EAC would help align the War Department, U.S. Transportation, Interior, Labor, Commerce, EPA, FEMA, and other agencies to jointly address today’s challenges rather than leaving Guam to deal with each one separately.
Congressman Moylan stated that his office will remain fully engaged as regional interagency meetings begin: “We didn’t wait for a reply. We kept pushing behind the scenes, and now DoD is moving. We will keep driving this forward until the federal government acknowledges the full scope of Guam’s needs and delivers the support our people deserve. An EAC lets us put everyone at the same table, identify the gaps, and secure the resources Guam needs to support our communities while sustaining our national defense mission.”
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