Speeches

Statement Of The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega Before Special Industry Committee No. 25 U.S. Department Of Labor Wage And Hour Division Regarding The Minimum Wage In American Samoa - June 16, 2003
According to a 1954 U.S. Congressional House Report, "from January through April 1954, Van Camp Co. and the Tokyo Marine Products Corp., with whom the former had entered into contract, carried out in American Samoa the first joint American-Japanese venture in the history of Central Pacific tuna fishing. A fleet of 7 long-line boats, manned by Japanese fishermen, based in Pago Pago, with the logistical support of 2 American freezer ships, fished in a several hundred mile radius of American Samoa."

Testimony of The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega Submitted to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Regarding H.R. 3009 - The Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act - February 7, 2002
As a member of the U.S. House International Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I fully support Andean efforts to curb drug production. However, as the Ranking Member of the House International Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, I believe any trade policy we enact must be fair and non-discriminatory. Whether or not canned tuna is included in the Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act (ATPEA) is a matter of global concern.

Statement Of The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega Before The American Samoa Legislature, Fagatogo, American Samoa - Thursday January 31, 2002
Whether or not canned tuna is included in the Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act (ATPEA) is no longer just a local issue. The issue of preferential trade treatment for canned tuna is now an international trade matter of great concern. As the Ranking Member of the House International Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, I can assure you that American Samoa is at the heart and center of this international debate.

Special Industry Committee No. 24 U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Regarding the Minimum Wage In American Samoa Fagatogo, American Samoa - June 4, 2001
The minimum wage debate is not new to the United States or to American Samoa. Neither are the arguments offered by those in favor of an increase or those opposed to it. The debate has been with us since 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a New Deal for an America that had not yet established minimum wages, maximum hours, or fair labor standards.

Statement of The Honorable Eni F. H. Faleomavaega Before the United Nations Special Committee On Decolonization (C-24) At the Caribbean Regional Seminar To Review The Political, Economic And Social Conditions In the Small Island Non-Self-Governing Territories - May 23, 2001
I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency Julian R. Hunte, and the members of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24) for the formal invitation extended to me to participate in this session of the Special Committee. My compliments also go to the leaders and the Government of Cuba for their hospitality in hosting these meetings.

Statement of the Honorable Eni F. H. Faleomavaega Before the House Committee On Ways and Means Legislature of American Samoa Ref Senate Bill 27-8 - March 2001
I want to take this opportunity to thank you, Mr. Chairman, Speaker Matagi, and members of the Ways and Means Committee, for allowing me to testify on Senate Bill 27-8, a bill to impose a 20 percent import duty on the purchase price for each ton of light tuna off-loaded in the territory which entered the harbor aboard or was initially caught by a purse seiner vessel which is not registered in the United States.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Hearing on S.2899 - A Bill to Express the Policy of the United States Regarding the United States' Relationship with Native Hawaiians - September 14, 2000
There are well over 200,000 Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii. I suspect there are approximately another 100,000 living throughout the continental United States. In number, Native Hawaiians are the largest indigenous group of people living in the United States today.

Statement of The Honorable Eni F. H. Faleomavaega Before a Meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - March 2, 2000
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Task Force this morning. I just want to take a few minutes of your time to commend the Task Force for the good work that it has already accomplished, and to encourage the Task Force to continue its efforts.

Welcoming Remarks by The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega at the Global 2000 Symposium - April 24, 2000
In these remarks, Congressman Faleomavaega commends Counterpart International for the work it has done in more than 70 countries over the past 35 years, and discusses the increasing role non-governmental organizations (NGO's) play in both domestic and international affairs. Counterpoint International was formally known as the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific.

Remarks by Congressman Faleomavaega at the United States Department of Air Force Conference on Implications of Arms Control in the Asia-Pacific Region - Honolulu, Hawaii - March 1999
Historically, arms control negotiations are set by those who possess arms -- in accordance with the "golden rule." That is, he who has the gold, sets the rules. By that standard, perhaps it is appropriate that this conference take place here since the United States is the world's premier military power as well as the planet's leading arms exporter, with close to $11 billion in sales in 1997.

"Asian-Pacific Americans: A bridge for the Pacific Century" - May 1998
Americans of Asian-Pacific descent, almost 10 million strong, are among the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States today. Over the last decade, the Asian- Pacific American community has more than doubled and this rapid growth is expected to continue well into the next century.