Amata's Pacific Notebook: "THE REVOLVING DOOR"
May 24, 2007

Reprinted from Samoa News
May 23, 2007

While they say a picture is worth a thousand words, the Samoa News
photo yesterday of our American Samoa Government delegation meeting
with Sen. Inouye does not tell the full story and deserves more than
just a caption. According to people familiar with their meetings,
their mission may have made a difference in the outcome of the minimum
wage hike debate underway in Congress. Several people have told me
about the delegation's meetings and I want to share some of their
impressions with you.

First, I should say credit goes to Governor Togiola for recognizing
the critical nature of the issue and assembling a group of our most
senior leaders to travel to Washington in an effort to make maximum
impact on the debate by underscoring the seriousness with which we
take the issue. Lt. Gov. Ipulasi Sunia, President of the Senate Lolo
Moliga, Speaker of the House Savali Talavou Ale, Secretary of Samoan
Affairs PC Mauga T. Asuega, Manu'a District Governor Tufele F. Li'a
and Eastern District Governor Gaoteote Tapatonu traveled to the
Nation's Capital on short notice and, with the help of the Governor's
Washington representative, had a whirlwind schedule of meetings with
Senators, senior Congressional staffers and Bush administration
officials.

This was a very high ranking delegation and kudos to the Governor's
representative for making sure they got to see the highest ranking
federal officials possible. To undertake this mission, these leaders
also had to miss the funeral of His Highness Susuga Malietoa
Tanumafili II. That was a particularly hard choice and big sacrifice
for the paramount chiefs who were part of the delegation.

But the federal minimum wage hike debate was at a critical stage and
the bill was moving so they dropped everything and came to Washington
to express their concerns. Although they were in town for less than a
week, they spoke with one voice and made a compelling argument, backed
by facts, that a sharp increase in the minimum wage would have a
devastating effect on our local economy.

The delegation did a fabulous job and worked very hard on this trip.
They stuck to their task and came through with strong results. Each
of the leaders spoke beautifully and eloquently. They were very
persuasive and presented their case strongly and were very well
received everywhere they went. Although their meeting with Sen.
Daniel Inouye (D-HI) was interrupted when he had to go to the Senate
floor for a vote, when he returned, he found they had not left the
building yet and invited them back into his office to spend more time
going over the issue. Inouye told them he is with them and would try
to work it out with the House.

At their meeting with Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), he stopped his
Government Operations hearing, took a 15-minute recess and made
himself available to them. In his understated Pacific way, he
reminded them that he, too, is Polynesian. Words spoken were so
heartfelt and it did help.

They also were well received by Secretary of the Interior Dirk
Kempthorne, who spent almost an hour with them. He was said to be
moved by their pleas for help and promised to make some calls. The
secretary is a former governor and former U.S. senator and still has
many friends on Capitol Hill. He also told the group he was looking
forward to visiting them in American Samoa next month.

Speaking as a proud Samoan, I want to express my humble gratitude to
the delegation for making themselves available to make the case for
American Samoa. It was a big help.

There are no guarantees, of course, because the fate of the minimum
wage hike is in the hands of a House-Senate conference committee led
by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and his Senate
counterpart, Sen. Robert C. Byrd. While Senators Akaka, Inouye and
Bingaman are in favor of a compromise, there still is the question of
whether the House will insist on a stiffer wage raise for the Northern
Marianas (CNMI) and for treating the CNMI and American Samoa alike.

Now that the Democrats have given up the idea of including in the bill
a timeline for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, insiders expect negotiations
on the bill to move fast, with a compromise bill agreed to by the end
of this week. Congress has pledged to have a bill on President Bush's
desk for signature before they take their Memorial Day recess.

Meanwhile sixteen blocks west of Congress, at the White House, our own
Marlena Valasi Lancaster Morgan was personally receiving her
commission as an Army officer from President Bush. Marlena's husband
2LT Bradford Ross Morgan and her mother CW3 (Ret.) Fuala'au
Tago-Lancaster of Nuuuli were here with her and while I did not have
an opportunity to visit with them, we did have a nice chat by
telephone.

Washington continues to be a revolving door for Samoans. Our
delegation is gone and so are Marlena and her family but next week LTC
Evelyn Vaitautolu Langford will be here to receive the Meritorious
Service Award at the Federal Asian Pacific American Council's
leadership conference. Her husband Dave Langford of Fagatogo and
father Vaitautolu T. Liugalua of Faleasao will be here with her. This
fine officer will be recognized for her leadership and service in the
Asian Pacific American community. FAPAC is a very prestigious group
and I had the honor of keynoting their 2003 Banquet.

As always, I'd love to have your comments and for those of you who are
friends or family of Evelyn Langford's and want to send her
congratulations, just email it to aumuaamata@mail.com and I'll be sure
she gets it.