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Topic

Implications of the Planned Ending of Some US Assistance Provided Under the Compacts of Free Association

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US assistance provided through compacts of free association with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau provides as much as one-third of the countries' annual budgets. This includes compact grants—for critical services like health care and education—that will end in 2023 or 2024. To offset the ending of this assistance, the United States also contributes to trust funds for each country meant to partly replace the assistance. A recent US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reviewed the projected fiscal effects of the ending of compact grants and services. The GAO report projected that Micronesia's and the Marshall Islands' trust funds will supply less funding than the grants that are ending and may provide none in some years—leading to shortfalls in the governments’ abilities to financially support the two nations. The GAO also found, among other things, that the State Department hasn't set timeframes for establishing a key economic advisory group to help Palau use US funds accountably. GAO staff plan to discuss these, and other important issues identified in the report at this event.

This seminar will be on-the-record and recorded on both Zoom and YouTube.

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May 24, 2022 04:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Message preview	Hi there, You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: May 24, 2022 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Implications of the Planned Ending of Some US Assistance Provided Under the Compacts of Free Association Register in advance for this webinar: https://eastwestcenter.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__tw6kLI3RLqgruvnTqWYAQ Or an H.323/SIP room system: H.323: 162.255.37.11 (US West) 162.255.36.11 (US East) 115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai) 115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad) 213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands) 213.244.140.110 (Germany) 103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney) 103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne) 209.9.211.110 (Hong Kong SAR) 64.211.144.160 (Brazil) 69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto) 65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver) 207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo) 149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka) Meeting ID: 998 2719 1688 SIP: 99827191688@zoomcrc.com After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ---------- Webinar Speakers Ms. Latesha Love (Director, International Affairs and Trade (IAT) Team @Government Accountability Office) Latesha Love is a Director in GAO’s International Affairs and Trade (IAT) team. She has over nineteen years of experience leading performance and forensic audits in a wide range of federal program and policy areas. In IAT, she leads a cross-cutting portfolio of evaluations examining international policy issues such as efforts to combat international trafficking in persons and arms, international cybersecurity issues, terrorism and corruption in security assistance, development and humanitarian assistance to reconstruction and peace-keeping efforts, and trade barriers, among others. Prior to joining GAO, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Virginia State University and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, where she was also a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow. Mr. Jeff Isaacs (Technical Specialist, International Affairs and Trade Team @Government Accountability Office) Jeff Isaacs is a technical specialist in GAO’s International Affairs and Trade Team. His current focus is on the U.S. Agency for International Development, Department of State, and Department of Interior. Mr. Isaacs supports oversight of these departments through performance audits and recommendations to improve financial accountability and strengthening internal controls. Mr. Isaacs joined GAO in March 1997 after 15 years in public accounting, most of it with major firms auditing and advising U.S Government agencies. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government Financial Manager. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Tech. Ms. Andrea Riba Miller (Senior Analyst, International Affairs and Trade Team @Government Accountability Office) Andrea Riba Miller is a Senior Analyst in GAO’s International Affairs and Trade team and leads performance audits of federal programs in the areas of trade, foreign policy, and national security. Her work focuses on the intersection of international affairs and domestic policy, on topics such as customs trade enforcement and forced labor; economic assistance to compacts of free association; UN oversight; embassy rightsizing; conflict minerals; and counterterrorism issues such as soft targets, among others. Andrea has a bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College (International Relations and German) and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh (MPIA). Dr. Marc Rockmore (Senior Economist, International Affairs and Trade Team @Government Accountability Office) Dr. Marc Rockmore is a senior economist in GAO’s International Affairs and Trade where he has worked on a variety of issues including economic assistance to compact nations, the financial sustainability of Consular Affairs, and ‘conflict minerals’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prior to joining the GAO, he worked at Bowdoin College and Clark University. His academic research has appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Development Studies, World Bank Economic Review, and World Development. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, a Master’s degree in International and Development Economics from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Swarthmore College. H.E. Gerald M. Zackios (Ambassador of the Republic of Marshall Islands to the United States of America @Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Washington, DC) Ambassador Zackios is honored to serve as the Ambassador of the Marshall Islands to the United States. He presented his credentials to President Barack H. Obama on September 16, 2016. Prior to this appointment, he started his civil service in the Marshall Islands in 1985 when he was hired as the Fiscal Officer for the Department of Aging, in what was then the Ministry of Social Services (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs). He worked there for two years before returning to school. He completed his Bachelor in Law degree in 1989 at the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. Mr. Zackios returned after completion of his university studies to the RMI and was engaged as an Assistant Attorney General from 1990-1992. During this period, he also attended the IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta where he received a Masters of Law Degree in International Maritime Law in June 1992. Dr. Mary Therese Perez Hattori (Interim Director, Pacific Islands Development Program @East-West Center) Dr. Mary Therese Perez Hattori is Interim Director of the Pacific Islands Development Program. Prior to this, she was a Scholarship Program Specialist in the East-West Center’s Education Program, Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning and Associate Professor of Education at Chaminade University; Outreach Director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at UHM; and Associate Professor of Information Technology and Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Technology at Kapiʻolani Community College. A native Chamoru of Guåhan (Guam), she is a community organizer and advocate for Pacific islanders in Hawaiʻi, co-organizer of cultural events such as the Annual Cultural Animation Film Festival, the Annual Celebrate Micronesia Festival, Micronesian Women’s Summit, and Oceania on the Reel, and teacher/mentor of students in Pacific Studies, Learning Design & Technology, and the UHM & San Francisco State University Educational Doctorate programs. Mr. Jackson T. Soram (Deputy Chief of Mission @Embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia) Jackson Soram is a career diplomat, having served for up to twenty (20) years as a Foreign Service Officer at the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) Department of Foreign Affairs. Throughout his career as a diplomat, Mr. Soram has served in numerous posts. This includes serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information & Research, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs. In 2013, he was assigned overseas to serve as Deputy Chief of Mission at the FSM Embassy in Beijing, China. In 2016, he was relocated back to the Capital at the FSM Department of Foreign Affairs to serve as Assistant Secretary for the Division of Asia, Pacific, Africa, & Multilateral Affairs (APAMA). In 2017, he was appointed to serve as Deputy Chief of Mission at the FSM Embassy in Washington D.C., a position he currently holds today.

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