Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 108-188.
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on November 6, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 - Title I: Approval of U.S.-FSM Compact and U.S.-RMI Compact; Interpretation Of, and U.S. Policies Regarding, U.S.-FSM Compact and U.S.-RMI Compact; Supplemental Provisions - (Sec. 101) Grants congressional approval to the "Compact of Free Association, as amended between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia" (U.S.-FSM Compact) and the "Compact of Free Association, as amended between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands" (U.S.-RMI Compact), as well as consent to specified subsidiary agreements and amended subsidiary agreements.
(Sec. 102) Directs the United States to provide non-reimbursable technical and training assistance, including training and equipment for postal inspection of illicit drugs and other contraband, to enable the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) to develop and adequately enforce its laws and to cooperate with the United States in the enforcement of U.S. criminal laws. Declares that certain funds appropriated under this title may be used to reimburse State or local agencies providing such assistance.
Specifies the auditing authorities of the Comptroller General under the U.S.-FSM Compact.
(Sec. 103) Directs the United States to provide the same nonreimbursable technical and training assistance to the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), with the same authority to use certain funds appropriated under this title to reimburse State or local agencies providing such assistance.
Cites the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-239), which granted congressional approval of the Compact of Free Association between the United States, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia to recount provisions regarding: (1) the continued availability of certain lands on Ejit to the people of Bikini; (2) the "Section 177 Agreement" on U.S. compensation to citizens of the Marshall Islands, or the FSM, or Palau for loss or damage to property or person resulting from the U.S. nuclear testing program between June 30, 1946, and August 18, 1958; (3) additional specified amounts payable to the peoples of Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap, and Utrik who were affected by the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program; (4) ratification and approval of the Section 177 Agreement as full and final settlement of all compensation claims relating to nuclear testing; (5) the Four Atoll Health Care Program; (6) the Enjebi Community Trust Fund and resettlement of the people of Enjebi on Enjebi or elsewhere if Enjebi exceeds radiation standards; and (7) funding of the Bikini Atoll Cleanup.
The summary continues for 69 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on December 17, 2003. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This joint resolution has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 17, 2003: Became Public Law No: 108-188.
What is a joint resolution, exactly?
A joint resolution travels the same road as a bill: both chambers pass it and the President signs it, and it then has the same force as any other law. The label is largely a matter of custom, often used for narrow or time-limited measures.
One exception matters. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution is not sent to the President at all. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JIM LEACH (R-IA) introduced it on July 8, 2003, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law