U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) joined a bipartisan contingent of 25 other lawmakers in urging U.S. Senate leaders to move forward on the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
“Our COFA partnerships are critical to U.S. national security,” Sen. Cassidy and his colleagues wrote in a Feb. 29 letter to Senate leadership. “Failure to pass the renegotiated compacts as soon as possible imperils our relationships with the Freely Associated States and the entire Pacific Island region, who view the COFA as a barometer of the U.S. commitment to the region.”
The compacts, which describe the financial assistance commitment by the United States to these countries, ensure that America, rather than a nation hostile to U.S. interests, maintains strategic control of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines, added the senators.
Specifically, Sen. Cassidy and his colleagues urged U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) to support legislation to renew the COFAs.
“These unique bilateral agreements are the product of nearly four years of negotiations under two presidential administrations, and year-long negotiations across eight primary committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate and multiple others,” wrote the lawmakers. “The resulting bicameral, bipartisan legislation will secure U.S. national security in the Indo-Pacific for the next two decades.”
Among the lawmakers who joined Sen. Cassidy in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Todd Young (R-IN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).
They noted that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is engaged in active efforts to undermine Pacific Island nations’ confidence in the United States.
“Failure to act on COFA opens the door to more corrupting influence and funding by the PRC in the region,” Sen. Cassidy and the lawmakers wrote. “The PRC is pursuing military basing and policing agreements in the region and working to undermine recognition of Taiwan, and exerting corrupting influence in several other countries.
“Without the COFA agreements, these trends would accelerate,” they added.