48 U.S.C. § 1987 — Oversight provisions

Page 342 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 1987 retary of the Interior shall submit the report to the appropriate committees of Congress. (2) Notice to Congress Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Government of the Republic of Palau submits a report required under the 2023 U.S.-Palau Compact Review Agreement, or any related subsidiary agreement, the Sec- retary of the Interior shall submit to the ap- propriate committees of Congress— (A) if the report is submitted by the appli- cable deadline, written notice attesting that the report is complete and accurate; or (B) if the report is not submitted by the applicable deadline, written notice that the report has not been timely submitted. (Pub. L. 118–42, div. G, title II, § 207, Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 433.) § 1987. Oversight provisions (a) Authorities and duties of the Comptroller General of the United States (1) In general The Comptroller General of the United States (including any duly authorized rep- resentative of the Comptroller General of the United States) shall have the authorities nec- essary to carry out the responsibilities of the Comptroller General of the United States under— (A) the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact and related subsidiary agreements, including the authorities and privileges described in section 1921a(b) of this title; (B) the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact and related subsidiary agreements, including the authorities and privileges described in section 1921b(k) of this title; and (C) the 2023 U.S.-Palau Compact Review Agreement, related subsidiary agreements, and the authorities described in appendix D of the ‘‘Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Palau Fol- lowing the Compact of Free Association Sec- tion 432 Review’’ signed by the United States and the Republic of Palau on September 3, 2010. (2) Reports Not later than 18 months after March 9, 2024, and every 4 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re- port with respect to the Freely Associated States, including addressing— (A) the topics described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of section 1921c(h)(1) of this title, except that for purposes of a report submitted under this paragraph, the report shall address those topics with respect to each of the Freely Associated States; and (B) the effectiveness of administrative oversight by the United States of the Freely Associated States. (b) Secretary of the Interior oversight authority The Secretary of the Interior shall have the authority necessary to fulfill the responsibil- ities for monitoring and managing the funds ap- propriated to the Compact of Free Association account of the Department of the Interior by section 1990(a) of this title to carry out— (1) the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact; (2) the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact; (3) the 2023 U.S.-Palau Compact Review Agreement; and (4) subsidiary agreements. (c) Postmaster General oversight authority The Postmaster General shall have the au- thority necessary to fulfill the responsibilities for monitoring and managing the funds appro- priated to the United States Postal Service under paragraph (1) of section 1990(b) of this title and deposited in the Postal Service Fund under paragraph (2)(A) of that section to carry out— (1) section 221(a)(2) of the 2023 Amended U.S.- FSM Compact; (2) section 221(a)(2) of the 2023 Amended U.S.- RMI Compact; (3) section 221(a)(2) of the U.S.-Palau Com- pact; and (4) Article 6(a) of the 2023 U.S.-Palau Com- pact Review Agreement. (d) Interagency Group on Freely Associated States (1) Establishment The President, in consultation with the Sec- retary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense, shall establish an Interagency Group on Freely Associated States (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Interagency Group’’). (2) Purpose The purposes of the Interagency Group are— (A) to coordinate development and imple- mentation of executive branch policies, pro- grams, services, and other activities in or re- lating to the Freely Associated States; and (B) to provide policy guidance, rec- ommendations, and oversight to Federal agencies, departments, and instrumental- ities with respect to the implementation of— (i) the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact; (ii) the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact; and (iii) the 2023 U.S.-Palau Compact Review Agreement. (3) Membership The Interagency Group shall consist of— (A) the Secretary of State, who shall serve as co-chair of the Interagency Group; (B) the Secretary of the Interior, who shall serve as co-chair of the Interagency Group; (C) the Secretary of Defense; (D) the Secretary of the Treasury; (E) the heads of relevant Federal agencies, departments, and instrumentalities carrying out obligations under— (i) sections 131 and 132 of the 2003 Amend- ed U.S.-FSM Compact and subsections (a) and (b) of section 221 and section 261 of the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact; (ii) sections 131 and 132 of the 2003 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact and sub- sections (a) and (b) of section 221 and sec- Page 343 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 1987 1 See References in Text note below. tion 261 of the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact; (iii) sections 131 and 132 and subsections (a) and (b) of section 221 of the U.S.-Palau Compact; (iv) Article 6 of the 2023 U.S.-Palau Com- pact Review Agreement; (v) any applicable subsidiary agreement; and (vi) section 1988 of this title; and (F) the head of any other Federal agency, department, or instrumentality that the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Interior may designate. (4) Duties of Secretary of State and Secretary of the Interior The Secretary of State (or a senior official designee of the Secretary of State) and the Secretary of the Interior (or a senior official designee of the Secretary of the Interior) shall— (A) co-lead and preside at a meeting of the Interagency Group not less frequently than annually; (B) determine, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the agenda for meet- ings of the Interagency Group; and (C) facilitate and coordinate the work of the Interagency Group. (5) Duties of the Interagency Group The Interagency Group shall— (A) provide advice on the establishment or implementation of policies relating to the Freely Associated States to the President, acting through the Office of Intergovern- mental Affairs, in the form of a written re- port not less frequently than annually; (B) obtain information and advice relating to the Freely Associated States from the Presidents, other elected officials, and mem- bers of civil society of the Freely Associated States, including through the members of the Interagency Group (including senior offi- cial designees of the members) meeting not less frequently than annually with any Presidents of the Freely Associated States who elect to participate; (C) at the request of the head of any Fed- eral agency (or a senior official designee of the head of a Federal agency) who is a mem- ber of the Interagency Group, promptly re- view and provide advice on a policy or policy implementation action affecting 1 or more of the Freely Associated States proposed by the Federal agency, department, or instru- mentality; and (D) facilitate coordination of relevant poli- cies, programs, initiatives, and activities in- volving 1 or more of the Freely Associated States, including ensuring coherence and avoiding duplication between programs, ini- tiatives, and activities conducted pursuant to a Compact with a Freely Associated State and non-Compact programs, initiatives, and activities. (6) Reports Not later than 1 year after March 9, 2024, and each year thereafter in which a Compact of Free Association with a Freely Associated State is in effect, the President shall submit to the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the ap- propriate committees of Congress a report that describes the activities and recommenda- tions of the Interagency Group during the ap- plicable year. (e) Federal agency coordination The head of any Federal agency providing pro- grams and services to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Is- lands, or the Republic of Palau shall coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec- retary of State regarding the provision of the programs and services. (f) Foreign loans or debt Congress reaffirms that— (1) the foreign loans or debt of the Govern- ment of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Government of the Republic of the Mar- shall Islands, or the Government of the Repub- lic of Palau shall not constitute an obligation of the United States; and (2) the full faith and credit of the United States Government shall not be pledged for the payment and performance of any foreign loan or debt referred to in paragraph (1) with- out specific further authorization. (g) Compact compilation Not later than 180 days after March 9, 2024, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes a compilation of the Compact of Free Association with the Federated State of Micro- nesia, the Compact of Free Association with the Republic of Palau, and the Compact of Free As- sociation with Republic of the Marshall Islands. (h) Publication; Revision by Office of the Law Revision Counsel (1) Publication In publishing this title 1 in slip form and in the United States Statutes at Large pursuant to section 112 of title 1, the Archivist of the United States shall include after the date of approval at the end an appendix setting forth the text of— (A) the 2023 Agreement to Amend the U.S.- FSM Compact; and (B) the 2023 Agreement to Amend the U.S.- RMI Compact. (2) Revision by Office of the Law Revision Counsel The Office of the Law Revision Counsel is di- rected to revise— (A) the 2003 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact set forth in the note following section 1921 of title 48 to reflect the amendments to the 2003 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact made by the 2023 Agreement to Amend the U.S.-FSM Compact; and (B) the 2003 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact set forth in the note following section 1921 of title 48 to reflect the amendments to the 2003 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact made by the Page 344 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 1988 2023 Agreement to Amend the U.S.-RMI Compact. (Pub. L. 118–42, div. G, title II, § 208, Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 434.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 1988 of this title, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(E)(vi), was in the original ‘‘section 209’’, meaning section 209 of title II of div. G of Pub. L. 118–42, which is classified principally to section 1988 of this title. For complete classification of section 209 to the Code, see Codification note set out under section 1988 of this title and Tables. This title, referred to in subsec. (h)(1), is title II of div. G of Pub. L. 118–42, Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 419, known as the Compact of Free Association Amend- ments Act of 2024, which is classified principally to this subchapter. For complete classification of title II to the Code, see Short Title of 2024 Amendment note set out under section 1901 of this title and Tables. § 1988. United States policy regarding the Freely Associated States (a) Authorization for veterans’ services (1) Definition of Freely Associated States In this subsection, the term ‘‘Freely Associ- ated States’’ means— (A) the Federated States of Micronesia, during such time as it is a party to the Com- pact of Free Association set forth in section 201 of the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–239; 48 U.S.C. 1901 note); (B) the Republic of the Marshall Islands, during such time as it is a party to the Com- pact of Free Association set forth in section 201 of the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–239; 48 U.S.C. 1901 note); and (C) the Republic of Palau, during such time as it is a party to the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Government of Palau set forth in section 201 of Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Reso- lution to approve the ‘Compact of Free Asso- ciation’ between the United States and the Government of Palau, and for other pur- poses’’ (Public Law 99–658; 48 U.S.C. 1931 note). (2), (3) Omitted (4) Legal issues (A) Agreements to furnish care and services (i) In general Before delivering hospital care or med- ical services under subsection (f) of section 1724 of title 38, as added by paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall enter into agreements with the governments of the Freely Associated States to— (I) facilitate the furnishing of health services, including telehealth, under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to veterans in the Free- ly Associated States, such as by address- ing— (aa) licensure, certification, registra- tion, and tort issues relating to health care personnel; (bb) the scope of health services the Secretary may furnish, as well as the means for furnishing such services; and (cc) matters relating to delivery of pharmaceutical products and medical surgical products, including delivery of such products through the Consoli- dated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to the Freely Associated States; (II) clarify the authority of the Sec- retary of Veterans Affairs to pay for tort claims as set forth under subparagraph (C); and (III) clarify authority and responsi- bility on any other matters determined relevant by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the governments of the Freely Associated States. (ii) Scope of agreements The agreements described in clause (i) shall incorporate, to the extent prac- ticable, the applicable laws of the Freely Associated States and define the care and services that can be legally provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Freely Associated States. (iii) Report to Congress (I) In general Not later than 90 days after entering into an agreement described in clause (i), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit the agreement to the appropriate committees of Congress. (II) Appropriate committees of Congress defined In this clause, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ means— (aa) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate; and (bb) the Committee on Natural Re- sources, the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa- tives. (B) Omitted (C) Payment of claims The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may pay tort claims, in the manner authorized in the first paragraph of section 2672 of title 28, when such claims arise in the Freely Associ- ated States in connection with furnishing hospital care or medical services or pro- viding medical consultation or medical ad- vice to a veteran under the laws adminis- tered by the Secretary, including through a remote or telehealth program. (5) Outreach and assessment of options During the 1-year period beginning on March 9, 2024, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, subject to the availability of appropriations—