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Rongelap Mayor James Matayoshi
announced Wednesday that the US Senate has approved an
additional $5.3 million for the Rongelap Resettlement Trust
Fund. The funding is
waiting on House of Representatives approval.
“We have been patiently
working with theUS Congress to create awareness that this
$5.3 million is a moral obligation of the United States,”
Matayoshi said. “We almost had it in the FY2004 Department
of Defense budget but it got dropped at the last minute.
Then we were successful getting language supporting this
funding in the report on the FY2004 Department of Interior
Appropriations Act.”
Matayoshi expressed
happiness that the funding is being supported in the
Congress. “The Senate and House members and staff were very
sincere about helping us go forward with the resettlement
process, and we are deeply grateful that these funds are now
in a Senate-passed bill that is now before the House for
approval,” he said. “If it is approved, that will be a great
day for Rongelap.
“We will use the funds for
imported food and other resettlement needs as we go forward
to get our people home in the foreseeable future.”
The funding, if approved,
is to be provided at the rate of $1.7 million annually over
three years. This “is not perfect,” Matayoshi said of the
phased funding, “but it’s better than nothing.”
He observed that with the
US budget under tremendous pressure because of the war in
Iraq, Rongelap was fortunate that the Senate and House are
supporting the measure.
“If we have to go back we
will, but we will be very grateful if it gets done this year
so we can concentrate on other issues here at home and in
Washington,” Matayoshi said. |
