EDITORIAL
U.S. owes compact islanders much more

At a U.S. Senate hearing set for tomorrow in Washington, lawmakers will once again hear a plea for Hawai'i and other American flag islands in the Pacific for greater federal help in serving the needs of former Trust Territory islanders.

They should listen.

Under a compact of free association with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands that has been in place since 1986, the United States provides substantial financial aid to those islands in exchange for certain defense and foreign affairs rights.

In essence, it maintains a strong American presence in this vast swath of the mid-Pacific.

Part of that agreement is the right of islanders to move freely to the United States and its territories and possessions. Hawai'i and Guam are most heavily impacted by this stream of immigration, as islanders move for better education, job and health opportunities.

The compact is up for renegotiation, a process that should be completed before September. As part of that new agreement, the federal government has promised $15 million in direct aid to Hawai'i and Guam to offset health, medical and other costs caused by the immigration of people from countries under the compact.

That's a welcome first step. But it is far from enough. The office of Gov. Linda Lingle estimates that Hawai'i spent some $32 million last year on the migrants and has spent as much as $140 million overall.

Hawai'i's congressional delegation argues that the aid package should be at least $20 million higher.

In addition, Congressman Ed Case has proposed that citizens from the freely associated states be included in critical federal programs such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, Head Start and others. The House, Case reported, has removed the islanders from eligibility from these programs.

Case's idea makes great good sense. Programs such as those are designed not just as welfare, but as a way to help people bootstrap themselves out of poverty and dependence.

Of course, many Micronesian and Marshallese immigrants have already accomplished that and are contributing, taxpaying residents of the state. So the costs of helping their fellow citizens must be offset, somewhat, by their positive contributions.

This pattern will continue to improve if the islanders are given full access to self-help programs and federal services and if Washington comes up with the money it truly owes to make this concept work.