"I urgently request your help to avert the utter collapse of the economy in American Samoa because of legislation Congress will soon pass," Gov. Togiola T.A. Tulafono said in a letter to Reps. George Miller, D-Calif., and Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va. "Such a collapse would render the territory completely dependent on federal funding."

Miller chairs the Committee on Education and Labor, while Rahall is chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over U.S. territories.

The proposal calls for boosting the pay for America's lowest-paid workers from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour over the next two years.

Depending upon the type of job, current minimum wages in the territory range from $2.68 to $4.09 an hour.

The governor also explained to Miller and Rahall that under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, a special committee appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor reviews American Samoa's minimum wages every two years.

"Annual per capita income in American Samoa is $4,357. This reflects our economic development," he said. "At this level the territorial economy cannot support the same minimum wage rate as the continental United States," where per capita income is $43,500.

"The existing Fair Labor Standards Act therefore requires the Department of Labor to increase the territorial minimum wage with regard to its sustainability in the local economy," the governor said. "For Congress to mandate a wage increase without such regard would relegate the territory to a subsistence economy."

Lolo M. Moliga, the territorial Senate president, and territorial House Speaker Savali Talavou flew to Washington this week in hopes of persuading members of Congress to ensure American Samoa is spared inclusion in the measure.

"If this provision is included and the bill is enacted, American Samoa's economy will face great danger and a possible economic collapse with hundreds of people without jobs," Moliga said Sunday before departing.