WHO: Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-HI
WHAT: The cost of relocating 11,000 U.S. servicemen from Japan to Guam over the next five years will double to $20 billion, thanks to an amendment Abercrombie attached to the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill. Abercrombie wants Guam construction workers to earn the same wages as those in Hawaii.
WHY IT’S AN OUTRAGE: The amendment will hurt all U.S. taxpayers, but it will hit residents of the U.S. territory especially hard. The inflated wages are expected to raise the cost of living on the island, lower the amount of affordable housing, and take “the wind out of the sails of the construction industry,” according to University of Guam economist Roseann M. Jones.
WHERE TO VENT: Contact Abercrombie at: 202-225-2726.
