APPENDIX I
ote
APPENDIX [I
AMERICAN SAMOA GOVERNMENT
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
PAGO PAGO,
AMERICAK SAMOA 96799
Serial:
November 11,
1969
1984
Mr. Frank C. Conahan
Director
National Security and International Affairs Division
United States General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
Dear Mr.
Conahan:
This is in response to your letter of October 11, 1984 forwarding
for review and comment the draft report of the United States
General Accounting Office (GAO) entitled "Issues Affecting U.S.
Territory and Insular Policy."
I would like to commend GAO and especially the evaluation
team which came to American Samoa for.excellent research and the
preparation of a report which as far as this Territory is concerned
presents comprehensively and for the most part fairly the issues
associated with present U.S. policy on the insular territories.
Next, I would point out two places in the draft report which seem to_
us to require some clarification.
A.
Note b in Table I on page 15 attempts to define the term "U.S.
national" as it relates to American Samoa.
While the definition
stated provided is correct so far as it goes, we believe the footnote
would be more complete if it also paraphased 8 USC 1101 (a) (29) and
1408.
The effect of these two provisions is to define a non-citizen
national as (i) a person born in American Samoa on or after formal
United States acquisition (April 17, 1900 for Tutuila and Aunu'tu
Islands, July 16, 1904 for the Manu'a Islands, and March 4, 1925 for
Swains Island),
(ii) a person born outside the United States on or
after June 27, 1952 of U.S. national parents who had resided in the
United States or American Samoa prior to the person's birth, and
(iii) a person of unknown parentage and place of birthfound in
American Samoa while under’ the age of five vears (at least after
reaching the age of 21 years).
eeaE eBEteae PRETO
First,
GAO Note:
5000254
Page number references may not correspond to the page numbers in the final
report.
52
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B.
The draft report discusses the economic self-reliance of the
territories in Chapter 5.
The relationship of federal financial
assistance to local revenue efforts is portrayed in Table 2 on
page 38.
This presentation places American Samoa in a particularly
unfavorable light.
The figures used in this table would indicate