effectively administer U.S.
territorial policy because territo-
rial problems are too small to warrant high level federal atten-
tion.
Therefore, the governor recommends the establishment of
an Organization within the Office of the President or a separate
agency focusing solely on territorial concerns.
He also supports State's view that a separate organization is needed for
the Micronesian states.
The governor of the Northern Mariana Islands commented that
while the territories have much in common, goals and aspirations
‘may differ within each.
The governor said that in general the
NMI has an excellent relationship with
eral
agencies
United
States
government.
in
providing
territorial
and
He
has
with
the
honored
Interior and other
Congress.
its
The
pledge
governor
said
guaranteeing
fed-
the
self-
also commented that Interior has performed well
technical
interests.
assistance
The
and,
governor
in
general,
suggests
that
supporting
Interior's
role in dealing with the territories be expanded to make it more
effective in dealing with other federal agencies such as OMB.
The governor of Puerto Rico expressed concern that the
report emphasizes problems of the Pacific territories and that
Puerto
Rico
is
not at all
similar to the other
territories
in
terms of history, culture, degree of economic development, population,
and
experience with self-government.
The governor
believes Puerto Rico should not be compared with the other ter-
ritories, and that it has more in common with the states than
any other territory.
The governor also expressed concern that
our chapter on the Compact of Free Association not be interpreted as a model for U.S. policy toward the territories.
In
particular,
he emphasized that Puerto Rico has historically
maintained close ties to the United States, and that the Compact
is appropriate only for the Micronesian states which are not
part of the United States.
Finally, the governor commented that
Puerto Rico is an active partner with the United States in rep-
resenting U.S. national security, and that its citizens serve as
members in the U.S. armed services.
The
governor of
Guam
commented
that
the
crux of
improving
need
establish
federal-territorial relations is the need for the federal government to respond to each individual territory in a flexible
manner.
He
said
that
an ultimate status
the
Congress
for each
does
territory,
support for legislation to establish
Guam.
The governor said commonwealt’:
of the issues addressed in our report.
not
to
but wants congressional
commonwealth status for
status will resolve many
These and other comments from State, Interior, and the territory governments were incorporated in the body of this report
to reflect updated information or to clarify certain points.
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