APPENDIX III . Mr. Frank C. Canahan, Director working relationships. A PPENDIX iit However, when there are changes in personnel due to transfers, retirements, etc. or when a new program is established with a federal agency not familiar with the Commonwealth problems do arise. One solution would be for OTIA to act as a clearing house and to educate other federal agencies regarding the territory involved. One area where the OTIA deserves high marks relates to providing technical assistance to the Commonwealth. We appre- ciate that we often lack the necessary expertise to do certain tasks and such assistance is truly needed. The personnel which have been assigned to the Commonwealth have provided such expertise and have demonstrated a willingness to impart their expertise to local people. In many instances, the expert has completed his task and, by training local personnel, has made his position obsolete. Providing technical assistance is far superior to providing funds and, in the long run, the federal government obtains a better return on its investment. We would recommend that this type of assistance be expanded... Provisions in our Covenant require that Special Representatives be appointed to discuss future multi-year financial assistance after the expiration of the seven-year period of guaranteed annual assistance by the United States. President Reagan has appointed Assistant Secretary Montoya and the Commonwealth will be represented by Lieutenant Governor Pedro A. Tenorio. We feel that future financial assistance is necessary to our economic and social development and applaud the negotiations and draftsmen of the Covenant for the foresight in providing a method to resolve matters of such importance. We also are of e 5 the opinion that Mr. Montoya is an excellent choice as he is a very familiar with our problems as well as our aspirations. Although our government maintains excellent relationships with the United States Government, many of our citizens still experience problems while traveling or residing in the United States. Provisions in our Covenant allow qualified persons to elect to become a U.S. citizens or nationals upon termination of the Trusteeship Agreement. It was generally thought that termination would take place in 1981. Recent U.S. Public Laws have given our people certain privileges granted U.S. citizens but these people do not have sufficient evidence of such status. We would suggest that temporary U.S. passports be granted to persons who would otherwise qualify for U.S.. citizenship under the Covenant. 62 5000264 AAA We take some exception to that portion of the draft which states that the territories have not made much progress in