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A bill to authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes.

Public Law 97-357 · H.R. 5139 · 97th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Oct 19, 1982 · Economics and Public Finance

Sponsor: Rep. Antonio Won Pat (D-GU)

Cosponsors (7): Rep. Robert Lagomarsino,

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

(Senate agreed to House amendment with amendments)

Title I: Guam - Amends the Organic Act of Guam to grant Guam the right of initiative and referendum. Makes the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the members of the legislature subject to removal from office by a referendum election.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983 for construction of certain projects in Guam.

Provides for the renovation, maintenance, and operation of the Guam Memorial Hospital and for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a health care facility in the northern part of Guam.

Directs the Governor of Guam to: (1) submit an annual financial report to the Congress and the Secretary of the Interior (currently such report is prepared by the comptroller general); (2) transmit such report to the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior who shall audit it and report on it to the Congress; and (3) submit a statement to the Congress, Secretary, and Federal auditors on actions taken or contemplated on Federal audit recommendations.

Transfers specified functions, powers, and duties from the government comptroller for Guam to the Inspector General, Department of the Interior, in order to establish an organization to maintain an independent audit oversight of the government of Guam.

Title II: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands - Changes the date by which all federally owned personal property located in the Trust Territory and all personal property owned by the Trust Territory government must be transferred to the various island governments.

Exempts from Federal, State, and local taxation: (1) the trust set up for the people of the Bikini atoll; and (2) the Ujelang Trust Fund numbered 2.

Amends the Act relating to the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands to direct the chief executives of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Northern Mariana Islands to: (1) submit an annual financial report to the Congress and the Secretary of the Interior; (2) transmit such report to the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior who shall audit it and report on it to the Congress; and (3) submit a statement to specified persons on actions taken or contemplated on Federal audit recommendations.

Transfers specified functions, powers, and duties from the government comptroller for Guam to the Inspector General, Department of the Interior, in order to establish an organization to maintain an independent audit oversight of the governments of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Declares that any reports required from the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands by a specified section of this Act are not required to be submitted to the High Commissioners of the trust territory.

Provides that, until the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is established, the islands shall not be considered a foreign country for purposes of certain torts claims.

Directs the Secretary to conduct, upon request, an inventory and study of the most unique and significant natural, historical, cultural, and recreational resources of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Requires a report on the study to be transmitted to the respectively involved governments and to the appropriate congressional committees.

Title III: Virgin Islands - Authorizes appropriations for the planning of an institution for Caribbean educational, cultural, and technical interchange by the College of the Virgin Islands.

Requires U.S. Customs and Postal Service officials to assist officials of the Virgin Islands in collecting certain excise taxes levied by the Virgin Islands.

Authorizes appropriations for grants to the Virgin Islands for improvements in the generation and distribution of water and power and for constructon of two juvenile pretrial detention facilities.

Repeals specified outdated provisions of the Organic Act of the Virgin Islands and of other Federal laws.

Amends the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands to direct the Governor of the Virgin Islands to: (1) submit an annual financial report to the Congress and the Secretary of the Interior (currently such report is prepared by the comptroller general); (2) transmit the report to the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior who shall audit it and report on it to the Congress; and (3) submit a statement to specified persons on actions taken or contemplated on Federal audit recommendations.

Transfers specified functions, powers, and duties from the government comptroller for the Virgin Islands to the Inspector General, Department of the Interior, in order to establish an organization to maintain an independent audit oversight of the government of the Virgin Islands.

Title IV: American Samoa - Repeals the limitation on the clerk hire allowance for the congressional Delegate from American Samoa.

Directs the Governor of American Samoa to: (1) submit an annual financial report to the Congress and the Secretary of the Interior; (2) transmit the report to the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior who shall audit it and report on it to the Congress; and (3) submit a statement to specified persons on actions taken or contemplated on Federal audit recommendations.

Transfers specified functions, powers, and duties from the government comptroller for American Samoa to the Inspector General, Department of the Interior, in order to establish an organization to maintain an independent audit oversight of the government of American Samoa.

Title V: Puerto Rico - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make certain unobligated FY 1981 funds available for the non-Federal share of the cost of completing five specified water treatment projects in Puerto Rico. Provides that Puerto Rico shall repay the Federal Government.

Title VI: Miscellaneous - Revises the procedure for the submission of deficit elimination plans by the Governors of Guam and the Virgin Islands to the Secretary of the Interior. Requires such plans to be designed to eliminate the territory's general fund deficit by the beginning of FY 1987 (currently 1986). Directs the Secretary to transmit the plan, along with recommendations, to Congress, within 60 days after the Secretary receives the plan. (Current law grants the Secretary the power to veto the plan.) Requires each Governor to report to the Secretary and the Congress on the success or failure of the plan. (Current law requires the Governors to make such report to the Secretaries of the Interior and of the Treasury.)

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 20 actions.

  1. Oct 19, 1982Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 97-357.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 13, 1982PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 1, 1982Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Agreed to Senate Amendments to House Amendments to Senate Amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Sep 30, 1982Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate concurred in House amendment to Senate amendments with amendments. By Voice Vote.
  6. Sep 9, 1982Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Concurred, in Senate Amendments , with Amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  7. May 10, 1982FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  8. Apr 29, 1982CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  9. Mar 31, 1982CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  10. Dec 14, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  11. Dec 11, 1981FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  12. FloorFloor · Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
  13. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
  14. Dec 10, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
  15. Dec 9, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Insular and International Affairs Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  16. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Insular and International Affairs Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  17. CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Insular and International Affairs Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  18. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Insular and International Affairs Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  19. Dec 8, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
  20. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.