Search Through All Notices“This bill injects the Legislature into the work of establishing a hospital, which will mire the project in politics and bureaucracy, while derailing the coordinated and careful planning by subject-matter experts from executive branch agencies. This completely obstructs the establishment of critical infrastructure to a degree it endangers the health and well-being of our people. Are some senators simply trying to prevent the Governor from building a hospital because they don’t want her to get the credit? Who cares who gets the credit?”
“The bottom line is that Guam needs a new hospital. With this lease, we have an unprecedented opportunity to partner with the Department of Defense and build a new state-of-the-art medical complex which will include a new headquarters for behavioral health, public health, a veterans clinic, and a new hospital which will be able to serve civilian and military personnel alike. DOD is willing to lease this property at no cost to GovGuam. Our federal partners are also willing to chip in and help find federal funding sources for these new facilities. This is the ‘One Guam Approach’ we’ve all been asking for and that the federal government has agreed to follow.”
“The legal reality is that the Legislature was never intended to have control over the establishment, operation, or maintenance of public health facilities, including hospitals. These powers have always been delegated by the Organic Act to the governor of Guam. The Legislature does not have the authority to confer these powers on itself. Transferring these powers to the Legislature will require an act of Congress to amend the Organic Act. For these reasons, I have vetoed Bill No. 12-37. I ask the members of the 37th Guam Legislature who do not share the political appetites and ambitions of the obstructionist politicians among their ranks, to sustain my veto of these bills, support the execution of the Eagles Field’s Lease, and pave the way for the construction of a new medical facility for the benefit of our people.”
Official document available below:
https://governor.guam.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bill-No.-12-37-COR-VETO-2.pdf
