U.S. Insular Areas

U.S. policy supports the economic development of the U.S. insular areas and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which includes American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Palau. The U.S. lacks, however, specific objectives for its development programs, no clear overall strategy to attain its goals, and no formal mechanism for coordinating the activities of the many federal agencies with programs in the islands. Although the Commerce Department reports that U.S. outlays for the insular areas totaled about $1.5 billion in fiscal year 1992, the U.S. government lacks supporting data for these expenditures. The Interior Department has proposed creating an interagency committee to coordinate federal policy and activities. In GAO's view, an interagency group focusing on policy, strategy, and U.S. government coordination could substantially improve economic conditions in the insular areas and U.S. government management of resources being delivered to the areas.

GAO found that: (1) although the overall U.S. policy is to support the economic development of insular areas, the United States does not have specific objectives for its economic development programs, a clear strategy to achieve its goals, or a formal mechanism for coordinating federal agency activities in the islands; (2) no federal agency has the sole responsibility for coordinating development activities for the insular areas; (3) interagency coordination takes place on an as-needed basis, since agencies pursue different development activities according to their own priorities; (4) in 1992, the Department of Commerce reported that U.S. expenditures or obligations in the insular areas totalled about $1.5 billion; (5) the United States does not maintain consolidated data on federal spending in the insular areas; and (6) the Department of the Interior should establish an interagency committee to define U.S. goals and objectives in the insular areas, develop an overall insular area strategy to guide federal activity and promote economic development, and establish mechanisms to coordinate federal activity.