Friday, March 29, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, July 12, 2013
GAO: Hawaii COFA Cost Estimates 'Inaccurate'
By News Release @ 1:37 PM :: 6277 Views :: Education K-12, Health Care, Homelessness

COMPACTS OF FREE ASSOCIATION

Guidelines Needed to Support Reliable Estimates of Cost Impacts of Growing Migration

Statement for the Record of David B. Gootnick, Director, International Affairs and Trade  Julu 11, 2013

What GAO Found:

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau (Census) show that migrants from the freely associated states (FAS)—the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands, and Palau—reside throughout U.S. areas. GAO’s 2011 report found that Census estimates that roughly 56,000 compact migrants-—nearly a quarter of all FAS citizens-—were living in U.S. areas in 2005 to 2009. About 58 percent of compact migrants lived in areas that Congress defined in the amended compacts' enabling legislation as affected jurisdictions: American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

For fiscal years 2004 through 2010, Hawaii, Guam, and the CNMI reported more than $1 billion in costs associated with providing education, health, and social services to compact migrants—far in excess of the $210 million in compact impact grants over that time period. The affected jurisdictions reported impact costs for education, health, public safety, and social services to the Department of the Interior (Interior). Education accounted for the largest share of reported expenses in all three jurisdictions, and health care costs accounted for the second-largest share overall.

However, assessed against best practices for cost estimation, these cost estimates contain a number of limitations with regard to accuracy, adequate documentation, and comprehensiveness, affecting the reported costs’ credibility and preventing a precise calculation of total compact impact on the affected jurisdictions. For example, some jurisdictions did not accurately define compact migrants, account for federal funding that supplemented local expenditures, or include revenue received from compact migrants.

Interior developed guidelines in 1994 for reporting compact impact. However, several officials from the reporting local government agencies, as well as Interior officials, were not aware of the guidelines and had not used them. Moreover, the 1994 guidelines do not address certain concepts that are essential for reliable estimates of impact costs, such as calculating revenue received from providing services. Providing more rigorous guidelines to the affected jurisdictions that address concepts essential to producing reliable impact cost estimates and promoting their use for compact impact reports would increase the likelihood that Interior can provide reliable information on compact impacts to Congress. Although Interior took initial steps to implement GAO’s recommendation in 2012, it has not yet provided updated guidelines for estimating compact cost impacts.

Read ... Entire Report

Guam PDN: Feds question compact-impact reports

VIDEO: Calvo Administration Disputes GAO Report, Says GovGuam Has Followed DOI Reporting Guidelines For Compact Impacts Since 1994

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT