Washington, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 10  Financial CHOICE Act on Thursday.  Included in H.R. 10 was Congresswoman Amata’s bill H.R. 385, which would eliminate the long wait times for checks to clear in both American Samoa and the Northern Marianas.

“The passage of my bill through the House is the first step in solving this long standing issue. My legislation corrects an oversight in American law, which places a hold on checks cashed in American Samoa and the Marianas," said Amata. The current wait time of 30 days has caused hardship for many who count on this income in a timely manner...this bill will fix that," continued Amata.

Specifically, the Congresswoman’s bill would reduce the current 30 day hold on checks and put the island on equal footing with the states where the hold is at most 5 business days.

"I want to thank Chairman Hensarling of the House Financial Services Committee for including my bill H.R. 385 in the CHOICE Act, and I look forward to speedy passage in the Senate and seeing it signed into law by President Trump," concluded Amata.