The Governor’s office has launched an online petition, appealing to Congress to rethink the application of the Cabotage Policy on the Territory of American Samoa, says Governor’s Executive Assistant, Iulogologo Joseph Pereira in response to Samoa News queries.

Iu said, the “Cabotage Grass Roots Approach reflects the Governor's efforts to solicit and rally support from the community, businesses, Samoans living in the United States and elsewhere in the world, and others who are sympathetic to our attempt to improve air transportation services to the Territory of American Samoa.”

He said this has been a long standing economic development nemesis for the territory, which has stymied initiatives to grow our economy through the development of our tourism industry and improve connectivity for Samoan families living on island and abroad.

“For years the government has solely assumed the responsibility of articulating this need to the Congress of the United States and to Federal Agencies such as the US Department of Transportation.”

Iu further pointed out that this approach has not worked because of the influence of Airline Unions and protectionist attitudes of US Airlines. “While it is understandable, American Samoa doesn't pose any threat to the economic viability of the Airline Unions and Airlines.

“American Samoa is far removed from the economic mainstream; thus its exposure to economically viable options is very limited,” he pointed out.

The governor’s executive assistant said American Samoa is capitalizing on its marine resources and the remaining economically viable option — our physical beauty and our unique culture — which we have been attempting to promote.

“This option can only be successfully promoted in the existence of a reliable (in terms of frequency) and affordable air transportation system.

“The Grass Roots Approach is an attempt to reach out to the people and businesses who are directly affected by the Cabotage policy so the message and the need is raised and expressed by each individual who signs the petition.”

He hopes that with this grass roots approach, Congress will rethink the application of the Cabotage Policy on the Territory of American Samoa.

“Congress has exempted the State of Alaska from the Cabotage Policy because of its remoteness and other economic disadvantages similar to American Samoa. It is our hope that the same Cabotage Waiver will be extended to the Territory of American Samoa,” he said.

The online petition claims that American Samoa is a place with the “Highest Military Casualty Rate” which is “treated shabbily by Congress and the U.S. Airline Industry.”

The website also notes that Congress needs to treat American Samoa fairly and recognize its sacrifices on our behalf: it has sustained the highest casualty rate of any state or territory in all of our wars and military conflicts from World War I up to the present.

Furthermore, it says that American Samoa voluntarily joined the American team as a "walk on" in the late 1890s and early 1900s through a series of treaties or agreements known as Deeds of Cession.

Valued then as a "utility player" and a strategic asset by the United States because of its harbor, the deepest in the South Pacific, it was used as a coaling station for U.S. naval ships, and has continued over the last century and this century to contribute to America's prosperity and security — most notably through its high military enlistment rate and the ultimate sacrifice in the form of the highest casualty rate of any state or territory in all of our wars and military conflicts.

“Its relative isolation in the South Pacific, (closer to New Zealand and Australia than to the continental U.S. or Hawai’i), makes it extremely difficult to engage in interstate commerce and international trade in a meaningful way.

“The best chance for it to improve its economy and wean itself off its almost total dependence on the commodity pricing-centric tuna industry is to develop a vibrant tourism industry.

“An environmentally beautiful and natural gem in the South Pacific, where the U.S. dollar could meet the ever expansive discretionary spending of Pacific Rim and U.S. consumers, its ability to capitalize on these attributes has been eviscerated by an arcane congressional law that relegates it to only two flights in and out per week for most of the year.”

The petition calls on help for American Samoa to become the vibrant economy it can be in the South Pacific by telling Congress and the U.S. airline industry to unshackle it from this outdated, unfair and discriminatory aviation service law. 

As of yesterday afternoon close to 50 people had already signed the online petition, which can be found at this website: http://v3-americansamoa.nationbuilder.com