Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — In a recent press release, Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata emphasizes Congress’s intent that $3 million go to American Samoa Community College (ASCC) out of the yearly ASG Operations Fund from the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), which receives funds for American Samoa from Congress through Interior Appropriations.

Congresswoman Amata states that these funds have been secured for fiscal year 2026, and she has testified about these funds, requesting an overall increase, for the upcoming fiscal year 2027 appropriations process.

For the past three years, according to Congresswoman Amata, per her request, $3 million of the Operations Fund is clearly to be allocated to ASCC, as passed by Congress.

The fund is currently $29 million, so the remaining $26 million of the fund is still an increase of several million over past funding. The fund has been boosted by Congress most years since fiscal year 2018, due to Amata’s yearly efforts.

“I greatly appreciate Chairman Tom Cole of the Appropriations Committee ensuring that our ASCC report language was included, and accompanies the final version passed into law,” Congresswoman Amata pointed out. “This expresses clear congressional intent, worded in the manner common to Washington legislative report language, conveying the spending instructions and expectations of the Appropriations Act.”

“I know our college personnel and faculty are doing good work with their limited resources,” continued Amata. “These funds should make a visible difference for our campus, classrooms, equipment and scholarship efforts – all to help our students take their next step.”

“In making these funding requests to influential Chairmen and senior Members of Congress, I always emphasize our islands’ record of service, our population of veterans and military families, and the realities of our island economy, and these considerations are the underlying basis for this appropriation to benefit our college,” she said.

“ASCC is a major priority as accessing college education can be a real financial and geographic challenge for our students.”

“What better way to make use of operations funds than by investing in our territory’s college and students?” Congresswoman Amata concluded. “We want to empower every high school graduate with achievable options to consider here in our own islands.”

BACKGROUND

It is unknown if the federal funds for ASCC have now taken the place of the local subsidy the Fono usually approves from local funds in the government’s yearly budget for the only community college in the territory. The ASCC subsidy appears in the budget document as one of the Governor’s Office Special Programs and is subject to Fono approval.

For FY2026, ASCC asked once again that the subsidy be listed directly in its budget — meaning the money come directly to the ASCC, and not be a part of the Governor’s Office Special Programs. It also requested an $8.5 million subsidy. However, it only received a $ 2.5 million budget allocation and continued to be listed in the Governor’s Office Special Programs category.

Of Note: In past years, ASCC has often lamented the timely delivery of this subsidy, while ASG Budget & Treasury officials have mostly pointed out that the delivery of such locally funded subsidies is based on the availability of funds — they are not a given.