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Update: Lawmakers to trek off to HNL for Retirement Fund meeting

Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean announced during the Senate session on Wednesday that the biannual meeting in Honolulu of the ASG Employees Retirement Fund (ASERF) will be held in May with lawmakers.

Tuaolo, a member of the ASGERF board, said the Fund’s board of trustees met last Tuesday and agreed that members of the Fono are set to attend the meeting, in Hawaii, which is held every two years, and is planned for May this year. He said the board agreed that it’s important for the retirement committees of both the Senate and House to meet with all those involved with the Fund.

However, he said the plan for Senate Retirement Committee members to attend the meeting, is based on the okay given by the ASG Health Department, with assurance that lawmakers will return by June in time for the start of the Second Regular Session in July.

Tuaolo sought the number of committee members traveling for the meeting, to which Senate Retirement Committee chairman Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono said that all senators should be allowed to travel for the Honolulu meeting.

Soliai hopes that the DoH and ASG’s COVID-19 Task Force will give assurance that lawmakers would be able to return home in June. (No information yet from the House on the Honolulu meeting.)

The protocol in the past years, is that the ASGERF pays for all travel expenses for lawmakers although there have been calls by the House for the Fund to hold the biannual meeting in American Samoa to save on the travel and accommodation costs.

Samoa News notes that there are 18 senators and and 21 House members. And traveling with lawmakers are usually staff members from both chambers.

The meeting gives the opportunity to lawmakers — especially new House members following an election year — the chance to hear from investment advisors details of earnings of the Fund, as well as the financial status of the government’s pension plan.

Already after posting a preview of this story on samoaews.com over the weekend, people are suggesting that lawmakers “zoom” this meeting rather than traveling to Honolulu.

Also during the Senate session on Wednesday, Tuaolo noted that Sen. Fonoti Tafa’ifa Aufata was among the medical patients on the Medicaid charter that afternoon, for the outbound — Pago Pago to Honolulu — second repatriation flight.

Prior to closing the session, senators and staff — following a request by Sen. Togiola T.A. Tulafono — sang, “Happy Birthday” for Tuaolo, who turned 76-years young on that day.

OTHER SENATE ACTION

The Senate approved last week:

•     the governor’s nomination of Aitofi Lomu, Faailoa Seui Afalava, Dr. Ernest Seiuli, Tiara Drabble, Tuimalo Elvis Zodiacal  and Beverly A. Kodak, as new members of the Feleti Barstow Public Library. The final vote followed a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. The House confirmation hearing and vote is pending and expected to be taken up when lawmakers return in July.

•     Senate Resolution calling on the governor to “stay” his Feb. 5th memorandum, which orders the roll-back of pay adjustments made without justification in the budget as well as converting contract workers to career service employees without going through the merit process — since Jan. 1, 2019 to the present. (See Samoa News online edition last Thursday for details of the committee hearing on the resolution.)