Congress must pass measure extending vital Central Pacific agreements

As Congress scrambles to meet the early March government funding deadlines, the bipartisan Compact of Free Association Amendments Act must be part of any FY 2024 appropriations package. This critical legislation would fund the agreements between the United States and the Freely Associated States (FAS) — Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia — for another 20 years. If we don't fund this agreement, which provides economic assistance in exchange for military access and denial rights, these states have warned they may soon be forced to turn to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for economic support and political patronage. This would…