United States policy regarding the Freely Associated States

In this subsection, the term “Freely Associated States” means— Before delivering hospital care or medical services under subsection (f) of section 1724 of title 38, as added by paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall enter into agreements with the governments of the Freely Associated States to— facilitate the furnishing of health services, including telehealth, under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to veterans in the Freely Associated States, such as by addressing— The agreements described in clause (i) shall incorporate, to the extent practicable, the applicable laws of the Freely Associated States and define the care and services that can be legally provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Freely Associated States. Not later than 90 days after entering into an agreement described in clause (i), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit the agreement to the appropriate committees of Congress. In this clause, the term “appropriate committees of Congress” means— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may pay tort claims, in the manner authorized in the first paragraph of section 2672 of title 28, when such claims arise in the Freely Associated States in connection with furnishing hospital care or medical services or providing medical consultation or medical advice to a veteran under the laws administered by the Secretary, including through a remote or telehealth program. During the 1-year period beginning on March 9, 2024, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, subject to the availability of appropriations— For fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Government of the United States shall— continue to make available to eligible institutions of higher education in the Republic of Palau and make available to eligible institutions of higher education in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and to students enrolled in those institutions of higher education, and to students who are citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau and enrolled in institutions of higher education in the United States and territories of the United States, grants under— Except as provided in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Education shall not make a grant under any formula grant program administered by the Department of Education to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau. The Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as applicable, shall, to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate with the 3 United States appointees to the Joint Economic Management Committee described in section 1984(b)(1) of this title and the 2 United States appointees to the Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee described in section 1985(d)(1) of this title to avoid duplication of economic assistance for education provided under section 261(a)(1) of the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact or section 261(a)(1) of the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact of activities or services provided under— The Secretary of Defense shall make available, on a space available and reimbursable basis, the medical facilities of the Department of Defense for use by citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, who are properly referred to the facilities by government authorities responsible for provision of medical services in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the affected jurisdictions (as defined in section 1921c(e)(2) of this title). It is the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense may extend the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Student Testing Program and the ASVAB Career Exploration Program to selected secondary schools in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to the extent such programs are available to Department of Defense dependent secondary schools established under section 2164 of title 10 and located outside the United States. In addition to amounts provided under section 261(a)(4) of the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact and the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact and under subsections (a) and (b) of Article 1 of the 2023 U.S.-Palau Compact Review Agreement, for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2043, the Secretary of the Interior shall use the amounts made available to the Secretary of the Interior under section 1990(c) of this title to train judges and officials of the judiciary in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, in cooperation with the Pacific Islands Committee of the judicial council of the ninth judicial circuit of the United States. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make the services of the National Health Service Corps available to the residents of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to the same extent, and for the same duration, as services are authorized to be provided to persons residing in any other areas within or outside the United States. The Republic of Palau shall be eligible for the programs and services made available to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands under section 1921g(a) of this title. In addition to the programs and services set forth in the operative Federal Programs and Services Agreement between the United States and the Republic of Palau, the programs and services of the following agencies shall be made available to the Republic of Palau: The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of State, shall consult with appropriate officials of the Asian Development Bank and relevant international financial institutions (as defined in section 262r(c) of this title), as appropriate, with respect to overall economic conditions in, and the activities of other providers of assistance to, the Freely Associated States. In this subsection, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. The Secretary of State shall— The unit established under paragraph (2)(B) shall be responsible for the following: The Secretary of State shall— not later than 5 years after March 9, 2024, assign to the Office of Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Affairs of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, including to the unit established under paragraph (2)(B), not less than 4 additional full-time equivalent staff, who shall not be dual-hatted, including by considering— The authorization provided by the Act of June 30, 1954 (68 Stat. 330, chapter 423), shall remain available after the effective date of the 2023 Amended U.S.-FSM Compact and the 2023 Amended U.S.-RMI Compact with respect to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands for transition purposes, including—