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SNS: Asia Letter: Q2 2024 A DREAM TEAM VICTORY By Scott Foster ________ On March 8, Congress passed legislation to renew funding of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau that allows the US military continued access to those islands in exchange for economic assistance. President Biden signed the bill the next day. Proposed a year ago, the $7.1 billion package had been lost in the shuffle during the budget dispute. Nevertheless: If our budget process continues to show that the world's greatest democracy cannot deliver for its own people and the world, it causes long-lasting damage in a region where we are always trying to prove that the US is a reliable partner. The entire Pacific looks at Cofa as a bell weather of US commitment to the region. - Kathryn Paik, Former NSC Official, now at CSIS
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