MILITARY personnel on temporary duty (TDY) assignments to Guam will not be included in the Section 30 agreement between the Department of Defense and Guam, Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo said.

Bordallo was responding to Sen. Rory Respicio’s Feb. 28 letter in which he voiced his concern regarding Section 30 reimbursements for DOD personnel, other than U.S. Marines, rotating through Guam.

“While I am pleased that the congresswoman and the governor have made progress on this important issue – and I understand the accounting difficulties and the sensitive nature of some TDY assignments – I hope that Guam will not be shortchanged, and that our federal government will live up to the letter and the intent of its own laws,” Respicio stated.

Respicio wrote to Bordallo and Gov. Eddie Calvo reminding them that the Section 30 agreement referred only to U.S. Marines. Respicio asked about the status of other DOD personnel who may also be rotated through Guam, or assigned to Guam temporarily.

In response, Bordallo wrote: “As the administration works out the final details of the U.S. force posture realignment in the Pacific, I will continue to work with DOD, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of the Treasury to address issues of covering over all Section 30 funding for all service members and federal civilian employees who work on Guam.”

Look forward

Respicio said he looked forward to working with the members of the Guam First Commission and Bordallo “to ensure that all DOD personnel, both civilian and military, who are in Guam for work-related purposes, are fully covered under this arrangement, as the law requires.”

The Internal Revenue Service has already set regulations to cover over and transfer income taxes for Guam-based income received by the federal government from federal civilian employees and permanently stationed military personnel to the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Bordallo informed Respicio.

Further, she said, DOD and the Treasury have agreed that Section 30 funds related to Marines on rotational duty through the Unit Deployment Program and those permanently stationed on Guam will be turned over to Guam’s Treasury.

Bordallo has brought up this issue with Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work. Bordallo said that as the Obama administration works out the final details of the U.S. force posture realignment in the Pacific, she will continue to work with DOD, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of the Treasury to address all issues covering Section 30 funding.