Guam gets swept up in 'blue wave'
Will it be easier this time to push the territory's agenda?
By Jayvee Vallejera
The “blue wave” that flipped control of the U.S. Congress from Republicans to Democrats also lapped the shores of Guam in last week's midterm election, with Democratic Party candidate Alicia Limtiaco clinching the delegate seat from incumbent Republican Del. James Moylan.
Limtiaco, a former U.S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, will join a reshaped Congress projected to have as many as 260 Democratic members.
The Associated Press reports that the Democratic Party secured 54 seats in the U.S. Senate and 228 in the U.S. House of Representatives. With at least seven Senate seats and 27 House seats being won by Democratic Party candidates, that guarantees a majority in both chambers of Congress and a surer path for a Democratic Party agenda.
Limtiaco believes this will give Guam the opportunity to help shape bills while they are still being written.
Unofficial election results showed that Limtiaco received 15,645 votes, about 51 percent, while Moylan garnered 14,983 votes, or 48.84 percent.
Guam's congressional seat has historically been Democratic turf. In 2022, Moylan was the first Republican elected to the position in more than 30 years.
Limtiaco's win was a rare blue flash in the Guam election, with the Republican Party’s gubernatorial team of Tony Ada and Edward Calvo winning the plum posts, and the party retaining control of the Guam legislature.
Limtiaco emphasized that she will represent one Guam in Congress, regardless of party affiliation, and that she plans to build bipartisan support to ensure bills related to the territory will have a path to becoming law.
“My responsibility would be to serve everyone who calls Guam home, however they voted,” she said.
Although territorial delegates have voting power only at the committee level but not on the House floor, Limtiaco said that being part of the majority means she can make the case to her Democratic colleagues that an agenda to lower costs and protect seniors and people with disabilities must also reach families in America’s territories.
“I would bring Guam’s proposals to committee leaders early,” she said.
As the first CHamoru woman elected to represent Guam in Congress, Limtiaco is fully aware of how significant this is and the example she sets for other women in Guam.
“I think of the women who kept our language and traditions alive, cared for our families, and served Guam, often without public recognition. I think, too, of the young women on Guam who may see a place for themselves in public life and imagine what they could do there,” she said.
Limtiaco's first order of business is to introduce a bill to include Guam in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program, which compensates people in communities that were exposed to radiation from American nuclear tests.
Guam's inclusion in RECA has been proposed repeatedly.
Limtiaco said she intends to work with lawmakers from Idaho, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico, among others, whose communities have also sought compensation for exposure to nuclear fallout.
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Time is running out fast for Guam residents to apply for RECA compensation. The deadline to file new downwinder claims is on Dec. 31, 2027, and the RECA Trust Fund is scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2028.
“My bill would seek both coverage and a filing window that gives eligible individuals and surviving family members enough time to be informed and to be compensated,” Limtiaco said.
Another priority is to extend Supplemental Security Income to eligible Guam residents.
Limtiaco said she would work with colleagues who are focused on economic security for the elderly and people with disabilities in order to make sure that Guam also benefits.
For an older adult or a person or child with a disability living on very little income, that assistance can help cover essentials such as food and rent, she added.
Other priorities include removing the Medicaid funding cap for Guam, adjusting federal housing rules to reflect the cost of building on Guam and securing long-term investments in water, power, and roads.
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