The American Samoan member of the US Congress Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin has responded to statements by one of his opponents that he is not in good health.
He said a candidate running for Congress for almost 20 years has been saying it's time for a change, and that he has become too old and sick to continue.
Faleomavaega, who is running for a 13th term as the territory's delegate to Congress, says he still has the strength to perform his duties.
He says he has had a double by-pass heart surgery, had his appendix taken out, underwent a knee operation, both his eye are lasered with artificial lenses and he had high blood pressure, gout and Type 2 Diabetes.
He adds it's likely he has been exposed to the deadly chemical dioxin found in Agent Orange while he served in Vietnam .
But he says despite all these ailments he thanks God for giving him the strength to serve as American Samoa 's representative in the halls of Congress.