The Governor's office in Guam has been successful in repealing a prohibition on the use of public money to hire lobbyists, paving the way for its preparations for the arrival of US military personnel from Okinawa.
Until yesterday, the law read that no government or public money was to be used in hiring a lobbyist.
The Governor's spokesman, Shawn Gumataotao, says the office is hoping to hire a lobbyist group and invest in a new office in Washington DC, to speed up progress in dealing with specific issues, including the military buildup.
"It could be appropriations for specific Guam buildup issues, or maybe more medical type facilities or resources. It really runs a gamut of all issues that we face around social economically. So the lobbyist will be very helpful towards identifying, getting to key members of the administration and the congress to be able to make sure that we get our issues pushed forward."
Shawn Gumataotao says the Speaker Judith Won Pat is concerned that hiring a lobbyist group may be counter productive to Guam, but the Governor's office is confident it will not be the case.
