SR 3: Urging the United States Congress to grant American Samoans the ability to serve as commissioned officers in the uniformed services of the United States and the right to vote in federal elections.
00 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 3 01 Urging the United States Congress to grant American Samoans the ability to serve as 02 commissioned officers in the uniformed services of the United States and the right to 03 vote in federal elections. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE: 05 WHEREAS American Samoa has been an unincorporated territory of the United 06 States since 1900; and 07 WHEREAS American Samoa is the only inhabited territory of the United States 08 whose residents are considered nationals of the United States but are not citizens; and 09 WHEREAS United States citizenship is granted at birth to residents of all other 10 inhabited territories of the United States including Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana 11 Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands; and 12 WHEREAS, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as nationals of the United 13 States, American Samoans owe permanent allegiance to the United States; and 14 WHEREAS American Samoans can obtain a United States passport as well as live 15 and work in any location in the United States; and
01 WHEREAS the 2020 Census showed that the population of American Samoa was 02 49,710 and in 2023 the United States Census Bureau estimated that there were 268,539 people 03 of Samoan descent living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia; and 04 WHEREAS American Samoans have contributed greatly to the civic, cultural, 05 economic, and spiritual life of the United States and this state; and 06 WHEREAS American Samoans have a long history of patriotism and service to the 07 United States, and American Samoa has the highest military enlistment rate of any state or 08 territory; and 09 WHEREAS American Samoan men who reside in the 50 states or the District of 10 Columbia must register with the Selective Service System and can be drafted into military 11 service; and 12 WHEREAS, despite the long tradition of military service by American Samoans, 13 federal law prohibits noncitizen nationals of the United States from serving as commissioned 14 officers in the uniformed services of the United States; and 15 WHEREAS federal law prohibits American Samoans who are nationals but not 16 citizens of the United States from voting in elections for President, Vice President, United 17 States Senate, and United States House of Representatives; and 18 WHEREAS the right to vote and participate in the democratic process is one of the 19 most cherished principles on which the nation's society is built; and 20 WHEREAS, by being denied the right to vote in the states where American Samoans 21 reside, American Samoans are being subjected to taxation without representation; 22 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska Senate urges the United States Congress to pass 23 legislation allowing nationals of the United States to serve as commissioned officers in the 24 uniformed services of the United States and to vote in federal elections in the state in which 25 they reside. 26 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 27 of the United States; the Honorable JD Vance, Vice President of the United States and 28 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of 29 Representatives; the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of 30 Representatives; the Honorable John Thune, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the 31 Honorable Charles E. Schumer, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa
01 Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas 02 Begich, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other 03 members of the 119th United States Congress.