Overview:
A supplemental budget dispute between President Surangel Whipps Jr. and the Olbiil Era Kelulau turned into a round of retaliatory cuts, with the president using his line-item reduction authority to slash congressional funding after the Senate denied his office’s own budget request.
By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang
NGERULMUD, Palau — President Surangel Whipps Jr. and the Olbiil Era Kelulau engaged in a tit-for-tat budget dispute during the supplemental budget process, culminating in dueling line-item cuts before the bill’s signing.
Whipps had requested a $100,000 increase for his office’s operations in the supplemental budget proposal, which would have raised the office’s budget from $1.25 million to $1.35 million. The House of Delegates supported the request, but the Senate reverted the figure to $1.25 million during debate, and the president’s office ultimately received no additional supplemental funding.
The dispute traces back to the president’s original proposal, which included funding increases for the House of Delegates but not for the Senate. Whipps proposed raising the House of Delegates’ budget by $300,000, from $3,372,218 to $3,672,218, along with a $100,000 increase for the House’s legal counsel — from $357,414 to $457,414 — following riders the House attached to the Elite Visa Bill. The proposal did not include additional funding for the Senate or Senate legal counsel.
A conference committee later reached a compromise, granting $300,000 each to the House of Delegates and the Senate, along with $100,000 increases for both chambers’ legal counsel offices.
When the compromise reached Whipps’ desk, he used his line-item reduction authority to cut the additional congressional funding, citing the Senate’s earlier reduction of his own office’s request.
“I have decided to exercise my line-item reduction authority to reduce the supplemental appropriations provided to the Olbiil Era Kelulau, similar to the reduction made to the supplemental appropriation for the Office of the President,” Whipps wrote in his transmittal letter to Congress.
Whipps defended the move as consistent with the broader compromise. “I accepted the reduction as part of the compromise reflected in this act, and I believe fiscal restraint should be shared equally among all branches of government,” he wrote.
Some residents characterized the exchange as retaliatory. Yoshua, a retired resident, said such maneuvering is typical of the legislative process. “This is how politicians work — they flex their muscles, and those at the Olbiil Era Kelulau, especially the Senate, always find it difficult to compromise,” he said.
A market vendor at Ernguul park offered a similar assessment in Palauan, saying essentially that it would be better if the supplemental funding process were avoided altogether, since it inflates budgets and complicates governance.
Ilong, who works at Palau Royal Resort, said the standoff could be a sign of things to come. “At this rate, the president and OEK might be fighting each other for the remainder of Whipps’ term,” he said.
