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HAGATNA, GUAM – The Guam Chamber of Commerce stands with many of the Senators of the 38th Guam Legislature in calling upon Governor Lou Leon Guerrero to marshal the remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for immediate, life-saving repairs at Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH). The vision of a modern medical facility is universally shared, yet it remains years from reality. While economic vitality demands an efficient hospital, the urgent restoration of GMH is foremost a matter of protecting lives - a priority that overrides all others.
The chronic neglect of GMH’s most urgent needs is not a recent issue, but one that has persisted since the latter days of the Calvo administration. The decision to increase the Business Privilege Tax (BPT) was originally justified as a means to fund capital improvements for the hospital. Critical upgrades such as repairing roofs, restoring the HVAC systems, revitalizing the Z-Wing, and updating the Labor and Maternity Ward were all central promises during the 2018 campaign season. Yet, these promises have faded while the hospital’s conditions have continued to erode.
Disappointingly, despite inheriting a 5% BPT, the administration has delivered little substantial progress. The persistent crisis at GMH cannot be blamed on recent legislative proposals to reduce the BPT; rather, it is the result of repeated executive inaction.
In 2019, the Legislature appropriated $10 million in surplus funds to mend the hospital’s leaky roofs, electrical systems, and digital infrastructure, funds the administration touted loudly, only to retract when it came time to deliver. Not a cent reached GMH. Efforts continued in 2020 with further legislation and overrides, but the hospital remained starved of necessary investment. Year after year, the Legislature introduced new bills that promised to fund repairs to the L&D Ward, electrical panels, and roofing, but none were fulfilled. GMH, as a result, continues to struggle in deplorable conditions.
Even amid unprecedented infusions of federal aid, $300 million through the CARES Act and over $600 million via ARPA, priority repairs at GMH were ignored. Repeated requests from Senators to dedicate federal dollars for critical repairs were summarily dismissed, even as funds were used for new hires and pay raises within the Government of Guam. Meanwhile, for nearly seven years, promises to build a new hospital have dominated public discourse, yet not a single groundbreaking has occurred.
In 2025, year seven of this administration, Guam still awaits concrete action.
GMH is not simply another government institution; it is quite literally the lifeblood of our community. Aspirations for a new hospital must not distract from the immediate obligation to repair and maintain our current facility. The ARPA funds are available; what is lacking is the political will.
While the Governor insists the $133 million in remaining ARPA funds are irrevocably committed to the new hospital’s infrastructure, this is only part of the story. The U.S. Treasury did require all states and territories to obligate their remaining ARPA funds by December 31, 2024, and the Governor dedicated the unspent $133 million for the new medical campus. Reclassification options do exist.
The rule states that the funds shall be obligated, and not spent, by December 31, 2024; however, the same rule allows states and territories to reclassify excess obligated funds to a different eligible project if they can be reclassified as an eligible project. Making critical repairs at GMH is an eligible project, as it parallels the very objective of constructing a new facility. We encourage Governor Leon Guerrero to seek further guidance from the US Treasury on this endeavor, and to do so with urgency.
According to the Governor, $104 million of the original $133 million allocation is spoken for. Yet this leaves about $29 million that could, and should, be immediately reclassified to address GMH’s most pressing needs: HVAC, electrical, and IT systems. Now is not the time for political tactics. It is time to rescue the hospital so it may rescue lives.
The Governor needs no new legislation to act. What GMH requires is a sense of urgency, leadership, and a willingness to pick up the phone and sign the order that will put federal resources to their highest and best use, securing the health and safety of all who call Guam home.
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September 5, 2025
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