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Torres calls for stronger collaboration with Sablan
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Posted on Mar 30 2020
In addition to the numerous requests for federal assistance to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the Marianas, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has formally sent a letter of recommendations of measures that require congressional action to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) to complement the CNMI’s response to the global pandemic.
In his letter, Torres reaffirmed the need for collaboration to ensure additional federal assistance that require congressional approval.
“As this government utilizes its limited resources to respond to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, it is clear that no other community in the United States is affected by a pandemic of this size and magnitude than the people of the CNMI,” Torres said.
“To respond to both the public health crisis and the unfolding fiscal and economic crisis facing our people, I have unleashed every resource available to the CNMI government to halt the spread of this disease to our people and mitigate the existential threat the loss of financial resources of this size will have on the necessary and essential services of government.
“The CNMI government and the people we serve need immediate assistance from the federal government. Historically, the CNMI and the territories of the United States have been treated separately than the states of our nation in apportioning the benefits of federal programs. This has impacted the viability of our economies and resulted in a system that has leveled us with dramatically unequal outcomes. This systemic inequality can be remedied if Congress can recognize the exceptionality of our hardships in this crisis and act with an equally unique response.”
Torres then provided an extensive list of recommendations that require necessary action within the U.S. Congress in order to prevent longstanding effects to the Commonwealth. (PR)
