Previous Story
Kilili leads effort to adjust how $46M highway program is allocated
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said over the weekend that he is leading an effort with Guam Delegate Michael San Nicolas (D-GU) and American Samoa Delegate Amata Radewagen (R-AS) to have the U.S. Department of Transportation adjust how the $46 million Territorial Highway Program is allocated.
In his e-kilili newsletter, Sablan said DOT announced Thursday the availability of $46 million in federal highway funds for the Marianas, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Sablan
He said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act increased the Territorial Highway Program, though which this money flows, by 14% over the next five years.
The CNMI delegate said the CNMI and American Samoa currently each receive only 10% of the funding. Yet, he said, the new 2020 U.S. Census results find that the CNMI’s population is greater than 10% of the total of all four insular areas.
Sablan said by other measures, such as road distance and land area, the current allocation formula also short-changes the Marianas.
“With a significant amount of new money becoming available, now is the time to reconsider this administrative funding formula that has not changed since 1992,” he said.
