6 more Marianas earmarks added to FY22 appropriation bills

The House Appropriations Committee announced yesterday that six of Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan’s earmark requests have been included in fiscal year 2022 spending bills. This brings the total of funding for Marianas community projects the delegate asked for to $4,577,533.

Four projects were approved by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. The Public School System would receive $150,000 for school library expansions, including a districtwide e-book library. Another $350,000 would go to PSS to update the successful language and cultural heritage immersion program of Kagman Elementary School and expand the program to all nine public elementary schools.

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. is slotted for $1,250,000 to renovate and modernize laboratory facilities to meet national standards and codes. And student health would benefit from $150,000 for PSS to collect body mass index data schoolwide and use that information to encourage young people to stay physically active into adulthood.

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies also announced its earmark awards yesterday, including $303,000 to the NMI Judiciary to determine the viability of a Mental Health Treatment Court with a specific docket for veterans. The funding would allow the Judiciary to hire a policy consultant, aided by a data analyst and administrative specialist, to meet with stakeholders, look for funding, and report back on whether a mental health treatment court would be viable in the Marianas.

Karidat is the sixth community organization slated for congressional funding. The Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies agreed to Sablan’s request for $50,000 to install a generator and concrete protective structure to ensure the shelter for victims of domestic violence has power during natural disasters.

Good working relationship
Sablan worked with all the organizations that have been approved for earmarks this year to develop proposals that had community support and could be well justified for federal financial support.

“Nine of our 10 funding requests were approved by appropriators,” Sablan said. “That very strong record is in large part due to the partnership between the congressional office and organizations in the Marianas. I very much appreciate the work PSS and CHCC and everyone did that reflects so well on the Marianas and resulted in over $4.6 million in earmarked funding.”

Earlier this month the Subcommittee on Agriculture approved $391,500 to expand home dialysis services to Rota to reduce the need for off-island travel. Agriculture also approved $980,639 at Sablan’s request for heath information technology upgrades at CHCC. This improvement would increase interoperability between islands and facilitate patient record storage, allowing for greater use of telehealth. And the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee agreed to $952,394 for the Small Business Development Center at Northern Marianas College.

Now that the Appropriations Committee is finishing its work, the next step will be approval of individual spending bills for fiscal 2022 by the entire House of Representatives. Those floor votes are expected to begin this month. (PR)