Panel formed to assess FAS migration costs

A multi-agency working group whose task is to account for every dollar spent for hosting Micronesians was created by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in fresh attempt to recover millions of dollars in unpaid Compact Impact cost from the federal government.

The working group was put in place in an apparent response to plans of the White House to chop off 51 percent to $5.6 million the FY 2000 appropriation for CNMI’s Capital Improvement Projects in favor of Guam.

The commonwealth stands to lose over $16 million in the next three years under the Washington’s spending plan despite a seven-year financial assistance agreement ratified in 1996 that guarantees annual budget of $11 million for CIP projects. Local officials say they are anticipating the multiplier economic impact of the CIP funds to reach $300 million.

Federal officials explain they are taking away part of the funds extended to the Northern Marianas because of the failure of island leaders to use the money in the past that has allowed grants to sit idle for years in a mainland bank. But such plan has drawn sharp criticism from CNMI’s key supporters in the US Congress, describing it an unjust realignment of funds to fulfill a presidential promise.

The commonwealth had protested the diversion in fear it would impede plans to carry out massive construction projects in the next seven years. The Office of Insular Affairs funded the drafting of a CIP master plan put together by a local task force and the US Army corps of Engineers.

“We have formed a group and they are coming up with the actual amount…that is costing us because of our friends from the neighboring islands,” the governor told reporters.

Since the late 1980s, Tenorio said, the commonwealth has not been reimbursed by the US for the Compact Impact cost despite several requests.

In a separate interview, Michael S. Sablan, special advisor on budget and finance to the governor, the multi-agency working group will update a 1997 study to determine actual expenses incurred by the government in sheltering Micronesians, and hopefully collect funds in the form of federal aid in light of shrinking resources.

“There is a growing concern that the impact of the FAS citizens on our resources is not only increasing and is also becoming significant as our local resources decline,” Sablan said in phone interview. “Hopefully the end product can be used to secure federal financial assistance.”

A Hay Group study showed in 1997 alone the island government has shelled out an estimated $7.5 millions for hosting citizens from FAS.

The working group will be composed of representatives from the Departments of Finance, Public Health, Public Safety and Commerce as well as the Public School System and the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation.