Senate approves hemodialysis bill

The Senate voted 8-1 yesterday in favor of the $5.8 million reprogramming of funds for the completion of the hemodialysis center on Saipan.

The measure, House Bill 14-258, aims to shift $5.8 million from the pending Kagman wastewater project to complete the Public Health and Hemodialysis project.

The bill also transfers $2 million from the Dandan sewer project or the expansion of the Agingan sewer treatment plant to the Kagman III road paving project.

Sen. Luis Crisostimo, who voted against the bill, said he could not agree to the use of funds that have already been allotted to another important project.

“I’m very disappointed. They made a mistake in passing it. We should come out with funds first. Why take it from a Precinct I project?” he asked.

Sen. Thomas Villagomez said there is a need to finish the hemodialysis project.

“Since Day 1, I wanted to have that passed and requested that the U.S. Inspector General conduct an audit of the [hemodialysis] project. We’re still doing it. Sen. Pete Reyes and I talked about introducing a resolution to have the Inspector General get involved here,” he said. “The primary concern now is to have it [hemodialysis project] done.”

He said the Senate passed the bill with an amendment that essentially provides that the money cannot be used unless there is a bond.

Crisostimo said the bill also provides that no change order would be granted exceeding 10 percent of the $5.8 million additional funds.

“But this is already a change order! It’s going to be a change order of a change order,” he said.

The hemodialysis project was originally appropriated $11.8 million in federal funds. The winning bid for the construction of the project only amounted to $5.6 million.

But officials from the Department Public Health and Public Works have said that the original funds had been depleted mainly due to several change orders arising from faulty design work.

The House earlier approved H.B. 14-258, noting that using “idle” funds from the Kagman and Dandan projects would be good for the CNMI. It said that keeping the money unused jeopardizes future federal grant funding, noting that the Office of the Insular Affairs has instituted a policy conditioning future capital improvement grants on prompt expenditure and project completion.

“In addition, the [hemodialysis] construction is ongoing and the longer the delay of completion, the more costly it will be for the Commonwealth,” the House bill reads.

The bill specifies that the Executive Branch shall reserve $5.8 million from the 702 funding for FY 2007 to reinstate the amount reprogrammed from the Kagman wastewater project and Dandan sewer project.

The bill now goes back to the House for review.