$2.755M transportation and justice grants now available

The Department of Transportation is making $1,114,292 available through two grants for transportation infrastructure. The CNMI qualifies for both the Large Urban Cities Program and the Rural Areas Program, which provide support for public transportation systems. The monies can be used for capital improvements, operating costs, or planning by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and operators of public transportation services.

The Department of Justice announced a grant of $1,640,925 under the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Program. The Byrne program, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, allows states to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and improve the criminal justice system. The funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice for any one or more of the following purpose areas: law enforcement programs; prosecution and court programs; prevention and education programs; corrections and community corrections programs; drug treatment programs; and planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.

Sablan said he is glad to see that the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being distributed quickly to the Northern Marianas and throughout the country.

“Our intention in Congress was to move speedily to address the loss of jobs and the downturn in the economy nationwide,” he said. “Nowhere are these stimulus funds needed more than in the Northern Marianas to create jobs and pump millions of new dollars into the local economy.”

ARRA passed the House of Representatives without a single Republican vote. The Northern Marianas congressman is a member of the Democratic caucus.

Also, the Department of Education over the weekend issued initial guidelines on a number of grant programs available to the CNMI Public School System and estimated to be $3,340,667. These include Title 1, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B. Title 1 funds are targeted to schools that have high concentrations of students from families that live in poverty in order to help improve teaching and learning for students most at risk of failing to meet state academic achievement standards.

Here, too, Sablan cautioned that the federal funds needed to be used wisely and with speed. “The law requires that eight-five percent of the Title 1 funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2010. This money is meant to be spent to protect jobs and to create new economic activity, renovating schools and investing in energy-saving.

“It’s important to remember, though, that these funds are probably just a one-shot deal. So they shouldn’t be used to create new programs that will then require some new source of funding in two or three years,” he said. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]