Additional $1M food stamp for CNMI now ‘mandatory’

President Barack Obama signed Friday a fiscal year 2012 appropriations measure that now makes it “mandatory” instead of “discretionary” the additional $1 million in food stamp funding that the CNMI receives.

This means that Congress locked in $13.148 million in food stamp funding for the CNMI.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) said during the weekend that the appropriation measure, H.R. 2112, makes mandatory what had been a discretionary addition of $1 million by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack to the CNMI food stamp funding.

“Food stamp funding has increased by $3 million since I started work in Congress—first by getting the Recovery Act increase to the food stamp program extended by the Secretary to the NMI in 2009, having $12.148 million set by appropriation in fiscal year 2010 and 2011, and then successfully lobbying for the additional $1 million this year,” Sablan said.

During a July hearing of the Nutrition Subcommittee where Sablan is a member, the delegate spoke about food stamp benefit cuts in the CNMI and eligible families being wait-listed because of shortfalls in the block grant.

In that hearing, Food and Nutrition Services Administrator Dr. Audrey Rowe promised to help, resulting in the discretionary $1 million increase in funding.

“Now that money is locked in by appropriation,” Sablan said.

The Conference Committee on HR 2112 also left intact the language that Sablan had included in the Senate Appropriations Committee report on the bill, instructing the USDA secretary to work on integrating the Northern Marianas into the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“That is our ultimate goal, which will more than double benefits and bring an additional $12 to $24 million into our economy,” said Sablan.

The Fitial administration has been opposed to the CNMI’s inclusion in the national food stamp program or SNAP, citing additional administrative costs that the CNMI has to shoulder.

The Fitial administration did not respond to new request for comment on the issue as of yesterday.

Meanwhile, Sablan again wrote to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial on Thursday, reiterating his request for support in his efforts to integrate the CNMI into the national food stamp program.

Sablan said the USDA secretary reiterated that his department is willing to begin discussion with the CNMI on extending SNAP to the Commonwealth.

The delegate asked the governor to “take full advantage of this window of opportunity.”

Sablan said if the governor chooses to engage in these negotiations, he would recommend seven standards to incorporate into an agreement, including ensuring that benefits to CNMI people should be effectively equivalent to benefits for people in Guam; that benefit levels for Rota and Tinian residents be linked to the consumer price index for these islands; sufficient funding for the CNMI at the outset of transition; and transition to sharing of administrative costs should be staged so that additional expected tax revenues are received by the CNMI.

He also urges that the electronic benefit transfer system which replaces paper food stamps with more secured debit cards should also be staged in, and that features of the CNMI’s current negotiated block grant which have demonstrated appropriateness in the CNMI or has less complexity than SNAP should be retained.