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CNMI gets $2.25M in Compact impact funding
»OIA gives extra for PSS in FY 2012
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs Tony Babauta approved a $2.25-million funding associated with the CNMI’s hosting of migrants from the Freely Associated States-also called Compact impact funding-for fiscal year 2012. This amount is higher than the CNMI’s submission of $1.930 million in June.
Babauta and acting governor Eloy S. Inos said the additional $320,999 is for a one-time funding solely for the Public School System pursuant to U.S. Public Law 108-188 through the Technical Assistance Program.
Babauta, in an interview yesterday, said the Compact Impact funding for the CNMI could still be around $1.93 million in fiscal year 2013 without the extra funding for PSS.
Acting press secretary Teresa Kim said the additional funding for PSS is welcome and timely as the new school year draws near.
Babauta and Inos signed the documents on Monday.
The CNMI submitted on June 7 its fiscal year 2012’s Compact Impact Funding Plan of Use to OIA, requesting for $1,930,443.00. This is almost the same level as it was in fiscal years 2011 and 2010 because of huge drop in the population of Freely Associated States citizens.
FAS citizens are those from the Federated States of Micronesia’s Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap and Kosrae, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.
The CNMI used to receive $5.2 million in annual Compact impact funding from OIA when the FAS citizen population was still huge. From 3,570 FAS citizens in 2003, the CNMI hosted 2,100 in 2008 based on a survey.
On Monday, Babauta met with Inos to notify the CNMI of OIA’s approval of the request and to present the grant and cooperative agreement.
“On behalf of the Commonwealth, I would like to thank Mr. Babauta for personally presenting the grant award to my office. We are grateful for the continued support of the Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs,” Inos said in a statement.
The total amount of $2,251,442 from OIA is allocated to eight agencies and programs in fiscal year 2012. These include $796,531 for the Department of Public Safety; $376,929 for the Public School System; $375,897 for Northern Marianas College; $326,523 for the Department of Corrections; $236,697 for the government hospital; $72,645 for the Office of Public Defender; $40,115 for the Division of Youth Services; and $26,105 for the Division of Mental Health.
Every year, the CNMI Department of Commerce, in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget, submits a grant request to OIA to meet the needs of the CNMI in providing services to qualified non-immigrants.
A December 2011 report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office cited “weaknesses” in territories’ collection and reporting on the impact of migration from FAS.
GAO found that the CNMI, Guam, and Hawaii counted $1 billion in costs from FAS immigrants for education, health, public safety, and social services from 2004 to 2010, yet the U.S. government provided only $210 million to these U.S. insular areas as compensation.
