Kilili looks at year in review

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) issued a Year in Review in his final newsletter for 2017 last Friday. “Many seeds planted in years past bore fruit in 2017,” he reported.

Among the work that required years to bring to fruition was the increase in school funding. The Public School System received an additional $4.1 million in July because of the funding formula change that Sablan included in the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015. And this year the new, annual formula went into effect.

Also bearing fruit was the food assistance pilot program Sablan placed in the Agricultural Act of 2014. “There was $30.5 million in the Act for the Marianas to increase benefits and make more families eligible for food aid,” Sablan said. “But first the Agriculture Department and the Commonwealth government had to agree on exactly how to use the money in the new E-NAP program.

“It took time, but at least now—finally—more families are getting more help, which was always my goal.”

Sablan also reported that he has already introduced legislation to extend the E-NAP program for another five years with a proposed $42.5 million.

Veterans issues

This year, the Marianas delegate also obtained a waiver to the usual two-committee limit this year, allowing him to become a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He sits on the Education and the Workforce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, too. His new committee position is reflected in much of 2017’s work.

“We got Veterans [Committee chair] Phil Roe to agree to hold a hearing in 2018 on how hard it is for veterans in the Pacific islands to get access to services and benefits,” Sablan said. “And, as a committee member, I was also able to light a fire under the whole service delivery system, getting more VA staff to the Marianas to meet with veterans at the Veterans Fairs we hosted on Rota, Tinian, and Saipan and other events.

“The highlight may have been bringing the CEO of TriWest, the company that manages the Veterans Choice health program, out to the Marianas,” Sablan said.

Veterans Choice allows veterans, who cannot get service from far away VA clinics to go to private healthcare providers in the local community instead.

“Lots of health providers in the Marianas were not signed up to participate in Choice,” Sablan said. “Some were part of the network and did not even know it. We tripled the number of providers through our outreach efforts.

Sablan made all Marianas veterans eligible for Choice in the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014.

“Again, many veterans were just not aware of this option. TriWest pays for everything. There is no copay, no deductible. It is a great deal for veterans; and they should be taking advantage of it,” said Sablan.

Also years in the making was the Saipan troop store that opened in 2017. “It all began with the feasibility study that I put into the National Defense Authorization Act in 2010, my first term in Congress.

Stay focused

“You just have to stay focused on what will improve the lives of the people you work for and keep on top of that vision, year-after-year,” according to Sablan.

For instance, 2017 was a year dominated with work on labor issues in the Marianas. Sablan’s first bill, introduced within days of his swearing in, blocked the use of CW permits for temporary construction workers. They took one-third of the permits in 2016—a disaster for many local businesses and the hospital.

Sablan quickly got the bill through the House, then a Senate hearing and vote, and signature by the President in just eight months. For the first time ever, Congress reversed the policy of reducing CW permits to zero and actually added a limited number for 2017.

“That bill is actually a seed in itself,” Sablan said. “Putting it together required educating a disparate group of congressional offices and getting their consensus.

“That same group is now working on a long-term policy that will ensure we have enough workers to keep our economy going.

“And, if we are successful, that policy will definitely be on the Year in Review list for 2018,” he added.

To see the entire Year in Review list, go to https://sablan.house.gov/ or write to kilili@mail.house.gov to subscribe to the Sablan’s weekly report, e-kilili. (PR)