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Kilili pushes for Essential Air Service eligibility to include CNMI
Bill also introduced to give NMC extra USDA funding
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) is pushing for the expansion of Essential Air Service eligibility to include the CNMI, especially Tinian and Rota.
Sablan also introduced Thursday a bill that would give Northern Marianas College extra funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under the terms of Sablan’s H. R. 2783, or the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution Opportunity Act, other AANAPISIs would also receive the extra funding.
Sablan stated in his e-kilili newsletter over the weekend that inclusion of the Marianas in the EAS was his primary request during a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The EAS program subsidizes airlines to guarantee scheduled air service to smaller communities and was begun after airline deregulation in 1978.
Sablab said Marianas communities were originally eligible, but lost their eligibility when the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 was enacted.
He said the change that he requested will not automatically place Marianas airports in the program, but it will ensure that EAS assistance is available if needed.
Authorizations for FAA programs expire on Sept. 30, 2023.
Sablan said his testimony is part of the effort to restore Marianas EAS eligibility as Congress develops reauthorizing legislation.
“It will not be easy,” he said, as he noted that critics characterize essential air service subsidies as expensive and wasteful, and that many in Congress are determined to roll back spending.
On H.R. 2783, the legislation proposes to establish grants to support Asian American and Pacific Islander-centered agricultural research and scholarships for AAPI students.
Currently, AANPASIs are the only minority-serving institutions without the USDA support, Sablan said, adding that H.R. 2783 seeks to correct that inequity.
In addition to investing in the AAPI agricultural pipeline, Sablan said the bill would enhance the potential of Marianas agriculture by giving NMC’s Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service the necessary resources to establish more degrees, classes, and research projects.
Sablan said he looks forward to working with his colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee to advance this measure through Congress.
