Previous Story
Manglona wants Treasury to probe BOOST
|
Posted on Jan 11 2023
Paul A. Manglona
Sen. Paul A. Manglona (Ind-Rota) pre-filed yesterday a resolution requesting the U.S. Department of Treasury to investigate the expenditure of American Rescue Plan Act funds that were allocated to the CNMI.
Manglona, who chairs the Committee on Federal Relations, is requesting the U.S. Department of Treasury to investigate the administration and awarding process of grants through the previous administration’s Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together Program.
The senator noted in the resolution that it was shared during the recent hearings of two House of Representatives committees that intense efforts to promote the BOOST Program coincided with the election dates for the CNMI.
He said it was also discovered during the hearings that approximately $17 million of ARPA funds were allocated for the BOOST Program, with roughly $15 million committed to approximately 400 applicants out of an application pool of more than 4,000 applicants.
Manglona said it was disclosed by the BOOST Program administrator, Bank of Saipan, that there was no standard operating procedure in place for the review or awarding process of the BOOST Program.
The senator said on Aug. 18, 2022, the BOOST Workforce Development Program was launched and funded in the amount of $12 million from ARPA funds to provide financial assistance to CNMI businesses and non-profit organizations.
Manglona said on Oct. 20, 2022, it was reported that the second BOOST application deadline of Oct. 18, 2022 was extended to Nov. 18, 2022, due to a large influx of applicants.
Manglona said as of Dec. 1, 2022, it was reported that a total of 4,227 applicants for the BOOST Program had requested for a total of $328,374,318.
He said of the total reported applicants, 605 applicants had been awarded a total of $10.67 million through the BOOST Program, of which 241 small businesses were awarded $10.49 million, and 364 fishers, farmers, and ranchers were awarded $182,000.
