Special committee on BOOST? When the need comes up—Villagomez

Edmund S. Villagomez

House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) has yet to create a special committee to investigate the Torres administration’s Building Optimism, Opportunity and Stability Together, or BOOST Program, saying he will do so once the need comes up.

“When the need comes up, I will form a special committee to look into the BOOST issue,” said Villagomez yesterday in response to Saipan Tribune’s inquiry. The speaker did not comment further, saying “that’s all I have for now.”

Saipan Tribune learned that, with the suspension of the BOOST Program, some of those who received some money through the program are not paying other vendors for program-related services.

In an interview last January, Villagomez disclosed that he is looking at possibly appointing seven House members to a special committee that will be tasked with not so much redoing the 22nd House committees’ investigation in the BOOST Program, but possibly continuing where they left off. He said it doesn’t necessarily have to start from the House anymore; it can start in the Senate.

BOOST is a project of the previous Office of the Governor, the Department of Finance, and Department of Commerce that aimed to provide financial assistance to CNMI businesses and nonprofit organizations. Through BOOST, financial assistance was provided to local businesses and nonprofit organizations in the form of grants and business coaching through counseling and training programs.

The previous 22nd House Ways and Means Committee and the Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee investigated the BOOST Program and recommended that further legislative investigation into the program is needed, and should continue in the 23rd Legislature.

The current 23rd House JGO Committee, chaired by Rep. Marissa Flores (Ind-Saipan), has decided not to do so, saying the committee members agreed that it would not conduct additional legislative hearings on the BOOST Program, given that several criminal investigations into the program has already been initiated.

Sen. Celina R. Babauta (D-Saipan), who chairs the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law, had stated previously that she has no plans at this time for her committee to continue the oversight investigation into the BOOST Program.

Babauta, who chaired the House JGO Committee that investigated the BOOST Program, said they have already provided all 4,000 pages of BOOST-related documents they received from their committee subpoenas to the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Auditor, and appropriate law enforcement authorities.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized several documents regarding BOOST from program administrator Bank of Saipan, which resulted in the suspension of the program.