Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas position is still on DOI’s radar

At a recent hearing, Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell assured me that a nominee for the Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas position will be named and this issue will not fall off her radar.  This was in response to my insistence that a permanent nominee be named as soon as possible so that the concerns of the insular areas are addressed by the federal government.  My colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee and I had an opportunity to discuss the Department of Interior’s programs and activities with newly confirmed Secretary Sally Jewell.  The Office of Insular Affairs under the Department has administrative responsibility for coordinating federal policy in the insular areas, including the Northern Mariana Islands.  While Acting Assistant Secretary Eileen Sobeck is to be commended for the able job she is doing, I certainly hope that it will not be too much longer before a permanent nominee is named.