Kilili wins Food Stamps increase for NMI
Apr 15, 2009
Press Release
April 15, 2009
Kilili wins Food Stamps increase for NMI
Up to $1.45 million will go into local economy
Saipan, MP – Responding to Northern Marianas Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Secretary Thomas Vilsask of the US Department of Agriculture has agreed for food stamp recipients in the NMI to receive a 13.6% increase in benefits.
“This is on average an extra $30 every month for the 2,600 families on Rota, Tinian, Saipan, and the Northern Islands who use Food Stamps to make sure they have enough food on the table,” said Kilili.
“And it’s an extra $1.45 million that can go into our local economy.”Kilili received a letter from Vilsack today informing him of the decision.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama on February 17, increased food stamps benefits nationwide by 13.6%.
However, the CNMI does not receive food stamps by law as the rest of the country. Instead the CNMI receives Food Stamps through a special negotiated agreement with the Department of Agriculture. So the Marianas were left out of the increase in the stimulus bill.
Within a month of taking office Kilili had spotted the problem. And on February 10 – a week before the stimulus bill was signed into law – Kilili contacted Secretary Vilsack requesting that people in the NMI receive the same 13.6% increase as food stamp recipients everywhere else in the country.
After two months of continuing effort by Kilili, Secretary Vilsask wrote today to say he has begun the process of reprogramming money for the increase for the NMI.
“I appreciate your concern for the people in need in CNMI. I am also concerned about meeting the nutrition needs of all low-income people affected by these difficult economic times,” the Secretary wrote, explaining the reason for his decision.
“The Secretary now has to inform the appropriate congressional committees that he will be reprogramming the funds, which may take a few more weeks,” said Sablan.
“But I do expect that the increase will be available to food stamp recipients by June.”
This is good news for over 7,000 people in the Northern Marianas who have more to eat each day because of the food stamp program.
And it’s good news for the CNMI economy. USDA estimates that every extra dollar of food stamp spending generates $1.84 in economic activity.
When a family uses food stamps at a local grocery store, the grocery story can hire workers and buy more from suppliers. That helps those workers buy more in the local economy. That helps suppliers pay their employees – at the warehouse, driving delivery trucks.
Kilili said he wants to thank Secretary Vilsack for understanding the importance of making sure that people in the Northern Marianas are treated fairly and given the same benefit increase as food stamp recipients in the rest of the United States.
