Newsletter 7/2/2009
Jul 2, 2009
CNMI/PSS Submits Application for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund –The Governor submitted the Northern Mariana Islands application for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund this week. The SFSF is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that Congress passed in February. The NMI was awarded $44,433,595. The Public School System is to receive 82% of the money and wrote the major part of the application. PSS plans to immediately rehire teachers who had to be cut because of budget cuts. Another major expenditure will be to improve the energy efficiency of the school system, so money now spent on foreign oil can go to instructing our students instead. The US Department of Education has promised that its staff is ready to review the CNMI/ PSS application and advised that funds could reach the Marianas by August 1.
“Cash for Clunkers” – This week, along with the other Members of Congress representing the U.S. insular areas, I wrote to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to make sure he does not forget to include the territories when regulations are drafted for the “Cash for Clunkers” program. Signed into law by President Obama as part of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009, H.R. 2346, Cash for Clunkers provides vouchers worth up to $4,500 to people trading in their old car for a new, more fuel-efficient model. This program should increase car sales, a help to the economy, and reduce pollution, a help to the environment. The territories are not excluded from the Cash for Clunkers program; we just exercised an abundance of caution in writing to Secretary LaHood.
Interior appropriation bill points to increased water and sewer funding for CNMI – Last Friday, the FY2010 Interior appropriations bill, H.R. 2996, passed the House with overall increases in environmental funding for the US insular areas, including the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill still must next be approved in the Senate; but the House version, if enacted, would provide about $944,000 to the CNMI as a capitalization grant for drinking water and/or wastewater projects. Increases in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund ($1.4 billion, up $614 million from FY09) and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund ($2.3 billion, up $1.6 billion from FY09) mean proportional increases to the CNMI, as well.
$49,967 awarded for underwater mapping of World War II sites - The National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program has announced a grant of $49,967 to Ships of Exploration and Discovery Research. This nonprofit organization will identify and document submerged artifacts from the Battle of Saipan, using GIS mapping. The project is a first step towards the creation of an underwater heritage trail along the invasion beaches of the Tanapag Harbor area for the enjoyment of tourists and NMI residents. The ABPP funds projects conducted by federal, state, local and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to preserve the sites of historically significant battles fought on American soil.
Students: Take a look at the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine academies – As reported last week, my bill, H.R. 935, increasing the number of openings for NMI students at the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies, has been added to the larger 2010 Defense Authorization, which the House passed. In the meantime, CNMI students should also consider two tuition-free service academies that have unlimited openings for applicants from the NMI. The Coast Guard Academy, located in New London, Connecticut, is the smallest of the country’s military academies, and prepares graduates to be Coast Guard officers. This Academy does not require nominations – students seeking admission should apply directly to the Academy– but Members of Congress may make recommendations. Interested students should contact our office to request a recommendation. The Merchant Marine Academy is located in Kings Point, New York, and prepares students for post-graduate careers in maritime industries or the armed services. The Merchant Marine Academy does require Congressional nominations – highly qualified students should contact our office to request a nomination.
Student loans are looking more attractive – New student loan benefits went into effect on July 1. Students will begin to see cheaper interest rates and lower up-front fees on need-based federal tuition loans. Repayments will also now be adjustable if they exceed 15% of income. And Pell grants are going up, so that they can cover the average tuition at public universities. Individuals who qualify for these benefits include new borrowers as well as those currently paying back federal student loans. The House Committee on Education and Labor of which I am a member has prepared a pamphlet explaining the changes. Click here.
Liberation Day Wreath Laying and Reception – On Tuesday July 14at 8:00am, our office will be hosting a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Ceremony. The ceremony is a solemn commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Battle for the Northern Marianas and the Liberation of Guam. The next day, July 15, we will co-host a reception with Guam Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo at 345 Cannon Caucus Room from 6-9 p.m. If you or anyone you know from the Northern Marianas is in the Washington, D.C. area at the time, I hope you will attend both events. Click here for more information on the wreath-laying ceremony and here on the reception.
