Rep. Tina Sablan wants insular parity

Rep. Tina Sablan, Chair of the Northern Marianas Legislature Health and Welfare Committee, testified on the glaring disparities island residents face, when it comes to access to federal programs. I invited Rep. Sablan, along with former Resident Commissioner and Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, and former Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Christensen to a Natural Resources Committee hearing I held on President Biden’s historic call to end those disparities.

The President laid out the policy goal in his Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government the day he was sworn in. And he put the force of his FY22 budget behind ending disparity by proposing eliminating Medicaid caps in the insular areas, doubling funding for Marianas food aid, and making other significant changes in federal programs.

Rep. Sablan focused on the harmful impacts to our most vulnerable residents that can be caused by cuts to benefits resulting from arbitrary funding caps. We will continue to work with the Biden-Harris administration on legislative solutions to provide access and parity for the Marianas and minority communities nationwide.