Help for Marianas’ small businesses

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This week in Congress

September 6, 2024

Help for Marianas’ small businesses
$9.2m for NMC
Saipan gets $3.1m to cut power cost
Q&A with grad students
More funding for safe school water
Congress briefs Mount Carmel
Help for crime victims
Federal Highway Administration visits
Thank you, Officer Phelan
September is Passport Month
KILILI TIME CAPSULE
OPPORTUNITIES
HIGHLIGHTS

A bill for Marianas’ small businesses

Defense contractors would be incentivized to work with small businesses in the Marianas under legislation I introduced this week. If enacted, the Pacific Defense Small Business Incentive Act (H.R. 9453) authorizes additional payment to DOD prime contractors who subcontract to a small business in the Marianas, Guam, or American Samoa. Providing access to defense contracts is critical, with continued military projects in areas like the Marianas further warranting local business participation. Elevating our Pacific small businesses in the defense industrial base will spur local economic growth and streamline federal projects and initiatives on our islands.

$9.2m for NMC

Northern Marianas College has successfully competed to receive $9,197,150 to help individuals with disabilities join the workforce, your congressional office was informed on Friday. The grant is the first of an anticipated 5 years of this funding for the College. With the new federal money the College plans to “address challenges facing those with disabilities, including lack of access to advanced technology, low levels of educational attainment, behavioral health issues, criminal justice involvement, low financial literacy, lack of pre-employment skills, lack of job skills and work experience, lack of peer support, and lack of job development and placement services.” The project will be coordinated with the Commonwealth’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Council on Developmental Disabilities, Center for Living Independently, Northern Marianas Technical Institute, and the Interwork Institute at San Diego State University Research Foundation. Congress provided the money for the Disability Innovation Fund Program in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. 117-328). Congratulations to Project Director Eileen Alepuyo Babauta and everyone at Northern Marianas College!

Saipan gets $3.1m to cut power cost

Mayor ‘RB’ Camacho and his team at the Saipan municipal office have successfully competed for $3,122,794 to cut spending on electricity, the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Thursday. The money will help homes, businesses, and government offices on Saipan cut spending by transitioning to energy-efficient LED lighting. A 40 percent saving is expected at each retrofit site. This will in turn lower greenhouse gas pollution from the fossil fuel generators that currently produce most of Saipan’s electricity. President Biden and Vice President Harris led the way for passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, through which Congress provided this week’s funding. As typhoons strike more frequently and with greater force, as ocean warming kills the coral reefs and marine life we rely on, as sea level continues to rise, the need to cut CO2 and other greenhouse gasses grows more obvious and urgent. The Saipan grant is one of 33 out of 110 applications for the climate change funding. Congratulations to the Saipan Municipality!

Q&A with grad students. On Thursday, I stopped by Northern Marianas College to answer questions prepared by University of Guam Masters in Public Administration students. We engaged in an insightful discussion and I hope my answers will help these future leaders. Thank you students and instructor, Mr. Joe Taijeron.

More funding for safe school water

The Biden administration has awarded the Marianas $39,000 as part of the continuing effort to provide safe drinking water in schools and childcare facilities it was announced last week. The grant funding is specifically intended to identify and reduce exposure to lead, which causes irreversible brain damage. The funding was first authorized in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act in 2016, Public Law 114-322 under President Obama, and expanded in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, signed into law by President Biden in 2021.

Congress briefs Mount Carmel. Congressional staff Randy Johnson and intern Kristan Torres recently briefed Mount Carmel School seniors about the Congressional App Challenge and Service Academy Nomination. Kristan, who shares a similar background with the students as a fellow student of the NMI, also took the time to answer questions about college life. This engaging session provided valuable insights into both academic opportunities and practical advice for future endeavors. For more information on the App Challenge or Academy Nominations, click the links within this story.

Help for crime victims

The Marianas Criminal Justice Planning Agency was awarded $313,977 on Thursday to provide assistance to the victims of crime. This was in excess of the base formula funding of $200,000. Typically the money is used for services such as crisis counseling, telephone and onsite information and referrals, criminal justice support and advocacy, shelter, or therapy. CJPA also received a Sexual Assault Services grant of $256,793 in August. The SAS program provides intervention, advocacy, accompaniment, support services, and related assistance for adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault, family and household members of victims, and those collaterally affected by the sexual assault. The program was created by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, 34 U.S.C. § 12511, but the Marianas – without representation in Congress – was underfunded. I was able to increase funding when VAWA was reauthorized in 2013 and again in 2017 in Public Law 117-103.

Federal Highway Administration visit. DPW Secretary Ray Yumul stopped by your congressional office with Federal Highway Administration Administrator Richelle Takara and Specialist Matthew Walker. They provided me with updates to ongoing federal highway projects in the Northern Marianas. I look forward to the completion of these projects to improve infrastructure for our people. Thank you for your visit.

Thank you, Officer Phelan. As I wrap up my time as your Delegate, I want to recognize some of the federal employees who make our community great. This is Officer Patricia Phelan from USCIS. She visited the congressional office Wednesday to discuss ongoing challenges with immigration in the Northern Marianas. I wanted to tell her just how appreciative we are for her commitment to public service. Thank you, Officer Phelan.

Passport Month. September is Passport month, and @travelgov is hosting special events throughout the month, including evenings and weekends, to help you apply or renew your passport with ease. Many countries require your passport to be valid for six months beyond your travel dates, so make sure yours is up to date before booking your next trip. With the summer travel rush over, now is an ideal time to renew, as processing times are currently shorter. For information on how to apply or renew your passport, visit travel.state.gov/passport. Keep your passport current to ensure smooth travels and maintain proof of U.S. citizenship. Visit travel.state.gov for all the details you need this Passport Month.

1 Year Ago

$125k for MINA

The Mariana Islands Nature Alliance Tasi-Watch program is receiving $125,000, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announced September 1.

5 Years Ago

$4.3m for disaster road repairs

The CNMI Department of Public Works is receiving $4,269,064 in Emergency Relief program funds, the Federal Highway Administration announced Thursday.

10 Years Ago

World War II veterans honored

Judge David Wiseman and his wife Faythe recently used their congressional office as a fitting location for presentation of posthumous awards to the families of two men, who served in our nation’s armed forces on Saipan and Tinian during World War II.

OPPORTUNITIES

Grants:

Jobs:

LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS

THIS WEEK

The House was in recess for the District Work Period.

NEXT WEEK

H.R. 1398 – Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act
H.R. 1425 – No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act
H.R. 1516 – DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act
H.R. 7159 – Pacific Partnership Act
H.R. 7980 – End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024
H.R. ____ – Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024