BOOST committee hearing may start next year
The hearing of the House of Representatives committee that is investigating the previous administration’s Building Optimism, Opportunity, and Stability Together grant program may start in 2024 after three contractors asked for a 30-day extension to produce the documents the committee had subpoenaed.
Rep. Ralph N. Yumul (Ind-Saipan), who chairs the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-related Funding, disclosed yesterday that Robert Travilla, Salina Sapp, and Shayne Villanueva have requested for an extension to turn in the documents the committee is seeking.
“There’s a lot of information that we requested from them [and] we’re granting them an extension to produce those documents,” Yumul said.
Right now, the lawyers for Travilla, Sapp, and Villanueva are constantly communicating with the House’s counsel, he added.
The three were in charge of the BOOST program’s marketing. The BOOST Program used $17 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that, according to some House members, were handed out to many of the previous administration’s cronies.
Yumul said the hearings have been delayed because of scheduling of the three’s lawyers and the number of days they requested to produce the documents. He said he will probably call a meeting next week to get an update.
He said they will also discuss next week the issuance of subpoenas to get documents from former Department of Finance secretary David DLG Atalig and former Department of Commerce Economic Development director Jesus Taisague.
Rep. Ralph N. Yumul
