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Pete A. assures $11M in CIP funding
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Posted on Apr 16 2002
Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio assured that the U.S. Congress is supportive of President Bush’s budget plan that seeks to maintain capital improvement assistance to the CNMI at $11 million in Fiscal Year 2003.
“The U.S. Congress supports that. I don’t see any resistance. The appropriate committees of Congress that are in-charge of this particular authorization and appropriation have no qualms about it. We’re doing very well there,” Tenorio said in a recent interview.
He emphasized that the U.S. Congress fully understands the need for a full funding in the next fiscal year for capital improvement.
Although the proposed budget for insular areas is slightly down by $11.2 million when compared to the FY 2002 budget level, the Office of Insular Affairs had said that Bush’s budget plan seeks to maintain capital improvement assistance to the CNMI at $11 million even though the statutory earmark for 2003 is only $5.4 million.
“As a matter of fact, a portion of that money need not be matched, which is a great advantage to our government here. So there’s no controversy on the appropriation. The President submitted that as part of the ongoing assistance from the federal government and we’re lucky,” Tenorio said.
This confirms an earlier statement by OIA’s Budget and Grant Management Director David Heggestad, who said only the statutorily earmarked amount of $5.4 million will require a full match from the CNMI government, in recognition of the increased financial needs of the CNMI due to the continuing economic problem besetting the Commonwealth.
Section 702 of the Covenant requires the US government to provide financial support to the CNMI. Based on the 1996 Third Special Representatives Agreement, the US Congress would allocate $11 million a year to the CNMI until FY 2002.
