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US House passes matching req’t waiver bill
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Posted on Jul 13 2004
The federal bill that seeks to increase the waiver requirement on local matching funds for certain federal grants to the insular areas—including the CNMI—is now pending at the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, following its passage by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The committee’s public lands and forests subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on H.R.1189, which seeks to amend current federal statute governing local matching requirement for certain federal grants.
CNMI House Speaker Benigno Fitial expressed support for the measure and would submit his official position to the subcommittee, which scheduled a hearing on July 14 (U.S. time).
The bill seeks to increase the waiver requirement from $200,000 to $500,000 on local matching funds for grants to the CNMI, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
“That should give us more money from the federal government…especially when there is a need for more revenues and more services,” Fitial’s spokesman, Charles Reyes Jr., said.
CNMI Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio asked Fitial to submit his position on the bill for the scheduled hearing, expressing concern that the measure’s passage might result in reduced funding in some federal programs for the CNMI.
