Prior Service Fund to get new $1.8M funding

Officials of the Prior Service Program and the Department of the Interior recently concluded an agreement with the Department of Interior that will allow the release of approximately $1 million for Prior Service benefit payments.

This agreement, which was requested by the U.S. Congress in their 2005 committee report, will provide for the transfer of the administrative functions and responsibilities of the Prior Service Program from the central office in Saipan to each of the four governments covered under the program.

This project is scheduled to be completed by March 2006.

In addition to the $1 million being released under the agreement, it is expected that the program will receive another $800,000 in fiscal year 2006.

Prior Service Program chair and Lt. Governor of Pohnpei Jack E. Yakana, program administrator Jerry Facey and fund adviser Frank X. Solomon represented the program in its meetings with the Interior Department.

In another series of meetings, the Ambassador Hersey Kyota from the Republic of Palau and Ambassador Jesse Bibiano Marehalau from the Federated States of Micronesia joined the program group in a meeting with Assistant Secretary Lynn Scarlett of Policy Budget and Management and Deputy Assistant Secretary David Cohen of the Office of Insular Affairs.

This meeting was the first step in following up on a recent joint letter from the three FAS presidents to Secretary of the Interior Gayle Norton and a letter from CNMI Gov. Juan N. Babauta requesting her assistance in funding the program.

The group made a short presentation on the status of program, its funding needs for the future and promised to provide additional information for Interior’s review. While there were no definite promises made by the Assistant Secretary, “the general impression of the group was that it was a very positive meeting and they looked forward to several future meetings to discuss the program and funding request in more detail,” program officials said in a statement.

The chairman and his group also visited with several congressional staff to provide them with a status report on the transition project and to discuss future year funding.

“In general, the meetings were very positive and the fund will have enough money to continue making payments for the immediate future. However, the chairman and the rest of the board, with the support of the administrator and adviser, will continue their efforts to identify a long-term funding solution,” program officials said. (PR)