REGARDING the expected passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act in the U.S. Congress, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Monday said the CNMI is prepared and ready to send out the federal funds to their intended beneficiaries once the funds are received by the Commonwealth.
“We’re looking at the $1,400 stimulus check payment,” Torres said, noting that he has already had discussions with Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig and the CNMI Department of Finance-Division of Revenue and Taxation in anticipation of these funds.
“The funds are not here yet, so to everybody that’s anxious, we, too, are anxious to release that. We don’t have the funding yet. We don’t know when we’re going to get it, but rest assured that the minute we get a ‘green light notification’ from the White House, then we’ll let everybody know,” the governor said.
By a 50-49 vote, the U.S. Senate this past weekend approved President Joseph Biden’s relief legislation that now goes back to the U.S. House of Representatives, which has to approve the Senate amendments before the bill is transmitted to the president. The House plans to vote on the Senate version of the relief package on Wednesday, March 10, EST.
The measure includes an extension of supplemental unemployment benefits, an increase in the child tax credit, as well as financial assistance for state and local governments, schools, and public health.
