DECEMBER 19 is the new deadline for former officials and contractors of Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together or BOOST to respond to the subpoena duces tecum issued by the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding.
On Nov. 17, the committee subpoenaed former Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig, former Department of Commerce-Economic Development Director Jesus Taisague and BOOST contractors Robert Travilla, Salina Sapp and Shane Villanueva.
They were given 10 days to respond.
Their respective attorneys, however, requested a one-month extension of the deadline, but the committee chairman, Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, said the panel gave them a two-week extension only.
In an interview on Thursday, Yumul said the committee wants to see how the $17 million BOOST program, which was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, was administered and whether all the applicants were treated fairly and equally. The committee, he added, will review the documents and records, and how the BOOST funds were awarded to recipients.
“That is our main concern — some recipients received multiple sets of funds versus the 2,000 others who did not get anything. Those are the questions that we want answered,” Yumul said, adding that it was brought to the attention of the Legislature that a lot of people applied for BOOST but didn’t get anything. “That is the major concern,” he reiterated.
Yumul said they also requested Bank of Saipan, which administered BOOST, for information pertaining to compliance. He said they want to see who among the recipients complied with the following terms and conditions of the program:
1) The funds must be used for your business or non-profit organization and only as detailed in your BOOST submission packet.
2) The funds must be used exclusively for your business or non-profit organization located in the CNMI and cannot be used to support operations outside the CNMI.
3) You agree to submit, upon request, to an audit of the use of the funds by the program administrator, the Department of Finance, the U.S Treasury, or any other entity authorized by the Department of Finance.
4) You agree to retain all records associated with the award for a period of five years from the date of this notice.
5) You agree to provide periodic reports to the program administrator or the Department of Finance as requested.
6) You agree to return the full amount of the award upon demand if you violate any of the conditions stated above.
7) You acknowledge that any additional awards are subject to the availability of funds.
