Since I made that promise, I have seen first hand the pleas for assistance from families and from the numerous government agencies in our island. The difficulty has been, and continues to be, to provide the financial assistance from a budget that is needless to say, insufficient to meet our people’s demands.
It is with this lack of funding from within our CNMI combined with the clear urgent needs to meet our many challenges that prompted me to travel to Washington, D.C. for a week to meet first hand with federal officials in both the U.S. administration and U.S. Congress who are instrumental in assisting the commonwealth. As chair for the Health, Education and Welfare Committee, the single most important purpose of my travel was to seek assistance for these three specific areas. However, it would have been premature if I did not address what is a constant concern in all of our daily lives, blackouts and CUC.
Accordingly, foremost in my discussion was the urgency to rehabilitate and to improve the Saipan power system. After providing the federal officials with a clear picture of how the frequent power blackouts are compounding the economic crisis facing our government, they expressed their interest in assisting us. The federal officials are willing to have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assess our power problem, which will enable us to know the exact source of power problem and the tools necessary to correct the problem. In short, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer will be able to provide us the technical assistance, which would otherwise cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain elsewhere. Furthermore, Mr. Allen Staymen and Mr. Joshua A. Johnson with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recommended that portion of the CIP fund be dedicated for a new power plant. The Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Tony Babauta, Brian Modeste, and Josh Johnson also joined us during our meetings.
My meeting with Doug Domenech and Nikolao I. Pula, Director of Insular Affairs with the Department of the Interior, centered on Saipan power crisis. In planning for our future, we discussed possible alternative power source such as a power barges system as we attempt to rehabilitate our power system or build a new power plant.
Additionally, with respect to our educational needs, I met with Ms. Adrienne E. Dunbar with the House Committee on Education and Labor to echo the financial constraints facing our educational system in the areas of professional staff and supports, CIP funds to repair dilapidated classrooms, purchase of textbooks and so forth. We also deliberated at length the accreditation issue with Northern Marianas College and WASC. The waiver of 50/50 matching funds and the increase of Title 48 Waiver to $500,000 were also discussed.
At a later date, I discussed the health concerns of our island with Mr. Brandon Clark of the House Health Subcommittee. Of particular concern is the lack of professional staffs in specialized areas such as psychiatrists, nephrology, and etc, which affect our community health standards. The high rate of diabetic cases in the Northern Marianas is a major concern expressed by the federal government. The meeting was beneficial in that I was informed of areas in which the NMI may acquire additional funds from federal grants such as Non-Emergency Grant, and the Medicaid Transformation Grant.
Throughout the weeklong meetings with the various federal officials, our meetings were conclusive in one apparent message — the federal government is willing to help us with our urgent problems in view of our dwindling financial resources. The message of a clear willingness to help came from Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo of Guam, keys officials of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, House Subcommittee on Health, House Committee on Appropriations, House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Office of Insular Affairs, and the Office of Economic Assistance within the Department of Homeland Security. But we must always remember that their willingness to help is only as good as our willingness to be helped.
In light of the political undercurrents surrounding our economy and the many issues, which have divided our people, my trip to D.C. is only a stepping-stone as your representative. I look forward to hearing from any one of you for your concerns and feedback.
In closing, I would like to extend a sincere appreciation for the assistance and hospitality of our Honorable Pedro A. Tenorio, NMI Washington representative, and his staff in setting up the appointments. Our Washington rep. had accompanied me to numerous meetings set within the span of a few days.
Overall, my trip was successful and a great learning experience for me as well as an opportunity to educate them of the various issues facing our commonwealth.
REP. RALPH DLG. TORRES
16th CNMI Legislature
