Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang meet with U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan on Thursday.
AS his fiscal response team crunches numbers to obtain an accurate accounting of the CNMI’s finances, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios on Wednesday noted that the Commonwealth received over $600 million in federal assistance amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
He said $36 million was made available to the CNMI through the Coronavirus Aid, Response, and Economic Security or CARES Act; another $88.7 million through the Community Disaster Loan, which was later “forgiven” by the federal government and became a grant; and $481.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.
“We’re looking at close to $600 million of…liquidity basically, and it’s unfathomable how we were able to burn through those funding in such a short period of time,” Palacios said in a press conference on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang met with U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan to “discuss a range of issues that included the financial challenges that the Commonwealth is facing.”
“We talked about a number of items, and I was able to brief the congressman on what we have discovered and continue to learn as we look deeper into the state of the CNMI government’s finances,” Palacios said in a statement.
“It was an open and candid conversation focused on how we can move the Commonwealth past the unprecedented challenges it is facing,” he said. “We will continue to ensure that our channels of communication remain open through this administration.”
“I look forward to continuing and strengthening this administration’s partnership with Congressman Sablan’s office,” he added.
Palacios said their meeting also included a discussion on how federally sourced resources can be strategically deployed or maximized to help the CNMI.
Funding opportunities like the Technical Assistance Program and other federal grant programs were likewise discussed. Additional issues, including ways that the tourism industry can be bolstered, were also considered, the administration stated.
To strengthen federal support, the administration said Kilili recommended that Palacios attend the upcoming U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources committee hearing called by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.
The annual hearing, called the State of the U.S. Territories, gives opportunities to governors from the five territories to provide highlights and discuss priority items for the upcoming year, the administration stated.
It added that the committee hearing is coordinated to occur around the National Governors’ Association winter meeting, which also includes the Interagency Group on Insular Area Senior Plenary Session.
In her recent letter to Governor Palacios, Assistant Secretary Carmen Cantor of the U.S. Department of the Interior encouraged him to participate in the IGIA meeting, the administration said.
“These meetings provide important opportunities to network with White House and ranking federal officials who possess valuable information and resources that may be helpful as you seek to address challenges in the CNMI during your new administration,” Cantor told the governor.
