“IT is extremely disappointing, to say the least,” Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said Thursday regarding the holiday bonuses that CNMI government retirees were supposed to receive before the Christmas holiday in December.
“Since the beginning of my administration, we have recognized the decades-long dedication of our public servants, and we have expressed the need to take care of those who have served our islands and people before us,” Torres said.
On Dec. 10, 2021, the governor announced that retirees would receive a $500 holiday bonus.
To accomplish this, Torres said he and Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig engaged in dialogue with NMI Settlement Fund Trustee Joyce Tang and the Office of the Attorney General on “the best course of action.”
“Cohesively, we agreed that a joint resolution by the Legislature to create a new business unit within the current budget, and granting me with the reprogramming authority to allocate $1.3 million for this purpose, would be appropriate,” he said.
On Dec. 15, 2021, the Senate adopted the joint resolution which approved the governor’s request to reprogram $1.3 million from the general fund to pay each retiree a $500 bonus in time for the holidays.
But on Dec. 20, 2021, the House leadership declined to act on the joint resolution, saying they needed “more information” from the administration.
“Sadly, the House rejected this initiative in favor of House Bill 22-91, which earmarked funds that were line-item vetoed in the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Act. This action would have taken resources away from vital programs that were already established,” the governor said.
“Throughout this process, the Senate has persistently acted in the best interest of our community, and it has consistently sought to find solutions to provide these monies to our retirees.”
Last month, he said, “the Senate took the step to increase the bonus from $500 to $1,000 for each retiree. Further, to ensure that the retiree bonuses would be funded and, most importantly, so that similar issues would be avoided in the future, the Senate saw fit to provide me with 100% reprogramming authority. Unfortunately, the House again chose to politicize this issue and pushed its agenda of removing me from office forward.”
Torres said the House “simply chose to overlook viable options that could have secured these funds for retirees, which they have waited on since December.”
“Now, in March 2022,” he said, “the Senate adopted Joint Resolution 22-9, which approved my request to create a new program and business unit for retiree bonuses to reprogram $2.6 million within the executive branch. This would have been one step closer for our retirees to receive the $1,000 bonus. The House majority opted to concern themselves with the funding sources of these bonuses, and they ignored my reprogramming authority in order to make this ill decision.”
Torres said as his administration has previously stated, “the retiree bonuses will neither increase nor reduce the current budget level. The secretary of Finance and I identified the local funding sources to fund this bonus for our retirees, and it is derived from no other than the Office of the Governor and the Department of Finance — no other program.”
Torres said the House of Representatives “is in support of providing a bonus to our retirees as a final outcome. However, it is unfortunate that there have been numerous instances where this topic has been politicized instead of acted upon. Simply put, the House majority has chosen to publicize its dislike of our administration and my decision-making authority as governor to stall this process. This only further impacts our deserving retirees who have waited a long time for this financial reprieve.”
He added, “Our retirees do not deserve to be treated as collateral damage despite certain legislators’ dislike for me as governor. I respect their right to oppose my decisions, to not support my re-election, and even my current role as the chief executive. However, I humbly ask that their disfavor of me does not negatively impact our community and retirees.”
“Fast-forward to today,” Torres said, “the Senate has removed the 100% reprogramming authority. It is a decision that I support so long as it is a step close to our retirees’ receiving their bonuses. Pettily, the House still finds itself fixated on the specific, non-issue of funding source. Once again, I am urging the House of Representatives to put its political dislike of me, and its agenda thereof, aside, so that we can work together to best serve those who have put us into office, and to get these bonuses out to our retirees soon.”
The House leadership on Tuesday said it would introduce House Bill 22-95 to create a new business unit for the retirees’ bonuses by reappropriating the FY 2022 allocations for Micronesian Legal Services, the governor’s discretionary account, the governor’s office, the finance department and the Marianas Visitors Authority.
These were among the line-items vetoed by the governor when he signed into law the FY 2022 budget bill.
