GAO International Affairs and Trade Director David Gootnick and his team met with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial as well as the heads of Public Health, Finance, Commerce, and the Public School System in the governor’s conference room yesterday morning.
Gootnick and his team arrived here on Wednesday night from Guam.
They were tasked by the U.S. Congress “to ascertain and quantify in dollar figures the effects the FAS migrants have in the CNMI.”
The FAS are the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia — Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap.
Under the Compacts of Free Association with the U.S., their citizens can live, reside or study anywhere in American and its territories. But the federal government must also reimburse the states and territories that host FAS migrants — this is called the Compact-Impact aid.
Fitial welcomed the team and expressed hope that through the data they collect, the CNMI will be able to realize increased Compact-Impact funding.
“I urge our partners in the federal government to carefully assess the quantity of services provided to citizens of our sister islands living in the CNMI in order to fully reimburse the commonwealth for associated costs. This way, we are able to continue providing such services to everyone, including the
FAS citizens, living in the CNMI,” the governor said during the brief meeting.
Fitial said he supports GAO’s assessment to evaluate the positive impact of FAS citizens on the CNMI.
“Most of the FAS citizens have resided here for a long time and are contributing members of the CNMI community. That is why my administration supports GAO’s stance to also look at the positive impacts made by the FAS citizens through taxes paid, their involvement in the community, and their support for the CNMI’s economic development,” he said.
Fitial urged FAS citizens to meet with the GAO team and share their experiences.
Gootnick and his team are scheduled to leave Saipan on Saturday.
