GOVERNOR Juan N. Babauta is supporting the passage of a measure to establish a central clearing house within the executive branch that will track the availability of federal grants.
H.B. 13-120, introduced by Rep. Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, seeks to establish an office of federal assistance and programs under the Office of the Governor.
“I am in agreement with the findings of this bill, namely, that the CNMI lags in accessing federal grant funds and that an increased effort must be conducted to bring in more of these federal dollars,” said Babauta in his recent letter to Martin B. Ada, R-Saipan and chairman of the House Committee on Judicial and Governmental Operations.
He said a clearing house in the executive branch that could track grants, match these to program goals of the CNMI and enlist the appropriate persons within our government to make application “is a correct response.”
He said the clearing house should also monitor the flow of grants, once awarded “to assure that all financial standards are met and that reimbursements to the CNMI are complete and prompt.”
Numerous models for such system exist in state governments according to Babauta.
He said Wisconsin “was able to double the amount of federal grants funds” through the establishment of a grants management program within Wisconsin’s Office of Federal-State Relations.
Babauta said the program employed three persons for the entire state and increased grant income by $277.2 million.
However, the governor said the revenue source “is already accounted” in the fiscal year 2003 budget that he has submitted to the Legislature. “Therefore, use of some funds for a federal grants office would require a spending reduction elsewhere.”
He said his administration “considers improved performance in granstmanship too important.” Thus, “we have already taken a number of steps in this direction.”
Babauta said departments and agencies have been instructed to route grants applications through the Office of the Governor “in their formative stages to ensure that grants are targeted to the goals of the administration.”
Also, he said a network of grant writers and managers has been assembled at the same time, the Office of Budget and Management has been instructed to compile a complete inventory of federal grants that the CNMI is now receiving.
Likewise, the governor said arrangements have been made with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School to begin at least a quarterly offering of courses from the school’s curriculum leading to a certificate of grants management. He said the first of these courses will be available in the coming quarter.
