THE Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee is looking into federal grant funds administered by the Office of Grants Management and State Clearinghouse.
In a letter to OGM-SC Administrator Epi Cabrera Jr. on Monday, Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee Chair Jude U. Hofschneider said that, in order to “fully understand the fiscal sustainability of the CNMI government and its federal programs at this time,” he is requesting the following:
• A list of all grants and other federal funding sources applied for by the CNMI in the last five years.
• The total funding and breakdown of OGM-SC operations funded by indirect cost revenue and/or reimbursements for the last five years.
• The total number and breakdown of OGM-SC employees funded under the general fund for the last five years.
• The total funding and breakdown of sub-grants funded by 20% of the OGM-SC budget, including the entities and/or projects and amounts funded.
Hofschneider asked Cabrera to provide the information within 15 days.
He noted that the CNMI economy has not yet recovered from a series of natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic. Since 2018, the Commonwealth “has been struggling to generate enough revenue to pay for the personnel and operations of the government,” he added.
The Tinian senator said federal grants have been instrumental in filling budget gaps or supplementing local funds to assist the CNMI and its local governments. He also wants to review the rules for awarding sub-grants derived from 20% of OGM-SC’s budget, as provided under Public Law 19-49, which created OGM-SC in June 2016.
About three years ago, OGM-SC received over $2 million in indirect cost reimbursements from the federal government. Cabrera told the Legislature that such funding does not require legislative appropriation.
