Edith Deleon Guerrero
SENATE President Edith Deleon Guerrero on Tuesday prefiled Senate Resolution 23-13, requesting Gov. Arnold I. Palacios to seek financial assistance from the federal government to help CNMI workers keep their jobs by funding a CNMI-only Paycheck Protection Program.
Similar to the PPP established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, a CNMI-only PPP “will help employers cover payroll costs including benefits, and to pay interest on mortgages, rent and utilities necessary to ensure that businesses in the CNMI will continue to operate and employ residents in the community,” the resolution stated.
Implemented by the Small Business Administration with support from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the PPP ended on May 31, 2021.
According to S.R. 23-13, “the CNMI’s economy continues to be in a deep recession and may not recover until our main economic industry, tourism, fully resumes.”
Currently, in fiscal year 2024, the resolution added, the tourism visitors rate is only at 43% compared to the pre-pandemic numbers. “With no other industry to support employment, commercial activity and governent revenues, the imminent collapse of the tourism industry will have repercussions for the future of the CNMI that will last for years,” the resolution stated.
“The CNMI must act now to prevent more businesses from shuttering their doors due to the lack of visitors and business activities at their establishments. Some businesses have begun to reduce their workforce by laying off employees as a result of low revenue collection and slow business activities,” the resolution added.
One way to assist businesses and their employees during this difficult time is to request for federal assistance to establish a CNMI-only Paycheck Protection Program for a certain period of time similar to the SBA PPP during the Covid-19 crisis, the resolution stated.
