THE CNMI Office of Grants Management and State Clearinghouse on Thursday said awards to the Commonwealth under the Fishermen Relief Program through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act will be mailed out Friday, Sept. 24.
“We continue to ask applicants that they allow for mailing time. The awards are being mailed directly to the recipient by the grantor, from Oregon to the CNMI. We ask that you allow at least ten business days for mailing time, processing, and delivery,” the office wrote in an official social media post on Thursday afternoon.
No payments have been made by the office to any applicant, the office added.
“The Office of Grants Management will not be distributing any awards under the program to recipients. All awards come directly from the grantor agency.”
In July, grants office assistant administrator John P. Sanchez said that no payouts had been made then either.
The original payout distribution dates for this program were scheduled to begin toward the end of May and run through the middle part of June.
However, in mid-June, the grants office received correspondence from the Pacific State Fisheries Marine Commission requesting taxpayer identification and certification information for each of the applicants.
“The W9 form was never noted in the original application requirement and therefore was never requested from those submitting applications. Our team reached out to the applicants and requested that they submit the additional document,” Sanchez said.
Of the 1,205 applicants, a total of 1,177 have submitted the required documentation.
The forms were collected, verified, and submitted back to the grantor agency as requested.
“The Pacific State Fisheries Marine Commission will make the distribution of payouts. The awards will be mailed directly to the applicants,” Sanchez said.
“We have been receiving inquiries from applicants on a working time frame for the payouts. We ask that they allow the commission time for review and processing of these payouts, and to also consider delivery time through the postal service.”
There is also the possibility of a second round of relief assistance under the fisheries relief program, Sanchez said.
