releases: https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-july-17-2020
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| https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-july-17-2020 | THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS - July 17, 2020 | 2020-07-20 | 2020 | 2020-07 | Democrat | House | MP | Gregorio Sablan | S001177 | sablan.house.gov | legacy | In this issue: More money for vets cemeteries Student visa restrictions dropped FEMA updates on recovery CARES Act: More Marianas PPP okayed Annual increase of islands' waiver FY21: Increase VA Pacific staffing FY21: Worker safety needs assessment FY21: Strengthening public health FY21: Coastal erosion impact on roads Telework update Kilili Time Capsule Opportunities Legislative highlights ___________________________________________________________________ More money for vets cemeteries The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other veterans organizations are backing my bill to increase federal funding for the maintenance of veterans cemeteries in Marpi and nationwide. On Thursday, the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee heard their testimony on why they support H.R. 5487, the Veterans Cemetery Grants Improvement Act. The Act raises outdated statutory caps on grant funding to help ensure locally-run cemeteries meet the high appearance standards our veterans and their families deserve. With more veterans choosing burial near home, more state, territorial, and tribal governments in charge of cemeteries are faced with increased operations and maintenance costs. H.R. 5487 doubles the current grant limit of $5 million for these purposes. Watch the hearing here. Student visa restrictions dropped The Trump administration has backed off, after Members of Congress asked the administration to rethink its plan to force international students at Northern Marianas Colleges and other institutions of higher education to leave the U.S. Our letter of July 9 pointed out the impact that plan would have on schools that are struggling to reconfigure instruction during the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced it was rescinding the new rule, which will be a great relief for students on F or M visas and for colleges, like NMC, that depend on foreign student tuition to remain financially viable. FEMA updates on recovery FEMA Region IX Administrator Bob Fenton was unable to be at the virtual forum I called last week to go over the Government Accountability Office's preliminary findings on the federal response to typhoons Mangkhut and Yutu. So we got together by phone this Thursday instead to discuss FEMA's recovery projects and, especially, vendor payments. Administrator Fenton reported $21,256,785 million has been reimbursed to various Commonwealth entities for debris removal and $27,752,119 million for emergency protective measures. All work has been completed and there is no local match required. So the government entitiesthe Department of Public Works, the Office of Saipan Mayor, the Commonwealth Ports Authority, among othersshould be paying the companies that did the work. Mr. Fenton also updated me on the Permanent Housing Construction and Repair program. There were initial delays due to issues with the national contractor that FEMA engaged, as well as lack of materials and equipment on-islands. But a first group of new construction homes will be turned over to families in September. And FEMA is expecting to award additional contracts for the permanent housing next month. CARES Act: More Marianas PPP okayed Marianas businesses and non-profits continue to be approved to receive CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program loans. As of July 10, 475 PPP loans worth $38,689,913 had been okayed. A list of those that received more than $150,000 is available here. And a list of Marianas financial institutions acting as lenders is listed here. Congress has extended the deadline to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program to August 8 and funding remains available. Meanwhile, the entire $20 billion Congress appropriated for grant advances to Economic Injury Disaster Loan applicants has been allocated. The House-passed Heroes Act, however, adds another $10 billion for EIDL grants. To learn more about these programs visit the PPP website here and the EIDL website here. Download a PPP application here, and the EIDL application here. A step-by-step guide on the application process can be viewed here. EIDL applications are due by December 31. Annual increase of islands' waiver The Marianas waiver of cost-share for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects will keep pace with inflation under a provision in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 approved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday. The waiver was set in 1986 at $200,000, but I was able to increase that to $455,000 in WRDA 2014, arguing the waiver needed to account for inflation. And the inflation adjustment was renewed in WRDA 2018. Now, WRDA 2020 would mandate an annual adjustment, so the Marianas, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands would get a bigger waiver of the local cost-share every year. WRDA authorizes the Army Corps to carry out water resources development projects and studies, as well as reforms and policy direction for the Corps' civil works missions including navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection, and ecosystem restoration. FY 21: Increase VA Pacific staffing Recognizing the need to improve care and services to Marianas veterans, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs included my requests to increase Veterans Affairs benefits, health care, and Vet Center staff presence in the Marianas in its report accompanying the FY 21 spending bill. The U.S. Veterans Administration is also directed to report to the Appropriations Committee whether it is feasibility to assign full-time, permanent VBA, Vet Center, and VHA staff in the Marianas and other underserved areas. The report must include feedback from Marianas' veterans and their families about their satisfactionor lack thereofwith the care and services they are receiving. An audit of hiring practices is also required to determine whether the VA is fully using its existing authorities to recruit and retain qualified staff to serve Pacific veterans. FY 21: Worker safety needs assessment Worker safety continues to be an issue at the Imperial Pacific International construction site, following 4 injuries in January. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for enforcing worker safety, but does not have a permanent presence in the Marianas. Language included at my request in the FY 2021 Labor, HHS-Education appropriations bill report will require OSHA to conduct a needs assessment on compliance and safety enforcement efforts in the Pacific territories and include the report as part of its FY2022 Congressional Budget Justification. FY 21: Strengthening public health As the current COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, preparedness and response activities in the Pacific territories rely on the speed of diagnostic testing. The Marianas has done well in this area; rapidly developing the capability to test for COVID-19 and greatly reducing the reliance on the public health labs in Guam and Hawaii. But developing and maintaining lab capacity in the Pacific territories continues to be a challenge. The FY 2021 Labor, HHS-Education appropriations bill report includes my language encouraging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve lab capacity in the Pacific territories. The FY 2021 Labor, HHS-Education appropriations bill provides the CDC with a $25 million increase to support state and local health departments in strengthening public health systems. FY21: Coastal erosion impact on roads Accompanying the Committee-approvedFY 2021 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development funding billisreport languagedirecting the Federal Highway Administration to report to Congress on the impacts of coastal erosion on the roadways in the territories and Hawaii. Due to climate change and associated global sea level increases, island communities are particularly vulnerable to shoreline erosion. So, along with Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Delegates from the territories, Irequested that directive language be addedto the federal highways appropriation. FHWA is to provide a list of coastal roads most susceptible to sea level rise and provide recommendations for addressing shoreline erosion impacting these roads. FHWA is also required to provide technical assistance to the transportation departments of the affected areas. OPPORTUNITIES Grants A note to those receiving or applying for federal grants during the coronavirus crisis: The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may extend for up to 12 months certain grants set to expire between March 31 and December 31, 2020. OMB is also providing some deadline flexibility for grant applications. Check out these links for OMB's March 9 and March 17 memo on these extensions. Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants Public Comments Renal disease payment system Business loan programs Quarterly federal returns Disability discrimination ________________________________________________________________ LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK This week has been Committee Work Week. NEXT WEEK H.R. 7608 - Child Care for Economic Recovery Act H.R. 7027 - Child Care is Essential Act | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |