releases: http://sablan.house.gov/kilili-proposes-improvement-medicaid-implementation-earned-income-tax-credit-program-nmi
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://sablan.house.gov/kilili-proposes-improvement-medicaid-implementation-earned-income-tax-credit-program-nmi | Kilili proposes improvement of Medicaid, implementation of Earned Income Tax Credit program in NMI | 2016-03-01 | 2016 | 2016-03 | Independent | Senate | MP | Gregorio Sablan | S001177 | sablan.house.gov | legacy | Marianas Variety -- U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan says Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis is a chance to improve Medicaid and implement the Earned Income Tax Credit program in the CNMI. In a statement during a committee hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s analysis of the situation in Puerto Rico, Kilili noted that the Caribbean island “is defaulting on its debt, something that has not occurred in my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, or other U.S. insular areas.” But he said the CNMI government has recently “had to scrape together $1.8 million to pay its retirees after cutting their bimonthly pensions by 25 percent…. [And] there remains an unfunded pension liability in the hundreds of millions of dollar.” Puerto Rico has more than $70 billion in outstanding debt. According to Kilili, “What is happening now in Puerto Rico should be a warning of what could happen in other U.S. insular areas. And it would be wise policy and an exercise in foresight to address root causes of the fiscal problems in all the islands, when we address the problem in Puerto Rico.” Kilili said the Treasury and the Obama administration have already put one idea on the table that would help with solvency in all the insular areas. “The idea is to bring the islands closer to the national Medicaid program in which the federal government pays more of state healthcare costs, depending on the proportion of low income persons in that state. “The islands bear a disproportionate share of those Medicaid costs and this burden contributes to fiscal stress and reduces the quality of health care in the insular areas. “Treasury proposed in its Puerto Rico roadmap last fall that Congress remove the cap on Medicaid and increase the federal Medicaid match for Puerto Rico. And the president confirmed in his budget submission this month that it is intended that this Medicaid reform apply to all the U.S. insular areas. I support that proposal.” The congressman said there is one other policy reform that would improve the fiscal situation in all the islands and this is the extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC. “There is broad agreement on both sides of the aisle that the EITC is a policy that supports economic growth and thus, improves the fiscal health of a community. [Republican] Speaker [Paul] Ryan is a fan, because the EITC, unlike conventional welfare programs, rewards work. It encourages those who are unemployed to get a job, support themselves and their families, and become contributing members of society.” Kilili said this has been proposed by the administration both in the Treasury roadmap and in the president’s budget for fiscal year 2017 using the EITC to bring people into the workforce in Puerto Rico but not in any of the other insular areas. Recently, “at the annual meeting of the Interagency Group on Insular Affairs, the administration explained that extending the Earned Income Tax Credit to the Northern Marianas, American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands was not necessary because those areas are not in dire straits,” Kilili said. “I ask you, do we have to see an insular area in fiscal collapse before we take action? Or do we help avoid the kind of problem we now have in Puerto Rico by taking action to treat U.S. citizens living in all the insular areas more like they would be treated if they lived in any U.S. state? “My fellow delegates from American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are co-sponsors of my legislation, H.R. 4309, that would provide federal support for the Earned Income Tax Credit in our jurisdictions. And I strongly recommend that this committee assure that in any legislation addressing the fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico and including reform of the Medicaid program and extension of EITC to Puerto Rico, all of the Insular areas we represent be equally included.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |