In this issue:
In mourning over gun violence
Senate bill triggers $4.7 m. PSS increase
NMC visitors
Tribes, islands deserve more respect from feds
Guests at White House Picnic
Responding to the Zika threat
Typhoon readiness workshops begin
New intern: Stephanie Xiao
Opportunities - Federal grants, jobs for/in the Marianas
Highlights in the Legislative Program
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In mourning over gun violence.
At the Capitol and in the Northern Marianas, flags were at half-staff this week in mourning for the 49 killed and scores wounded in Orlando, Florida — the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. These events have become horribly commonplace in our country. And now that the federal court has confirmed that the Second Amendment limits our local ability to regulate firearms in the Northern Mariana Islands it becomes essential to join the effort in Congress to close loopholes that allow dangerous individuals to acquire guns. I have asked Rep. Peter King (R-New York) to add me as a cosponsor to his bill, H.R. 1076, Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act. It gives the U.S. Attorney General discretionary authority to prevent suspected terrorists from buying lethal weapons. Congress has a moral responsibility to do more than lower the flags and hold moments of silence for the victims of gun violence. We must also take action to prevent the next tragedy and keep guns out of the wrong hands.
Senate bill triggers $4.7 m. PSS increase.
The new formula I included in the Every Student Succeeds Act in December increases federal help for elementary and high school students in the Northern Mariana Islands by almost $5 million, beginning in fiscal year 2017. But it requires that overall spending for the low-income student program, Title I-A, rises. The President’s budget recommended an increase. And the Senate Committee on Appropriations has now taken another step to that higher funding level by sending the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriation for fiscal 2017 to the full Senate for a vote with an increase of $500 million over fiscal 2016. Currently, Northern Marianas schools get $6.8 million in the Title I-A funding. At the Senate Appropriations Committee’s recommended level — and with my new funding formula kicking in — the NMI grant will increase nearly 70 percent to $11.4 million. That is over $1,000 for every student from Title I-A.
Responding to the Zika threat.
I have cosponsored a $1.9 billion special appropriation to fund President Obama’s action plan for the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease that can cause serious birth defects. In the Northern Mariana Islands and other insular areas, the President wants to increase the federal share of Medicaid from 55 percent to 65 percent as part of the Zika response and grant $225 million for island health care. Your congressional office gets live updates every Friday on the spread of Zika and work by federal agencies to prepare local health care responders. There are no Zika cases in the Mariana Islands, as yet. But American Samoa has 29 confirmed cases from local mosquitoes and Hawai’i has 10 cases, infected while traveling. The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation has already developed an action plan to care for Zika patients, meeting U.S. Centers for Disease Control standards. Testing is not available in the Marianas and 14 other states or territories, but, CDC says, the Guam Department of Public Health lab can do Zika testing, if needed. And, if Zika becomes established in countries with direct flights to the Marianas, testing capacity at CHCC can be upgraded.
Typhoon readiness workshops begin.
Congressional staff joined federal and local agencies for the Western Pacific Islands Typhoon Readiness and Planning Workshop on Saipan this week. Hosted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the CNMI Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, day one of the event focused on the present and future impacts of climate change. Presenters included Erina Derrington and Fran Castro of the CNMI Bureau of Environmental Quality, and Charles Guard of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Day two looked at the effects of Typhoon Soudelor and the recovery process. Joey Dela Cruz and Brien Nicolas of CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Gary Camacho of Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, John Hirsh of American Red Cross, and Virginia Villagomez of the CNMI Grants Management Office discussed their respective responsibilities and services and what is needed to be prepared for the future. The workshop was the first of six scheduled to produce a final plan by June 2017. I look forward to working with all involved to keep our islands safe.
Opportunities - Federal grants, jobs for and in the Marianas:
Grants:
Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grant – NOAA is seeking project proposals from non-federal partners to implement habitat restoration actions that will restore coastal ecosystems and improve coastal resiliency. Closing date is August 16, 2016. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=284647.
Coastal Program – The Coastal Program is a voluntary, incentive-based program that provides direct technical assistance and financial assistance in the form of cooperative agreements to coastal communities and landowners to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat on public and private lands. Closing date is September 30, 2016. For more information, go tohttp://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=279630.
Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant – The Rural Business-Cooperative Service is requesting proposals from applicants who will provide technical assistance to socially-disadvantaged groups in rural areas. Closing date isAugust 1, 2016. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=284671.
Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program – The Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program is a federal formula grant program that provides financial assistance to reduce the number and severity of crashes, injuries, and fatalities and hazardous material incidents involving commercial motor vehicles. Closing date is August 1, 2016. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=284669.
Jobs:
Bartender – The Commander, Navy Installations has an opening for a Bartender in Guam. Incumbent will prepare and serve all types of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages from a full service bar. Position is open until June 30, 2016. For more information, go to https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/442021500/.
Child and Youth Program Operations Clerk – The Commander, Navy Installations has an opening for a Child and Youth Program Operations Clerk in Guam. Incumbent will prepare and maintain assigned reports, correspondence, and statistical and financial data pertaining to components within the CYP among other related duties. Position is open until June 29, 2016. For more information, go to https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/441876100/.
Office Automation Assistant – The Department of Defense Education Activity has an opening for an Office Automation Assistant in Guam. Incumbent will perform various office automation duties in support of school administration. Position is open until July 1, 2016. For more information, go tohttps://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/441879400/.
Medical Officer – The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has an opening for a Medical Officer in Guam. Incumbent will perform non-clinical duties involving the evaluation of medical research of the identification of causes or sources of disease and disease outbreaks. Position is open until December 16, 2016. For more information, go to https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/440870300/.
Highlights in the Legislative Program:
THIS WEEK:
On the floor
H.R.3636 – O-VISA Act (Agreed to by voice vote)
H.R.5293 – Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017 (Passed, 282-138)
H.R.5053 – Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act (Passed, 240-182)
H.Res.343 – Expressing concern regarding persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China, including from large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups as amended (Agreed to by voice vote)
Co-sponsored Legislation
H.Res.169 – Acknowledging and honoring brave young men from Hawaii who enabled the United States to establish and maintain jurisdiction in remote equatorial islands as prolonged conflict in the Pacific lead to World War II.
H.Res.540 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the policies of the United States should support a transition to near zero greenhouse gas emissions, 100 percent clean renewable energy, infrastructure modernization, green jobs, full employment, a sustainable economy, fair wages, affordable energy, expanding the middle class, and ending poverty to promote national economic competitiveness and national security and for the purpose of avoiding adverse impacts of a changing climate.
NEXT WEEK:
On the floor
H.R.5485 – Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2017
Veto message on H.J.Res.88 – Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to the definition of the term "Fiduciary"
H.R.4768 – Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016
Committee Hearings
June 22
Committee on Natural Resources Oversight Hearing on “Investigating the Appropriate Role of NEPA in the Permitting Process”
June 23
Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans Legislative Hearing
Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on “Next Steps in K-12 Education: Examining Recent Efforts to Implement the Every Student Succeeds Act”