By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs has announced the availability of $35 million in fiscal year 2022 Compact impact funding for Guam, Hawai’i, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
The total amount includes $30 million in mandatory funding made available under U.S. Public Law 108-188 and an additional $5 million in discretionary funding made available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-103).
“Both the mandatory and additional discretionary funding will help supplement costs borne by these four state and territory governments and are usually utilized to offset government operations," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa.
Provided for under the Compact of Free Association, as amended, U.S. Public Law 108-188, mandatory funding is made available to each of these eligible governments to help defray costs associated with increased demands placed on health, education, and social services, or infrastructure related to such services provided to individuals who have migrated from the freely associated states to these U.S. jurisdictions.
Additional discretionary funds may be made available at the discretion of Congress.
The total of $35 million in Compact impact funds for fiscal year 2022 has been assigned to each jurisdiction as follows:
Under current law, mandatory Compact Impact funding provided to the affected jurisdictions under U.S. Public Law 108-188, ends in fiscal year 2023. (DOI)
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