OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

Interior Announces $5 Million to Protect Coral Reefs and Natural Resources; Combat Invasive Species in Island Areas

09/18/2019

U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Doug Domenech was in the Republic of Palau last week to co-chair the 42nd annual U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting where he announced $5,192,241 in fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding to protect coral reefs and natural resources, and combat invasive species, including the Brown Tree snake. 

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Interior Assistant Secretary Domenech Meets with Palau President Remengesau

09/10/2019

U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech met with Palau President Tommy Remengesau, Jr. in the Republic of Palau where they broke ground for capital infrastructure road and dock improvements worth $9,207,000. Assistant Secretary Domenech also presented $300,000 to the President in support of the 7th Our Ocean Conference that Palau will host in 2020. 

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Interior Announces Release of $328 Million to Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands in Rum and Section 30 Tax Payments for FY 2020

09/04/2019

U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech today announced that Interior will be signing over $328,000,000 to Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The payment includes $69,928,937 to Guam for federal income tax advance payments under Section 30 of the Organic Act of Guam for fiscal year 2020 and $258,375,000 to the USVI in rum tax cover-over payments for the estimated FY 2020 rum tax collections in the territory.

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Interior Assistant Secretary Domenech to Travel to Hawai’i, Guam, and Palau for Meetings on Compact Funding and Coral Reef Preservation

09/03/2019

U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech will be traveling next week to Hawai’i for meetings on Compact of Free Association funding for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The following week he will travel to Guam and also to the Republic of Palau to co-chair the annual meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force.

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U.S. and CNMI Submit Final Report on Federal Discretionary Parole Policies

07/02/2019

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor Ralph Torres and DOI Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech, submitted the final 902 Consultation Report on Federal Discretionary Parole Policies recommending several collaborative steps forward to protect economic and security interests for the United States in the CNMI. 

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