OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

United States Holds Initial Consultations with the Freely Associated States

05/29/2020

DOI Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech and U.S. Department of State Ambassador Karen B. Stewart this week held initial consultations with teams from each of the Freely Associated States to organize talks around the bilateral review of expiring provisions of their respective Compacts of Free Association.

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Interior Awards $942,206 to Eradicate Invasive Species in Insular Areas

05/20/2020

DOI Assistant Secretary Douglas W. Domenech today announced $942,206 in fiscal year (FY) 2020 Coral Reef and Natural Resources Initiative grants to eradicate and control the spread of invasive species in the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as well as in the Republic of Palau, and Yap, in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). 

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Interior Applauds Department of Education COVID-19 Support to Territories and Freely Associated States

05/18/2020

DOI Assistant Secretary Domenech applauds the U.S. Department of Education for the financial support provided to the U.S. territories and freely associated states (FAS) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Over $172 million has been made available through the Education Stabilization Fund and the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund for the Outlying Areas.

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Interior Announces $151,550 in CARES Act Funding for Mañe’lu

05/05/2020

The Department of the Interior has provided Mañe’lu, a non-profit organization located on Guam, with $151,550 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act emergency relief funding available through the Office of Insular Affairs Technical Assistance Program to prepare, prevent, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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OP-ED: America’s Territories are Not Forgotten

04/28/2020

On April 15, 2020, The Hill published an opinion piece titled, The Incomplete Coronavirus Map – U.S. Territories Left Behind, in which the author linked the federal government’s coronavirus response and maps used by media outlets to a broader point of criticism on America’s treatment of the U.S. territories.

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Interior Redirects $1,640,000 to Repair American Samoa’s Manu’atele Ferry

04/21/2020

Assistant Secretary Domenech today announced $1,640,000 in redirected Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds to the American Samoa Government to make emergency repairs to the M.V. Manu’atele Ferry. The ferry, one of the main transports for passengers and cargo between the capital island of Tutuila and the Manua Islands, was damaged during recent storms and is no longer in service. 

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Interior Invites Territories and Freely Associated States to Submit Requests for Funding under CARES Act

04/13/2020

Assistant Secretary Domenech formally invites the Governors of the territories and the Presidents of the freely associated states (FAS) to submit requests for funding made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The $55 million in emergency relief funding is available to the territories and the FAS to prepare, prevent, and respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

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