Amata returns to the territory along with Assistant Interior Secretary Cantor

Pago Pago — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming Assistant Secretary of the Interior Carmen Cantor, who landed Thursday on her visit to American Samoa on the same flight as Congresswoman Amata.

On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary Cantor announced in a letter distributed to Governor Lemanu P.S. Mauga and Congresswoman Uifa’atali that the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), of the Department of the Interior (DOI), has awarded nearly $300,000 ($298,570) to American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, a grant for which the Department submitted the application on April 13 of this year.

 “I appreciate so much that Assistant Secretary Cantor made the long trip to see our beautiful island for herself, and I know this visit with ASG officials will give her helpful insight as she works with our territory in the future,” said Aumua Amata. “Thank you to Director Taotasi Archie Soliai and everyone at the Department who has a part in applying for or implementing this grant.”

These funds through OIA’s Coral Reef and Natural Resources Program are for American Samoa’s Marine Invasive Species Detection Program. Details on the grant in an Interior Department media release elsewhere in this issue.

$395,000 VICTIMS ASSISTANCE GRANT FOR PLANNING AGENCY

Congresswoman Uifa’atali is welcoming notice of a grant of $394,521 to the American Samoa Criminal Justice Planning Agency (CJPA) from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs and their Office for Victims of Crime.

 “Once again, thank you to Director Mariana Timu-Faiai and her team at CJPA for their efforts to obtain this discretionary grant,” said Uifa’atali. “These funds help victims and support them in their recovery efforts.”

This Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant provides for the Crime Victims Fund to enhance crime victim services, often through community-based organizations that provide direct services to victims.

(Source: Cong. Uifa’atali Amata’s Washington, D.C. staff)