Interior announces capital improvement & tech assistance funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (DOI-IA) announces $27,720,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2022 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) grant funding for priority needs across the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  

 “CIP grants are among our most effective means to support priority needs in the territories,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa. “This year’s investments will go far in funding public facilities such as schools, hospitals, and clinics across the territories.”  

  American Samoa’s share is $10,262,636 — the highest amount provided for any of the four. 

In addition, DOI-IA is providing $174,900 in fiscal year 2022 Technical Assistance Program (TAP) grant funding to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) for membership fees for the benefit of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. 

 “We are especially pleased that this funding helps provide opportunities for capacity development and higher education,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa. “We encourage administrators and teachers in the insular areas to notify students of the new opportunities across institutes of higher education, especially as students from the Insular Areas are underrepresented across institutes of higher education in the United States.” 

Membership in WICHE provides opportunities for students from the insular areas to participate in ongoing initiatives related to higher education, workforce development, and behavioral health. This new collaboration also guarantees in-state tuition rates for students from the territories and the freely associated states at hundreds of institutes of higher education across the Western region of the United States.