OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs has announced the availability of $35 million in fiscal year (FY) 2022 Compact Impact funding to be provided to Hawai’i, Guam, the Commonwealth of 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).

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announced a payment of $174,900 in Technical Assistance Program (TAP) fiscal year 2022 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. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2022 - 2023 cohort of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP). Public sector employees working for the U.S. Virgin Islands government with at least two consecutive years of government service are encouraged to apply online at https://pitiviti.org/apply/ before July 22, 2022.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa traveled to St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) last week where he met with territorial leaders and federal officials to discuss current priorities in the territory.

WASHINGTON – The United States (U.S.) Department of the Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary Keone Nakoa recently concluded a trip to the Republic of Palau where he participated in the seventh Our Ocean Conference, held from April 13 to 14, 2022. Themed “Our Ocean, Our People, Our Prosperity”, the Conference featured numerous panels where DAS Nakoa hosted the Marine Protected Areas panel, highlighting the importance of collaborating with traditional and community leaders for the long-term and inter-generational success of natural resource and ocean conservation globally as well as in the Insular Areas. 

Last week, the United States (U.S.) Department of the Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs, Keone Nakoa, traveled to Palau and Guam last week, where he met with President Surangel Whipps, Jr. in Palau and Governor Lourdes “Lou” Leon Guerrero on Guam, among other meetings. This trip marks Nakoa’s first trip to these island areas since he assumed his role as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Biden-Harris administration and the first from Interior leadership since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President’s budget for fiscal year 2023, includes $736 million in funding for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA). The proposal would fund initiatives benefiting fellow Americans in the U.S. territories and also includes funding for U.S. allies in the Pacific who have a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States.