OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

Interior Secretary Zinke Applauds Completion of Palau Compact Funding Agreement

09/20/2018

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today authorized the immediate transfer of $87.4 million in payment to the Republic of Palau as called for in the Compact Review Agreement (CRA). Funds released included $65.3 million for the Palau Compact Trust Fund and $22.1 million to be used for economic assistance. The remainder of $34.0 million will be used through 2024 for infrastructure projects and maintenance. 

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Interior Announces Additional Support to the U.S. Virgin Islands

09/18/2018

WASHINGTON – Doug Domenech, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, this week released an additional $198,051 in fiscal year 2018 technical assistance program grants for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to help streamline the coordination of recovery assistance on St. Croix and to expand water storage capacity and upgrade irrigation systems in support of farmers on St. Thomas.

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Interior Announces $4 Million in Discretionary Compact Impact Funding for Hawaii and Territories in FY 2018

09/18/2018

WASHINGTON – Doug Domenech, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, this week announced an additional $4 million in Compact Impact funding for fiscal year 2018 to be distributed to Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and American Samoa to defray costs and impacts associated with migrants under the Compact of Free Association (Compact), or U.S. Public Law 108-188, to each of these affected jurisdictions.

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Interior Funds Annual Economic Reviews and Statistical Updates for Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau

09/14/2018

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs supports annual economic and statistical updates in the three freely associated states (FAS) of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau through the Economic Monitoring and Analysis Program (EconMAP) of Graduate School USA. In August 2018, the EconMAP team published its Fiscal Year 2017 economic briefs for each of the three countries showing that the FSM economy grew by 3.2 percent in FY 2017, while the RMI economy grew by 3.6 percent. Palau, which has experienced a recent reduction in tourism from 147,000 visitors to 122,000 visitors, experienced an overall economic decline of 4.7 percent. 

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Interior Secretary Zinke Concludes Trip to the Pacific Islands With Visits to the U.S. Territories and Hawaii

09/11/2018

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has wrapped up his trip to the Pacific Islands where he began in Nauru as head of the U.S. delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and concluded with stops in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American Samoa, and the State of Hawaii before returning back to Washington. While in American Samoa, the traditional leaders bestowed upon him the chiefly title of Fofoga o Samoa, which translates as Voice for Samoa. 

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