$3.8M in Insular Affairs grants to Territories, FAS

Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and other territories and Freely Associated States will receive $3,764,070 in fiscal year 2024 Technical Assistance Program funding. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announced the award on April 17. The funds will support civic and higher education programs for students, continue retiree benefits, provide water quality technical support and training, support natural resource conservation, and fund judicial training.   
 
The funding will go to: 

• Close Up Foundation - $1 million will support participation by students from the U.S. territories and the freely associated states in the Close Up Washington Student Program and related activities.

• Environmental Protection Agency - $794,959 will continue the EPA Freely Associated States Circuit Rider program for water quality technical support and capacity building, as well as support laboratory certification programs in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau.

• Prior Service Trust Fund Administration - $644,900 will provide continued benefit payments to retirees of the former administration of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

• Junior State of America Foundation - $501,692 will support academic, college preparation programs for students from the U.S. territories and the freely associated states.
 
• Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education - $399,300 will fund membership to WICHE for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau, which will provide increased postsecondary opportunities at reduced tuition costs for students from these areas at schools in the WICHE network.
 
• Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit Pacific Islands Committee - $339,839 will fund essential judicial education training programs for the judiciaries of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.

• Tåno Tåsi yan Todu - $83,380 will support the Marianas Islands Conservation Conference in Guam.