Governor Ralph DLG. Torres sent a letter on Tuesday to Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider and Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez to support a joint resolution that would allow the Department of Finance to provide $500 bonuses to CNMI retirees.
“Since the beginning of my administration, we have prioritized improving our government’s ability to provide quality public service to our islands and make good on all our judgments and obligations. We’ve made sure our public servants are taken care of for their years of hard work and dedication to the community. We can’t move forward as a community, until we take care of those who served before us,” said Governor Torres.
The purpose of the joint resolution is to address technicalities that will delay disbursement of the retiree bonus payments initially scheduled for December 15, 2021. Legislative support for a joint resolution will allow the Department of Finance to reprogram the $1.3 million needed for the bonus payments to retirees.
Governor Torres has collaborated with Senate leadership on the introduction of a joint resolution. The Senate is scheduled to hold a session on December 15, 2021 to act on this. Upon passage in the Senate, it will be transmitted to the House of Representatives, which is scheduled to hold a session on December 20, 2021.
“The Secretary of Finance and I have also been in communication with the NMI Settlement Fund Trustee Joyce Tang and the Office of the Attorney General and have in concert agreed that this is the best course of action to take in order to meet this goal. The NMI Settlement Fund is on standby for the passage of the resolution by the Legislature to distribute the retiree bonus payments,” said Governor Torres.
Governor Torres added that through the collaboration of the Legislature and the Department of Finance, the administration’s commitment to meet the government’s obligation to the retirees of the CNMI continues.
“It is a priority of this administration to pay what is due to our retirees, and I commend the Department of Finance and members of the Legislature for joining me on this effort,” said Governor Torres.
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