In the News
As the United States negotiates the Trump administration’s tariff increases with individual countries, CNMI Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds said these negotiations should also explore ways to help the Northern Mariana Islands and its economy.
In an April 7 letter, King-Hinds asked Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative spearheading the negotiations, to explore economic development opportunities for the Northern Mariana Islands.
U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds urged National Endowment for the Humanities Acting Chairman Michael McDonald to reconsider the decision to end funding for the CNMI.
In her letter on Monday, King-Hinds expressed deep concern over the April 2, 2025 notice received by the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, which terminated three critical grants and jeopardized the continuation of programs and services that have long supported the CNMI.
She asked McDonald for an explanation and urged the Trump administration to reconsider the cuts.
THE CNMI has until Dec. 31, 2026 to spend the state and local fiscal recovery funds that it received from the federal government under the American Rescue Plan Act, U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds said.
She was responding to the inquiry of Senate Vice President Karl King-Nabors, who requested a "most up-to-date information" on the CNMI's expenditures of the pandemic assistance funds.
King-Hinds said of the $481.8 million in ARPA funds that the CNMI received from the federal government, $443.7 million had been expended as of Sept. 30, 2024.
CNMI Congresswoman King-Hinds announced the start of the district’s Congressional Art Competition.
Each Spring, the U.S. House of Representatives invites high school students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to showcase their artistic talent.
CNMI Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds has introduced H.R.2132, a landmark bill aimed at reestablishing eligibility for Northern Marianas airports to participate in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service, or EAS program.
Instead of a short-term fix like asking the federal government for more money to offset revenue losses from the anemic tourism industry, the CNMI would be better off fixing structural issues that created its current problems. With the cost-cutting frenzy gripping Washington, D.C. these days, any request for more federal dollars faces slim chances.
U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds said she will introduce a bill for a $400 million federal bailout as requested by Gov. Arnold I. Palacios.
But in a press conference on Thursday, the governor said he was not asking for a bailout, but for “repurposing” a total of $414 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation funds allocated for the CNMI but were unused.
“I think our congresswoman misspoke and used a word that does not necessarily portray what we are trying to do,” Palacios said.
[Republican Kimberlyn King-Hinds, who identifies as Pacific Islander, is the first woman delegate of the Northern Mariana Islands.]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Office of the CNMI Congressional Delegate) — U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds wrote a letter this week to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the federal government to assist the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by leveraging American diplomatic power to secure favorable air service agreements and enhanced marketing efforts in key international markets.
Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany [R] has requested the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, to end what he calls “a loophole” that allows Chinese nationals to visit the CNMI without a visa.
“Communist Chinese nationals are exploiting a loophole that allows them to enter the NMI without a visa,” said Tiffany. “Many travel there just to give birth on U.S. soil and secure citizenship for their children.”
But CNMI Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds said the rule is carved out specifically for the territory as an “economic tool” due to its geography.