In the News
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.
Reps. Tony Gonzales (Texas), Monica De La Cruz (Texas), David Valadao (Calif.), Juan Ciscomani (Ariz.) Rob Bresnahan (Pa.), Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.), along with Dels. James Moylan of Guam and Kimberlyn King-Hinds of Northern Mariana Islands (Feb. 19): “The House Budget Resolution proposed $800 billion in cuts to programs under the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, with Medicaid expected to bear the brunt of these reductions.
Territorial Members of Congress, Guam Delegate James Moylan, CNMI Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds and American Samoa Rep. Amata Radewagen, along with Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios and U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. gathered at the Department of Interior’s Interagency Group on Insular Areas, 2025 Plenary Session.
Duty Free Saipan Ltd., which operates T Galleria in the tourist district of Garapan, will be closing shop by April 30, 2025, after nearly five decades on Saipan, according to DFS Group Limited, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Arnold Palacios, and CNMI delegate to Congress, Kimberly King-Hinds.
A group of House Republicans raised alarms Wednesday about the minimum $1.5 trillion in spending cuts required by the chamber’s budget resolution, as House leadership tries to shore up support for a floor vote on the measure when the chamber returns next week.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, co-chair of his party’s Congressional Hispanic Conference, led a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., highlighting the damage cuts to programs including Medicaid, Pell Grants and food stamps would have on their constituents and others around the country.
U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds is asking the U.S. Department of the Treasury to oversee foreign investments in the CNMI to prevent potential national security risks, saying that “our national security decisions must be based on facts, not fear.”
In her letter on Feb. 3, 2025, King-Hinds urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take further action to safeguard national economic and security interests in the CNMI, saying that “it is imperative that we ensure foreign investments in the CNMI align with U.S. national security priorities.”