August 10, 2026
Ms. King-Hinds introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
To provide for the specific allocation of certain funding made available in accordance with the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Affordable Power for the Northern Marianas Act
.
Sec. 2. Allocation of mandatory funding
(a) Allocations specified
Of the amounts made available for capital improvement projects in accordance with the funding agreement (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act) entered into pursuant to section 702 of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America (48 U.S.C. 1801 note), for fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter except as provided in subsection (d), $15,000,000 shall be allocated for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, to be made available as follows:
(1)
Not more than $3,000,000, to address immigration, labor, or law enforcement issues in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(2)
For capital infrastructure projects that modernize, replace, repair, rehabilitate, harden, expand, or otherwise improve the affordability, reliability, efficiency, resilience, and stability of the Commonwealth’s electric energy generation system, including fuel, storage, transmission, distribution, control, communication, and other infrastructure necessary to support, integrate, operate, or stabilize electric generation resources.
(b) Prioritization
In making funds available pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior—
(1)
shall first make funds available for the purposes described in paragraph (1) of that subsection before making any funds available for any of the purposes described in paragraph (2) of that subsection; and
(2)
with respect to amounts made available for a purpose described in such paragraph (2)—
(A)
shall give priority to projects reasonably expected to reduce or stabilize electricity rates, reduce fuel or operating costs, reduce exposure to fuel price volatility, improve generation or system efficiency, or reduce the frequency, duration, or economic cost of electric service interruptions;
(B)
shall ensure that such projects are carried out by, through, or for the benefit of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation or any successor public utility responsible for electric service in the Commonwealth; and
(C)
notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall not require any local matching or cost-sharing requirement with respect to such projects.
(c) Limitation
Except as provided in subsection (d), nothing in this Act may be construed to alter or affect—
(1)
the total amount made available for capital improvement projects for any fiscal year for all insular areas in accordance with the funding agreement entered into pursuant to section 702 of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act); or
(2)
the total amount otherwise made available for all insular areas pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of section 4 of Public Law 94–241 (48 U.S.C. 1804(b) and (c)).
(d) Termination
The date described in this subsection is the date on which there enters into effect a successor multi-year funding agreement to the agreement entered into in 2004 pursuant to section 702 of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America and as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. Beginning October 1 of the first year for which such successor multi-year funding agreement takes effect, financial assistance to the Commonwealth shall be provided in accordance with the amounts, purposes, terms, and conditions established by such agreement and the Act of Congress approving or implementing such agreement.