Embedded Files
03/24/25 - “I need your help to get D.C. to pay attention.” This was the call to action CNMI Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds made in a video posted to social media as she made her way back to Washington, D.C.
King-Hinds introduced a bill to include the Marianas in the Essential Air Service program. “Other remote communities in Alaska, in Hawaii, are getting this federal subsidy and at one point we were getting this subsidy that helps decrease the cost of air travel between the islands and to Guam. I know a lot of people have been asking for relief and this is one way to get that relief,” King-Hinds explained.
However, the delegate said that Congress is not “in the mood” to spend money on new programs. The delegate noted that former delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan wrote a similar bill which did not pass. “We’ve been down this road before…but we are going to try because we have to try…We are going to keep trying until we get somebody to listen to us,” she said.
The delegate called on all elected officials, business owners, and residents to write a letter supporting H.R.2132.
“I also…need members of this community to speak up, to speak up and to let Washington, D.C. know how the cost of air travel is impacting their lives,” she added.
The delegate said she would also contact U.S. Department of Defense officials and other agency heads to rally support, but noted that voices from the community are just as critical.
She added, “I’ll keep pushing, but the more people who speak up, the harder it is for them to ignore us. We deserve better. We need better. And I’m fighting for it.”
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Story by Thomas Manglona II
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